MOSCOW, March 18 -- Breathing heavily and weakened by a heart ailment, Irina Slutskaya delivered an impassioned and athletic performance Friday to take the lead after the short program at the figure skating world championships.
She was narrowly ahead of Sasha Cohen and wore black pants rather than a dress in her skate before a home crowd. Michelle Kwan stayed within reach of winning her sixth world title after rallying to fifth place following a disappointing qualifying round.
Performing to tango music, Russia's Irina Slutskaya projected a racy aura in her short program that underlined bold, intricate step-work and spins.
(Grigory Dukor -- Reuters)
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_____ 2004 Summer Olympics _____
• Look back at the Athens Games, highlighted by Michael Phelps's eight medals and marked by unfounded worries over terrorism.
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"I feel really tired," said Slutskaya, who sat out last season because of an inflamed heart lining and still takes medication for the condition.
Carolina Kostner of Italy and Miki Ando of Japan were third and fourth, but neither has shown the high wattage Kwan can emit at her best.
Also, Russians Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov won their second straight gold medal in the worlds in ice dancing. Americans Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto won silver, the first U.S. medal in the event in 20 years, and Ukraine's Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov were third.
Slutskaya, the 2002 world champion, and Cohen gave energetic programs that included spins more demanding and eye-catching than Kwan's -- prowess they're sure to emphasize again in Saturday's final free skate.
Slutskaya's short program was to tango music. The only significant flaw was a loss of balance on her opening triple lutz. She projected a racy aura that underlined bold and intricate step-work and spins. Those dramatic moves counted for points, but Slutskaya added some drama that didn't -- her long delay in starting after her name was called. She remained by the rail, taking several heavy breaths, a reminder to the crowd of her heart condition.
Slutskaya finished less than 1.5 points ahead of Cohen, who was penalized on a triple flip and for skating past the end of her music.
"It's so frustrating because the last spin was going so well and I was just doing it for too long," Cohen said.
The American is less than three points behind Slutskaya in the standings that combine the short program and 25 percent of the qualifying round score.
"Tomorrow -- I'm already ready for it right now," said Cohen, who's never won a world title. "I want to go out there and nail everything, no question."
Kwan's free program has fewer of the technically demanding jumps and combinations that are rewarded in the new scoring system. And no matter how well she skates on Saturday, Kwan's routine most likely won't have enough potential points built into it for her to prevail if Slutskaya and Cohen are also on the mark.
The scoring system has been in use at Grand Prix events for two years. But Kwan has stayed off that circuit, and these worlds are the American's first competition under the system.
