European champion Carolina Kostner of Italy took the lead in the women's event at the World Championships, winning the short program despite blowing the landing on her triple lutz jump.

Kostner, 20, earned a personal best score of 64.28 points for a crowd-pleasing skate to The Doors' Riders on the Storm.

"I was hoping when I finished that I would be first but I made one mistake and I thought I might be second, but I'm really pleased with my performance and happy," she said.

Japan's Mao Asada, 17, winner of the Four Continents trophy last month and silver medallist at last year's Worlds, stood second going into Thursday's final skate after a near-faultless performance that earned her 64.10, her best score this season.

Compatriot Yukari Nakano, 22, turned in a lithe and graceful skate to Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu, finishing third with 61.10.

Finland's Kiira Korpi wowed her Nordic neighbours with a crowd-pleasing performance to Triunfal by Astor Piazzolla that earned her a seasonal-best score of 60.58 and fourth place.

Korea's Kim Yu-na, who said earlier this week that she still was not back to her best after recovering from an injury that kept her out of the Four Continents, was back in fifth after a fall on a triple lutz jump.

"I felt pain from my earlier [hip and back] injury when I did the triple-triple combination and then tried to do the lutz.

"That is why I fell.

"I am not so happy about the scores and I am unsatisfied because of the fall."

Kim is coached by Canadian skating great Brian Orser.

Defending champion Miki Ando of Japan was back in eighth place after a below-par performance.

Germany's Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy rallied from a spectacular joint fall to score the top mark in the free skate and win the pairs event.

The European champions, who trailed China's Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang after Tuesday's short programme, both took a tumble in their side-by-side triple Salchow early on in the free skate routine, but the pair regained their composure to triumph.

"Tonight, I don't know what to say, I'm so happy," Szolkowy. "It was a hard way to get here and make a performance like this. It wasn't perfect, but in the end it was enough."

The pair paid tribute to the enthusiastic crowd.

"A really big thanks to audience. We've had so much fun skating here. I think the last two points were because of you," Salkowy added.

Skating to the Cirque du Soleil's L'Oiseau, the Germans finished with 202.86 points.

Dan and Hao showed their class with astonishingly high throws but could not reproduce the faultless form they showed in Tuesday's short programme as Dan miscued her landing on the pair's side-by-side triple Salchow.

"We made mistakes on two of our jumps, we really regret that we were not able to skate our best tonight," Dan said.

They ranked third in the free skate for a two-day total of 197.82 points to finish second overall.

Canadians Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison finished third, on 192.78, with a clean and elegant performance. It was their first world championship podium finish.

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Reuters