OBERSTDORF, Germany (AFP) - Two-time world men's figure skating champion Stephane Lambiel on Friday all but sealed his ticket to the Winter Olympics by winning the Oberstdorf Trophy, a qualifying event for the Vancouver Games.

The 24-year-old, world champion in 2005 and 2006 and Olympic silver medallist, has returned to competition in a bid to claim Olympic gold one year after announcing he was retiring.

Already leading after Thursday's short programme, Lambiel extended his advantage after the free programme, scoring 232.36 points to finish ahead of Russian Ivan Tretiakov (206.23) and Czech Michal Brezina (205.34).

To seal his ticket to Vancouver, the Swiss Olympic Committee have stipulated that Lambiel must twice achieve scores of 195 points or over in competition.

The Swiss skater announced in October 2008 that he was retiring because of a recurring adductor problem. But he did a u-turn this summer and linked up again with coach Peter Grutter, who helped him to his two world titles and Olympic silver medal.

The Oberstdorf Trophy offers six places for Vancouver with the qualifiers joining the top 24 from last year's world championships who automatically qualify.

Oberstdorf Trophy standings (after free programme):

1. Stephane Lambiel (SUI) 232.36pts, 2. Ivan Tretiakov (RUS) 206.23, 3. Michal Brezina (CZE) 205.34, 4. Ryan Bradley (USA) 195.68, 5. Viktor Pfeifer (AUT) 194.66