Hanyu beat Tatsuki Machida by just 0.23 points in Saitama to win gold.

The 19-year-old's free programme to Romeo and Juliet featured a quadruple Salchow, quadruple toeloop, triple flip, triple axel-triple toe and five more triple jumps.

With 191.35 points for the skate, and an overall 282.59, he moved up from third after the short programme to take his first International Skating Union World Figure Skating Championships crown.

"That was very close," said 2012 world bronze medallist Hanyu.

"There was a mistake in the short programme so that is why my overall score ended up as it is.

"Overall, I did enjoy this competition.

"However, I hope that I can become a skater who can always end with strong performances.

"They [the quads] are still not perfectly consistent in practices yet, so I would like to go back and practice more.

"I felt the responsibility I have to win this event."

Compatriot Tatsuki Machida, who finished fifth at Sochi 2014 last month, was in the lead after the short programme.

Two key errors from Tatsuki Machida in his free programme were enough to deny him the gold ©Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images



Performing to The Firebird by Igor Stravinski, Machida produced a quad toe, a quad toe-double toe, a triple axel-triple toe as well as five more triple jumps, but two were unsteady.

Machida improved on his personal best by about 10 points, scoring 184.05, and totalled 282.26 points to finish just behind Hanyu in second.

"It's been a very long and enduring season," said 25-year-old Machida.

"I feel happy and a sense of achievement.

"This season, Yuzuru's successes really encouraged me and pushed me through the season.

"As a result, I am here today.

"I was a little short of first place, but I hope that I can improve for the next season we can walk through this journey together and I can become a better rival to him."

Spain's Javier Fernandez repeated his performance in the Canadian city of London one year ago, by again winning bronze.

The two-time European champion, fourth at Sochi 2014, scored 275.93 points overall.

Javier Fernandez (right) repeated his 2013 performance with a second world bronze after coming fourth in Sochi last month ©Getty Images



Fernandez, 22, said: "I did a good programme, this is it, my season is done and I am completely happy.

"I am going to go home with my medal.

"It was a great competition, there was nothing more I could do these two skaters were amazing today and they deserve to be here."

Maxim Kovtun of Russia finished fourth with 247.37 points and Jeremy Abbott of the United States was fifth with 246.35 points.

Canada's three-time world champion and double Olympic medallist Patrick Chan decided not to compete in the Championships.

Today also saw the ice dance competition get underway, with the short dance.

Italian pair Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte hold a narrow lead, after edging out Canadians Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje by less than one point.

France's Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat are in third place.

The free dance to decide the medallists will be skated tomorrow.

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