GANGNEUNG, South Korea (AP) — Defending champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong won the pairs short program at the junior world championships Wednesday while Russian teams went 1-2 in the short dance.
Sui and Han scored 59.16 points for a short program that Han called “something special.” Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran of Japan, last year’s silver medalists, are second (57.85), and Russia’s Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov third (54.21) going into Thursday’s free skate.
Ice dancers Ksenia Monko and Kirill Khaliavin have a commanding lead, scoring 60.62 points for their waltz to Edith Piaf’s “Padam, Padam.” Fellow Russians Ekaterina Pushkash and Jonathan Guerreiro edged U.S. junior champs Charlotte Lichtman and Dean Copely, but less than half a point (55.76 to 55.28) separates the couples ahead of Friday’s free dance.
