Kostner retains title

Kostner, who was crowned champion last year in Warsaw, finished the two-leg event with a total score of 171.28 points after a confident free-skating performance.

Last year's runner-up Sarah Meier of Switzerland retained her silver medal with a superb display that lifted her into second position after she had started the second leg in fourth.

Meier, who achieved the best free-skating score, totalled 169.44 points while Finland's Laura Lepisto held on to third place after finishing on 165.65 points.

Hungarian Julia Sebestyen moved up one place to fourth while last year's Finnish bronze medallist Kiira Korpi, second after Friday's short programme, dropped to fifth after an unconvincing performance riddled with technical errors.

The week-long championships end with a gala on Sunday.

1. Carolina Kostner (Italy) 171.28 points

2. Sarah Meier (Switzerland) 169.44

3. Laura Lepisto (Finland) 165.65

4. Julia Sebestyen (Hungary) 162.89

5. Kiira Korpi (Finland) 162.22

6. Valentina Marchei (Italy) 153.34

7. Elene Gedevanishvili (Georgia) 147.09

8. Jenna McCorkell (Britain) 145.57

9. Ksenia Doronina (Russia) 144.20

10. Jenni Vahamaa (Finland) 142.40

11. Tugba Karademir (Turkey) 138.73

12. Annette Dytrt (Germany) 132.95

13. Stefania Berton (Italy) 130.59

14. Karen Venhuizen (Netherlands) 126.30

15. Nella Simaova (Czech Republic) 124.39

16. Tamar Katz (Israel) 123.41

17. Nina Petushkova (Russia) 122.97

18. Viktoria Helgesson (Sweden) 121.42

19. Anna Jurkiewicz (Poland) 120.76

20. Sonia Lafuente (Spain) 119.66

21. Katherine Hadford (Hungary) 115.99

22. Roxana Luca (Romania) 104.72

23. Viviane Kaeser (Switzerland) 103.83

24. Olga Ikonnikova (Estonia) 101.20

25. Maria Dikanovic (Croatia) 76.24

1. Sarah Meier (Switzerland) 113.00 points

2. Carolina Kostner (Italy) 111.97

3. Laura Lepisto (Finland) 108.69

4. Julia Sebestyen (Hungary) 107.35

5. Kiira Korpi (Finland) 103.62

6. Valentina Marchei (Italy) 99.65

7. Jenni Vahamaa (Finland) 95.35

8. Elene Gedevanishvili (Georgia) 93.66

9. Ksenia Doronina (Russia) 93.29

10. Jenna McCorkell (Britain) 91.89

11. Tugba Karademir (Turkey) 88.45

12. Stefania Berton (Italy) 83.75

13. Annette Dytrt (Germany) 80.96

14. Karen Venhuizen (Netherlands) 80.77

15. Nina Petushkova (Russia) 80.39

16. Tamar Katz (Israel) 79.64

17. Nella Simaova (Czech Republic) 78.75

18. Anna Jurkiewicz (Poland) 78.21

19. Viktoria Helgesson (Sweden) 77.35

20. Katherine Hadford (Hungary) 76.53

21. Sonia Lafuente (Spain) 76.40

22. Roxana Luca (Romania) 65.43

23. Viviane Kaeser (Switzerland) 64.77

24. Olga Ikonnikova (Estonia) 60.49

25. Maria Dikanovic (Croatia) 52.36