When, in June, they decided to train in the United States, there were some who laughed, saying it was a move of desperation. Others thought they were being disloyal to Russia (as would be the case if the reverse happened). It was a definite gamble. But coaches Natalia Linichuk & Genadi Karponosov had worked their magic before with the Bulgarians, Albena Denkova & Maxim Staviski, whom they took from being out of the medals in the 2005 world championships, to winning the title twice, in 2006 & 2007. Many at home felt they were being disloyal, even though their new coaches, who won the Olympic gold in Lake Placid in 1980, were Russian. Karponosov said he sympathized with their new pupils because he and his wife and partner had gone through a similar situation of being overlooked by their Association in favor of another couple. He is Jewish and although, as world champions, they were the favorites going into the 1980 Games, the Soviet Federation reflected the government discrimination policy, and wanted another Soviet dance couple to take the gold. Karponosov said, "Our coach hardly spent any time with us that season. Our free dance was not as good as the year before. It was a bad situation."

Domnina and Shabalin had despaired once more after he tripped during the 2009 European championships on the new compulsory, the Finnstep, and slammed down onto his knee. They were only fifth in that section and had to withdraw. Many wrote them off at that point. To have bounced back from such a low, to win the title was such an emotional roller-coaster that they were left completely drained of emotion. He said, "Right now we don’t have any emotions. We can’t believe it yet. We try to not think about what place we would get because that’s a certain way to lose. We are so tired. We gave all our emotion on the ice. We let it all out and now we are just empty. At the end of the program, I said something like ‘Thank God’. As we skated, my strength was fading, but some how, when we got close to the end of the program, we were able to pull out the last strength you have. I don’t know where that came from. I still felt strong at the end of the program. I’m sure this will mean very, very much for us, but right now I’m not feeling anything, except, maybe a little relief. We reached a goal we have been living for so many year. We’ve strived to achieve this for many, many years." They teamed up in 2002. "And now that it’s here, it just seems a little unreal, like a dream." Standing on the podium, singing the national anthem, was "unbelievable".

Domnina & Shabalin skated 23^rd, with only Khokhlova & Novitski yet to perform, immediately after Davis & White’s showing had practically brought the roof down. The Russians earned only the fourth highest technical score, but that was a mere 0.70 behind Davis & White, who were top in this category, and only 0.20 behind both Belbin & Agosto and Virtue & Moir, who were tied. The Russians won the components score by 0.38 over Belbin & Agosto, with Virtue & Moir a further 0.49 lower. Davis & White were fourth in this category, 0.45 behind the Canadians. Domnina & Shabalin’s performance, set to Khatchaturian’s music for the Russian ballet, Spartacus, earned straight Level 4s. One of the nine judges was continually out of line with his/her colleagues, punching in the sole zero for the Domnina/Shabalin’s first move, the twizzles, and only "+1" for the rest of their moves. (Before making an assumption, know that there was no American judge on the panel. However, there was a Canadian judge, Jodi Abbott from Edson, Alberta, and the referee, Ann Shaw, is Canadian.) They began with the twizzles, for which four judges had punched in +2, four +1 and the errant zero. Their circular steps were given all +2s (except the out-of-liner’s +1). Three judges gave their straight line to curve lift their maximum of +3 with the rest awarding +2 except for Mr./Ms. ‘Nothing Over +1’s +1. For their curve lift they were given two +3s, six +2s and the solitary +1. Their combination spin was less well done with only one +2, the rest +1 (including the low-marking judge) and one zero. The Midline steps and the rotational lift received six +2s and three +1s. Their final move, the straight line lift, was given two +3s, one +1 from you-know-who, and the rest +2s.

2. 205.08; FD 2. 100.27 (50.50+49.77) Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto recaptured the silver they had won in Worlds in 2005 in Moscow. In Russia, they had been thrilled at their success, which had come on a straight forward ascent from their debut at worlds in 2001 in Vancouver where they had finished 17^th. The only bump in the path to their winning the 2006 Olympic silver medal had been her ineligibility to compete in the 2002 Games because she was Canadian and the struggle to get her US citizenship in time for the next Games. A special bill had to be past and there was much tension involved before she got the papers just before New Year’s Eve 2005. But then things took a detour. The Olympic gold medalists, Tatiana Navka & Roman Kostomarov, Russians who trained in New Jersey, did not continue to Worlds in Calgary a few weeks later so Belbin & Agosto were the clear favorites. But they finished 3^rd. They were 3^rd again the next year and last year they dropped to fourth. Then, this season, they Agosto had a back injury kept him off the ice and out of the US championships.

After all these trials, is it any surprise then, that this correspondent, who has covered them since they won their first international, a Junior Grand Prix in Montreal in 1999, has never seen them in such an emotional state as when they completed this Free Dance? After the routine ended, Belbin collapsed on to one knee at the center of the ice, to hug Agosto, and, as he got up from his final pose, she took both his hands to grab his head, give him a fleeting kiss and then buried her head in his chest, with tears of relief streaming down her cheeks. She was wearing a glamorous blood red outfit and Agosto was in a painter’s white tattered smock befitting the doomed characters in the beloved opera, Tosca, which provided their accompanying music.

They skated 2^nd in the top group of five, immediately following Virtue & Moir. They gained Level 4 for all their moves except the twizzles, which was given a Level 3 by the Technical Specialist, Andrzej Dostatni, because her hands weren’t completely behind her back while executing these traveling one-foot turns. The difference between the base value of the two levels for this move is +0.70. Although that would have put them in the lead for the Free Dance it would not have changed the overall result, although it would have made it closer. (The Russians won by a margin of 1.22.) Belbin & Agosto received only three +3s, two for their straight line steps and the other from one of the same judges for their curve lift. "We are completely aware that nothing is going to be handed to us," said Belbin. "We have to be that much better to win the gold. We have to be phenomenal to win the gold. I think we have to struggle to do more than skaters from other countries. We didn’t have an American judge. We just want the same advantage that everyone else has."

Judges are supposed to be independent of national prejudice but all the ice dancers appear convinced that having your own country’s judge on the panel is an advantage. There is certainly a psychological advantage of knowing there is some one "in the know" who you believe is "on your side" Belbin was referring to the subjective part of judging ice dancing which will always be result in differences of opinion. There is also a perceived lack of US officials’ willingness to "schmooze" with officials from other countries, which comes in part because of lack of other language skills and geographic location. The sport has definitely become fairer with the adoption of the complicated new system, as witnessed by the quick rise in world standings by Virtue & Moir and Davis & White who would have had "to wait in line" in the old system.

Belbin added, "We feel really, really happy that we were able to perform a clean program. It’s definitely the best we’ve competed this routine which we haven’t done it since the Cup of China. We’ve really improved and we’re really happy to show the program and what we’ve developed this year. There were mixed emotions about the result. It’s obviously very emotional. There were so many different options for how Ben could have gotten through this injury. He could have been defeated by it, but instead, he fought through it. We train with Maxim and Oksana every day, so we certainly appreciate all their hard work and we can definitely see their qualities." Agosto said, "This year we made so many changes, not just the coaching change but trying to change just about everything about the way we perform. This program really allowed us to develop a new side of ourselves and a new, adult, mature sense. I think it’s really brought out a new side of us. It’s been a very long and difficult road. We're so happy to have gotten through all of this and to have put out three strong performances we felt so good about."

Now they have to face the situation of whether the world’s top two couples can really benefit from training together with the same trainers.

3. 200.40; FD 4. 99.98 (50.70+49.28) Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir were disappointed. They felt that bronze, after winning silver last year, was a down step. That wasn’t really the case. Had Domnina & Shabalin not been injured and forced to withdraw, they would probably have placed above them last year, as might Belbin & Agosto had not she had a freak fall in the compulsory. They also are projecting a positive attitude but, in fact, they are not completely back to where they were before her leg operations which caused them to lose a lot of training time. They used music from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album. The piece, The Great Gig in the Sky, is, according to their agents, "a soulful metaphor for death". It opens with the sound of and loose change, and mocks greed and consumerism.

Virtue said, "I’m extremely satisfied. I felt way stronger and was able to push through to the end. I wasn’t even focused on my legs. Mentally it’s such a treat to not have that constantly running in my mind. As much as you try to push it back, it’s still there, but today it was just enjoying every movement. It felt really together." Moir said, "Tonight was all about us. We just wanted to go out and skate, not for what the judges thought (which is a strange take since this is the season’s most important competition), but what we thought. We skated the best we could and we’re so happy about that. It’s been a tough year, and this reminds me of why I love the sport so much and why we suffer through stuff. I couldn’t be more honest in saying that I really don’t care what the judges say today. I’m really self-satisfied and have a really good sense of accomplishment."

In the Four Continents championships, she wore a far different outfit than here. It was a light chiffon-y, flowery sort of thing that was worn by the flower children, mindless, unrealistically optimistic, completely at odds with the type of Pink Floyd’s music. The new outfits were all black including her black tights. She explained, "We wanted the program to speak for itself, and let the skating come out before the outfits. With simple black you’re able to see our lines and with a contemporary program it’s all about movement, so I think you can see it clearer."

All their levels were 4 but strangely, showing that there was a large range of opinions within the judging panel, they gained one award of the maximum +3 GoE from four different judges for four separate elements (the combination spin and all three lifts). Undoubtedly the most impressive move in the routine was their "no hands" lift in he is squatting in a bent leg spreadeagle which she stands on one leg on his upper thigh. It is a move they have invented. It’s spectacular and looks very, very risky. There was a collective intake of breath from those in the audience followed by a huge thunder of applause. Their least impressive element was the final diagonal steps, which earned one 0, one +2 and the rest +1.

4. 200.36; FD 3. 100.03 Meryl Davis & Charlie White gained third place in this section, as they had in the Original and they missed the bronze medals by a sliver, just 0.04. They got the highest technical score, but were 4^th on the components. The received Level 4 for everything. They set the tone with their opening move, the combination spin which earned unanimous +2s. Their long lift was rewarded with five +3s (the maximum the judges can punch in) and four +2s. The circular steps earned five +2s and four +1s. Their curve lift got one +3, two +1s and the rest +2. Their twizzles received three +3s, five +2s and a +1. Their straight line lift was given six +2s and three +1s. Their midline steps were their lowest marked element but it was still impressive with one +2 and the rest +1s. They concluded with their rotational lift which was awarded one +3, seven +2s and one +1.

Their Free Dance, set to two pieces from Camille Saint-Saens opera, Samson and Delilah, including the famed Bacchanale, built in speed so they were going flat out at a time when they were increasingly tiring. Davis said, "It felt really good to me. I think that was probably my best performance that I’ve ever felt. We’ve been working really hard and it was hard to get it in shape at first because it was such a demanding program. But at this point in the season we were able to enjoy the program. Competing here at Worlds in our home country has been wonderful. And to finish a Free Dance like that, with that kind of audience reaction just means the world to us. We couldn’t be happier." He said, "The routine took a lot of practice. You have to build your way up. It’s a matter of taking little steps, getting there one step at a time. Eventually, your body just gets used to the moves and then you’re able to add expression and stuff."

5. 194.36; FD 5. 95.99 (49.80+46.19) Nathalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat, the French champions, were thrilled with this position and gaining all Level 4s. This is their sixth world championship and their best place was last year’s seventh. Before they saw the score, she said, "Whatever the result is, we are very happy with our performance. We had a good competition overall. We got a level four for all elements in a Free Dance for the first time. We love this program. Physically we were very ready and so eager to get out on the ice. I didn’t feel tired. We have changed the program from before so some parts were faster and happier and the audience liked it. The American crowd gave us good support. It helped us to push through. They performed to La Notte di Favola by Nicola Piovani, the very famous circus music, La Marche des Gladiateurs and Jonglage by Maxime Rodriguez. They played carnival performers with Pechalat in a tutu-like outfit consistent with her role. Optimistically, she said, "We aren’t far away from a World and European podium. We should be able to touch it next season."

6. 193.41; FD 6. 94.39 (48.20+47.19 -1.0) The Russian European champions, Jana Khokhlova & Sergei Novitski of Russia, were philosophical. He said, "Coming here, we were ready for everything. We could win or end up far away from the podium. Obviously, the second possibility came true. But this is not our last World Championship. I think we skated our Free Dance very well today. It’s difficult to compare it with the program we did at Europeans. Yes, there was a little wobble, but nothing that would us get us a deduction." The deduction, in fact, was for an extended lift. He did not get her back on the ice in the time allocated. Had they not incurred that deduction, they would have been fifth. They skated to Rhapsody on a Theme by Rachmaninov and Caprice 24 by Pagnini. He played an artist and she was his muse. They received all Level 4s except for a Level 3 for their spin.

7. 186.07; FD 7. 90.64 (47.10+43.54) Sinead & John Kerr, the British champions, presented a very emotional showing playing a brother and sister, looking after each other and trying to survive, after a catastrophic event has taken place. She said, "It’s a shame this is the last time we will compete with this routine because I really enjoy this one. I thought there would be less pressure on us this competition, but I still felt nervous. This has been fantastic. I think that we were really ready for this World Championships. I think that having it in Los Angeles was amazing. The audience has been great for us." Her brother said, "It’s been a fantastic season, easily been the most successful season for us with the bronze medal at Europeans and another top 10 finish here." They received two Level 3s, for their circular steps and for their straight line lift. The rest were all 4s.

8. 182.76; FD 8. 90.54 (46.80+44.74 -1.0) The European silver medalists, Federica Faiella & Massimo Scali of Italy, were still in shock from the fall they took in the original. He said, "It was really, really, really hard. More than the mistake yesterday there was this disappointment with the results of the Paso Doble. We arrived here after an amazing season. We got our first medal (silver) at Europeans and we got into the Grand Prix Final. So was it was an amazing season. We knew we didn’t have a judge (on the panel) and it would be difficult to fight. We didn’t come here to fight for 7th place. We came to fight for a top five finish. So after yesterday we had to skate clean. We really feel proud. I am really proud of Federica, since she hasn’t been feeling well the last couple of days." In their free dance, set to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, he portrayed Pierrot, a stock, sad, classic mime, who in a theatre is normally dressed in a white clown’s outfit as Scali was, with an obsession for the moon. She is his Columbine. She loves him but he loves only the moon. All but their twizzles and midline steps were level 4. Like Khokhlova & Novitski, they incurred a 1.0 deduction. This would have changed their placement in the Free Dance, but it would not have made a difference to their overall position.

9. 178.72; FD 10. 86.65 (45.10+41.55) Pernelle Carron & Mattieu Jost from France presented a resuscitated old number set to two famous songs by the even more famous, Edith Piaf, Venez Milord and La Foule. They began the season with a free dance which had a spoken dialogue to the music, which is a French variation of rap. Jost admitted, "The old Free Dance was a bit difficult for the public to understand. If you don’t want to understand, you will never understand something. So we are doing something more light and more pleasant for the public. We went back to our program from two years ago. It was really, really fantastic! And we adapted it for the new judging system and to match our skating.

We did a very clean program. We are a little bit disappointed. The lift and the spin were both difficult and we don’t understand the points, but we will figure that out later." They received four Level 3s, for the midline steps, the circular steps the reverse rotational lift and the combination spin. Carron said, "We gave all our energy in this program, and the public supported us very well. The music has a lot to do with and I’m very happy with our performance tonight. We felt a lot less nervous than at the Europeans, because we had to skate at the very end of the best groups there and that was very stressful. I was way more relaxed here."

10. 175.70; FD 11. 86.07 (44.70+41.37) Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte from Italy skated to music from the tear-jerker movie Love Story. Cappellini said, "We felt like we fought through to the end. But it was one of those days when things weren’t flowing perfectly. We didn’t get scared. We fought. We tried to make it right, even during the performance." They had two Level 3s (for their circular and diagonal steps) and a Level 2 for their straight line lift. The rest of the elements received Level 4. "After our last competition, we weren’t so pleased with our results, so we felt we had to fight and try to improve. And we did, so we're really happy. We were hoping to improve our results from last year (when they were also 10^th), but that didn’t happen, but we are happy anyway because we fought all the way through. We didn’t let ourselves get disappointed. We just pushed it till the end."

11. 174.76; FD 9. 87.28 (47.10+40.18) Emily Samuelson, 18, and Evan Bates, 19, the 2008 world junior champions, made a very impressive debut in this event. Their free, set to Amazonic by Tonci Huljic, was ranked ninth best. All but the circular steps and the midline steps were level 4. She said, "The most important thing is that we skated three great performances. We put our hearts out there every single time and skated the best we possibly could. I feel elated and relieved. I don't know how else to describe it. We’ve gained the experience of more international crowds, more international competitors, and the grand sense that this is a big competition. It is not just the Olympics that are important. In a sense the World Championships are like the Olympics, because you have the best competitors and it's every year. To have the experience a year before the Olympics is very helpful and I think it builds our confidence.

Bates said, "Hopefully we demonstrated this week the strong qualities we have, and that we have shown we belong in the senior world championships. It’s been a long season for us. Here at the World Championships and also at the Four Continents Championships we skated the best we could, and that’s the kind of momentum we want to carry on to the Olympic season. I could hear the crowd. We definitely had the support of the home crowd, and I could feel the energy from the crowd start to build. That’s why the last 30 seconds of the program were the most fun for us."