Bulgarian pair win World ice dancing gold

TOKYO, March 23 (UPI) -- Bulgarians Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski claimed their second consecutive ice dancing gold medals Friday at the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo.

Denkova and Staviski took first in both the original dance and free dance -- turns on the ice worth a combined 90 percent of the overall score -- and second in the compulsory dance in defending their world championship.

It was the sixth consecutive year the Bulgarian pair finished at least fifth in the world championships.

They totaled 201.61 points while Canadians Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon had 200.46 and took the silver medals -- their second consecutive world silvers. U.S. skaters Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto were third at 195.43. They were also third in 2006.