Fine China

Shen, Zhao win pairs title; Kwan qualifies in style

Shen Xue, left, and Zhao Hongbo won despite Shen's fall attempting a triple toe loop. AP

NAGANO, Japan (AP) -- Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo became China's first pairs champions by capturing the title despite falls of the top three couples at the World Figure Skating Championships Wednesday.

The pairs event was marred by mistakes of the top finishers while the women's qualifications featured top qualifying performances by Olympic rivals Michelle Kwan and Irina Slutskaya.

In the pairs, the Chinese, who took the bronze medal at the scandal-scarred Olympics, had the top technical feats of the evening although Shen sprawled on a triple toe loop.

"I tried not to think about the fall. My partner told me 'It's going to be OK,' " said Shen.

They had a high triple twist and two throws that covered a lot of ice. They had marks between 5.6 and 5.8 and had the first place votes of all nine judges.

"We were very lucky to win the competition," said Zhao. "

Skating after them, European champions Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin had a chance to overtake them but he fell a triple jump attempt. A few of her landings were awkward in a routine to "West Side Story"

Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman gained the bronze medal for the United States although both hit the ice on different moves. They barely held onto third ahead of former world champions Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov of Russia.

"That's the worst performance we had all year," said Ina. "So it's really disappointing for us. It's a high result but we wanted a better performance."

The Olympic gold medalists who were at the center of the skating scandal at the Olympics did not compete.

Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia and Jamie Sale and David Pelletier preferred to concentrate on the numerous opportunities outside of the competition. Sale and Pelletier were the world champions in 2001 while the Russians were 1998 and 1999 champions.

In the women's event, Kwan is putting her bronze-medal finish in the Olympics behind her.

"It's been only a few weeks since the Olympics, and you realize that things move on," Kwan said. "I didn't have my best skate there, but you know there are other performances. So move on."

Kwan had a nearly flawless routine, including a triple-triple combination, to earn top marks in her qualification group, worth 20 percent of the total score.

"Finally! Eureka!" she said. "It's the first time this whole season I nailed the triple-triple, so it feels good. I didn't hesitate. I just went into the air and both landings were smooth."

Olympic silver medalist Slutskaya of Russia, who has finished ahead of Kwan all four times they've met this year, won the second group, with American Sasha Cohen second.

Performing to "Scheherazade" as she did in Salt Lake City, Kwan did six triples with only a slight bobble to easily beat Japan's Fumie Suguri. American Jennifer Kirk, subbing for Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, was fourth.

Hughes has bypassed these world championships, finding little time to train after her victory in Salt Lake City.

Kirk had six triples in her first senior world championships. She was the junior world champion in 2000.

"It has been a rocky two weeks because I just switched coaches right before I came here. There has been a lot of change really quickly, and I am happy with the way I have been able to handle it," Kirk said. "Practices are tough because I haven't been in the mindset before coming here."

Slutskaya won her groups with nearly the same type of marks as Kwan, mostly between 5.7 and 5.9 for her version of "Tosca."

Slutskaya did not attempt a triple-triple combination, but she didn't need it, completing five triples and scaling down one triple lutz to a double.

She also found it difficult to train properly the last three weeks.

"After the Olympics, I was a bit busy in Russia. There were a lot of activities," Slutskaya said. "I met the president. I met the mayor of Moscow. There were meetings with fans."

Cohen came in second behind Slutskaya, doing five triples to music from "Carmen." She attempted a triple-triple, but came up short. She also aborted a jump, doing just a single.

Still, she had marks mostly between 5.5 and 5.8, although one judge gave her a 5.9 for presentation.

The Olympic fourth-place finisher was a bit harsher on her performance.

"I'd give it a 6 or 7 out of 10. I can do a lot better," Cohen said. "I was a little tired. I didn't have much to jump from."

The women's short program, worth 30 percent, is Friday, with the free skate on Saturday, the last day of the championships.

 

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