Girdwood’s Messing finishes 8th at the World Figure Skating Championships

Things didn't quite go Keegan Messing's way Saturday at the World Figure Skating Championships, but at least he was in good company.

The 26-year-old from Girdwood was among numerous elite skaters who couldn't stay on their feet during the men's free skate in Milan, Italy. The exception was 18-year-old Nathan Chen of the United States, who landed six quadruples en route to an overwhelming victory.

Messing struggled with his opening triple lutz, putting a hand on the ice, and fell on a later jump to finish eighth in his debut at the World Championships.

"To go out there and miss a couple of elements I've been nailing all week is a little hurtful," Messing told CBC Sports of Canada. "Still I tried to keep my head up and give a good performance. I hope the crowd still loved it."

Despite Saturday's mistakes, it's been a banner year for Messing, the first Alaska man to skate at the Olympics.

He skates for Canada — his mom was born in Canada, even though he has lived in Alaska his whole life — and finished second at the Canadian national championships in January to earn a trip to the Winter Olympics.

He placed a respectable 12th in Pyeongchang, South Korea, returned to Anchorage for a couple of weeks of training and then took off for Italy and his first World Championships.

In his short program Thursday in Milan, he placed fifth with the best score of his career. He ranked 11th in the free skate, which placed him eighth overall.

The result was critical for Canada, which needed Messing to finish in the top 10 in order to maintain its quota of two men for next year's championships. Canada's top skater, two-time world champion Patrick Chan, skipped the worlds, making Messing the nation's top hope in Italy.