French teenager Brian Joubert warned defending champion Yevgeny Plushenko that his days as European King of Ice are numbered as the battle for the men's title heated up at the European Figure Skating Championships in Budapest yesterday. The Frenchman pulled out a faultless performance to Pink Floyd's 'Time' in a costume covered with clock motifs.

The 19-year-old was the last skater on the ice and opened his routine with a clean quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination, earning an ovation from the crowd at the Budapest Sports Arena after the two-and-a-half minute routine. He achieved top marks from four judges, with one judge putting him surprisingly in fourth position...