Saitama, Japan (SportsNetwork.com) - Italy's Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte won the short dance at the World Figure Skating Championships on Friday.
Cappellini and Lanotte, sixth at the 2014 Olympics, posted the top score of 69.70 points on Friday to edge the Canadian duo of Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, who finished with 69.20 points. Weaver and Poje were seventh in Sochi.
The French tandem of Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat placed third Friday with a score of 68.20. They were fourth in Sochi.
Olympic champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States decided against defending their world title, as did former world champions and Sochi silver medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada.
Russians Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov won the bronze medal at last month's Olympics and finished just fifth on Friday, behind the American team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates. Another American duo, the brother-sister team of Maia and Alex Shibutani, finished sixth on Friday.
The free dance is set for Saturday.
[SportsNetwork.com]
