Mexican figure skater advances – a first for the country

BEIJING (AP) — Mexican figure skater Donovan Carrillo advanced to the free skate portion of the figure skating competition at the Beijing Games, a first for the country.

Mexico hadn’t even had an Olympic skater in three decades.

Carrillo said he was so excited when he landed his first jump – a quad toe loop – that he had to tell himself to refocus in order to finish his routine.

He also pulled off his difficult triple axel, though he was dinged for a triple lutz-triple toe when he took an extra step.

But that turned out to be the only real blemish in an otherwise strong program.