Kwan, Suguri co-lead women's opener

French pair completes free skate despite injury WASHINGTON (AP) -- The French pairs team of Sarah Abitbol and Stephane Bernadis barely made it through their free skate Wednesday night because of a lingering problem with her Achilles' tendon. The couple, bronze medalists at the 2000 world championships, had to withdraw from the Salt Lake City Olympics when Abitbol tore her Achilles' tendon a week before the Games began. She was off the ice for six months. They returned this season, but probably tried to do too much. Before their free skate, Abitbol's eyes were wet with tears. At the start of their program, she did a double toe loop instead of a triple, then in a jump series she did only a single axel. That led to a throw triple salchow in which she did only a single. The pair stopped performing but kept moving on the ice, with Abitbol reaching down to her left ankle. A few seconds later, they went to the referee and the music was stopped. They were given the option of stopping altogether and withdrawing or continuing from the point where the music was stopped. Although the referee advised them to stop, the French skaters opted to continue. "We chose to skate because we did not want to not finish this world championships, because we have already missed the last two years," Bernadis said. "So we went back to skating just to finish." After a brief moment speaking to their coach, they finished the program, getting marks ranging from 4.2 to 5.4. "The results really don't matter," a choked-up Bernadis said. "We didn't want to get out of the competition. I asked Sarah to do it for me, even though her foot was hurting quite a bit." Although they were cleared by a doctor to train and compete, Bernadis believes skating a full season was a bad decision. "Sarah was in pain already at the Europeans, and she was afraid of reinjuring her foot," he said. "We have to think before we make a final decision about our future."

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) -- Olympic champion Sarah Hughes of the United States struggled through a subpar performance and Russia's Yelena Sokolova delivered a stellar one to make an anticipated medal sweep by the American women unlikely at the world figure skating championships.

Michelle Kwan, the United States' four-time world champion, won Wednesday's Group A qualifying round, while Sokolova clinched second ahead of the third American contender Sasha Cohen.

Hughes was back in sixth and, once the second qualifying group is factored into the equation, heads into Round 2 tied for 11th place.

Japan's Fumie Suguri took top honors in the less intimidating Group B, with Canada's Jennifer Robinson a surprise second and Russian Viktoria Volchkova third.

The top three women in Group A and Robinson, a self-described late bloomer at 26, delivered outstanding performances, committing just one mistake each.

Suguri skated an exquisitely choreographed routine, but stumbled on two jumps, while Volchkova missed on three.

"I have no complaints with my performance. I had one little bobble," Kwan said of her miscue in a jump combination.

"I'm pretty happy," added Kwan, who settled for an Olympic bronze and world silver last season.

Suguri, the 2002 world bronze medalist, said: "I will learn from the mistakes I made today and try harder for the short and free programs."

Sokolova, who was eighth in her last and only appearance at the worlds back in 1998, outdid Kwan and Cohen on the difficulty scale, completing two triple-triple jump combinations, while the Americans showed triple-double combos.

Asked if her tougher tricks should have been enough to outscore Kwan, Sokolova smiled. "I did [make] one mistake," she said of her major miss on a triple loop, "and Michelle's a really good skater."

After her performance, an overjoyed Robinson, whose best previous world result was also eighth, did running split jumps in stockinged feet down the corridor towards the waiting media.

"That was excellent," she exclaimed, noting that she is proof of the adage 'you get better with age.'"

Hughes, who was sidelined early in the season by a leg injury and has not competed internationally since her surprise win in Salt Lake City, said: "I haven't had practice competing much this year, but I won't blame that for everything."

Her coach, Robin Wagner, said they will not overanalyse the performance in which Hughes managed just three successful triple jumps, singled two others and fell on another, but focus on what lies ahead.

The qualifier is worth just 20 percent of the total score, while the short program on Friday accounts for 30 percent and Saturday's final for the rest.

"I'm eager to fight back," said Hughes. "I think I have something inside me to give me that extra go."

Cohen, who won the prestigious Grand Prix title this season, said: "Two weeks before the worlds I was really preparing mentally to go out there and attack my elements and I think I did that today.

"You know you've trained your whole life, your whole year for this and it comes down to four minutes that you're going to make it or regret it.

"You have to be able to block that out and focus on your technique, enjoy it and don't let any of the pressure get to you," said Cohen, who succumbed to that pressure last season, finishing fourth at the Olympics and worlds.

Forty-two women competitors were divided into two qualifying groups according to their results at the 2002 worlds.

That should make for balanced fields but some top contenders, like Hughes and Sokolova, did not compete last year.

They were slotted into the field alphabetically, resulting in the star-studded Group-A field.

Defending world champion Irina Slutskaya is not competing here, having chosen to stay at home in Russia with her mother, who has been ill in hospital.

 

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