American Cindy Bortz Wins Gold Medal in World Junior Figure Skating Event

Cindy Bortz helped the United States sustain its domination of the singles events in the World Junior Figure Skating Championships by winning the gold medal in the women’s event Saturday.

Friday, the United States’ Rudy Galindo took the gold and Todd Eldredge the silver in the men’s singles.

Bortz, 15, competing in her first World meet, outskated West Germany’s Susanne Becher, who was again forced to settle for second place after having already won silver medals in the previous two championships.

Becher entered Saturday’s long program with a slim lead over Bortz and produced a solid but uninspired performance that appeared to give her the gold at last.

But Bortz responded with a technically superior effort, her only flaw a slight fall exiting a difficult jump.

“I was so excited about landing the triple lutz that I just got too close to the wall and tripped,” said Bortz, who trains out of the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club under Coach Wendy Halber-Olson. “Before I skated, my coach told me Becher had skated well, so I knew I had to skate well.”