Russian figure skater Artur Gachinski needs a miracle to repeat his 2011 world championship medal-winning achievement, coach Evgeny Rukavitsyn told RIA Novosti on Saturday.
Gachinski is in 16th place ahead of Saturday's free skate, a full 20 points behind Canadian leader Patrick Chan.
“Theoretically anything’s possible, but he needs to conjure up a miracle,” Rukavitsyn said.
Gachinski’s only hope of success is to perform two quads jumps, Rukavitsyn said.
“If Artur skates a flawless program with two quads, as will probably be announced, then fate should smile on him a little.”
Chan scored 89.41 in the short program, and leads from Czech skater Michal Brezina, on 87.67 points in second place, and Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi in third with a score of 85.72.
Eighteen-year-old Gachinski won bronze at the 2011 world championships in Nagano, Japan, and silver at this year’s European championships in Sheffield, beaten only by Evgeny Plushenko.
