Alexander Smirnov

Russians Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov were last out of the gate but first in the standings with an assured performance in the pairs short programme to open the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Sixteen-year-old Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, the junior world championship runner-up and Youth Olympics winner, clinched her first Russian figure skating title on Thursday despite coming close to pulling out through injury.

Russia's 2006 Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko grabbed the lead in the men's competition at the Russian figure skating championships on Tuesday at the venue in Sochi where he hopes to crown his career with a second Olympic title in 2014.

US figure skating champion Ashley Wagner and Japan's Takahito Mura lit up the Paris-Bercy arena on their way to gold in the Trophee Bompard here on Saturday.

Japan's Takahito Mura claimed his first ISU figure skating Grand Prix title when he surged to gold at the Trophee Bompard here on Saturday.

Rising Russian star Julia Lipnitskaia is looking to upset American hopes of a Paris double after leading the women's short programme Friday ahead of Ashley Wagner at the Trophee Bompard, the fifth in the six-leg ISU Grand Prix figure skating series.

Veteran Chinese figure skating star Zhang Hao rekindled the flame on a career he thought was over, on the ice of Paris-Bercy.

Rising Russian star Julia Lipnitskaia is looking to upset American hopes of a Paris double after leading the women's short programme Friday ahead of Ashley Wagner at the Trophee Bompard, the fifth in the six-leg ISU Grand Prix figure skating series.

US champion Jeremy Abbott stole the show with a cloak and dagger spy routine to lead the men's short programme Friday at the Trophee Bompard, the fifth in the six-leg ISU Grand Prix figure skating series.

Russian figure skating pair Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov announced Thursday that they will miss the European Championships, which start in Sheffield, England on Saturday.

Canada?s reigning world champion Patrick Chan stumbled twice and fell once, but held on for his second consecutive win at the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix Final.

Reigning world champion Patrick Chan and Japanese 2010 world champions Daisuke Takahashi and Mao Asada are among 36 top figure skating stars who will compete in this week's ISU Grand Prix Final.

Japanese teenager Yuzuru Hanyu put the trauma of the earthquake which destroyed his hometown this year behind him to snatch his first senior figure skating gold at the Cup of Russia here on Saturday after former two-time world champion Mao Asada won the women's title.

Japan's former two-time world champion Mao Asada stormed into the lead of the women's competition in the Cup of Russia, the sixth and the last stage of ISU Grand Prix series, here on Friday.

Japan's former two-time world champion Mao Asada will bid to seal her ISU Grand Prix finals' place at the Cup of Russia - the sixth and the last event of the series, which gets underway at Moscow's Megasport arena on Friday.

Japanese veteran Akiko Suzuki held off a strong comeback by teammate and former world champion Mao Asada to win the NHK Trophy Saturday for her second career Grand Prix title.

Japan's former world champions Mao Asada and Daisuke Takahashi are hoping to use their home Grand Prix to restore their winning ways after last season's disappointment.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Canada's Patrick Chan recorded the highest ever score to win the men's short program at the world figure skating championships on Wednesday and take a giant step toward his first global title.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Yuko Kawaguti has mixed feelings about competing in this week's world figure skating championships after the event was moved to Russia from Japan following the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

Figure skating superstars Kim Yu-Na and Mao Asada will rekindle their long-running rivalry in the relocated world figure skating championships starting here on Monday.