ASAHIKAWA, Japan, 28 November 2003 — World bronze medalists Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov led the pairs competition at the NHK Trophy figure skating event yesterday despite a mishap that forced them to grind to a halt midway through a program.
The Russian pair was stopped by referees as straps that held Tikhonov’s pants to the right boot were seen dangling about one minute after they started their short program to the tune of Music by Baxter.
They continued the rest of the program after fixing the problem, earning a total of 63.24 points to beat Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Suidek of Poland with 57.68 points.
Rena Inoue and John Baldwin of the United States came third.
Pairs final rankings will be decided after the crucial free programs today.
In the ice dance, world bronze medalists Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria grabbed the led after the compulsory dance. Denkova and Staviski, who took the Trophee Lalique crown in Paris, edged out Ukraine duo Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov by a total of 39.59 points to 37.93 points. Kati Winkler and Rene Lohse of Germany came third, and Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovski of Israel fourth.
