1. 76.12 (Technical Score 43.40 + Component Score 32.72) Yu-na Kim absolutely blew away the opposition performing a routine not only of great technical skill containing a combination of two triple jumps but also one of nuanced artistry which earned the very best score ever for a woman’s Short Program. She lies an almost unbeatable 8.2 points above second place. The music she chose, Saint-Saens’ Dance Macabre, has been used by other skaters, mostly men who raced around the rink miming being a demon. Never has it been interpreted with a mixture of such delicacy, grace and underlying strength. Had she skated under the old system, undoubtedly at least one judge would have presented her with a 6.0. (That would have been aided by the draw. Under the old system, judges had to leave room for the skaters who had not performed. With only two of the 54 skaters from 48 countries still to go, they would have been justified in giving the ultimate award.)

The two-time world bronze medalist began with a solid triple flip to triple toe loop, which received an exclamation mark, which is a warning for a short wrong edge entry, and a GoE of "only" +0.60. However, her triple Lutz soared with one judge punching in +3, the maximum possible, and four others giving +2. The remaining four awarded +1. That resulted in a GoE of 1.60, meaning that amount was added to the base value for triple Lutz of 6.0. Her double Axel, performed after the spirals, gained +1.20. All her Levels were the maximum of four except for the straight line steps which were deemed Level 3 by the Technical Specialist Zuzana Zakova and her assistant, Myriam Loriol-Oberwiler. That step sequence was also awarded +1.0 GoE by the judges, who gave Kim’s spirals +1.60. They were unanimous in punching in +2 for layback which resulted in a full point being added to the base value of this Level 4 spin of 2.70. Her flying sit got an extra +0.50 and her final move, the combination spin +1.0.

"I’ve been doing clean programs in practice, so, today, on the ice I felt like I was just practicing," Kim said later. At the end of the two minutes fifty seconds, she seemed pleased but not overwhelmed. However, when the marks came up, her face reflected astonishment and amazement at getting the highest score ever. "I am very happy with how I did today. I had a very good performance. I have been doing very well in training. I had clean jumps in this program. But the short program is just the short program. I will just focus on the long program tomorrow. Two years ago at my first World (Senior) Championships, I did my personal best in the short program but not so well in the long program. Now I just want to do well in the long program tomorrow. I tried to do just as in practice because I did very good training this week and last week."

Her coach, Brian Orser, was a show in himself as he skated along with his pupil through the routine, but from the non-iced side of the barrier. "I can’t help it," he said. "In practice, I am skating alongside her on the ice. My legs are automatically reacting to the music just as she is doing. This stage, the world championships, brings out the best in the best. Yu-na was competitive. She was on the attack. She was very fierce and she knew what her job was. At the same time, she shared it with the audience. Before, she didn’t have that sensitivity. Now she does. That has taken her skating to a new level. I think it’s one of those moments that you’ll always remember. That is why she was able to score so highly. It wasn’t just the jumps and the elements the judges saw. It was a package of artistry. I’m so excited and proud of her. She did a fantastic job."

Kim said of her relationship with her coach, "He really knows what I feel in the competitions because there was the Brian (Orser)-Brian (Boitano rivalry in the 1988 Olympics) and I am doing that now (with her rivalry with defending world champion, Mao Asada)." A couple of Olympic champion Californian residents could not have been more impressed. "Her whole package is captivating to watch. She definitely has a special quality," said Kristi Yamaguchi. Brian Boitano said, "After her first jump, I said, ‘Wow, she has the power of a man and the grace of a woman.'"

2. 67.90 (37.50+30.40) Joannie Rochette, skating 47^th to Gershwin’s Summertime, might not have matched Kim’s effort but she was clearly ahead of the rest of the field, almost all of whom made a major error. The 23 year old five-time Canadian champion said, "I was satisfied with what I did. My elements were not perfect, but my goal was to reach out to the public more. That’s what I was missing at Four Continents. I had some troubles on this program at the beginning of the season so we changed it completely before the Four Continents, and even though I did skate it well there, I didn’t feel a great confidence and connection with the public. I feel confident for the long program and I’m anxious to come back tomorrow. The Free Program is my strength."

Rochette began with a great +1.60 double Axel. She said, "I think you always get a little bit of doubt at the beginning of your program. But as I was skating through my double Axel, I thought, ‘OK! I’m getting out of this building happy, with a big smile on my face." But there was a moment of uneasiness during her combination of triple Lutz to double toe which earned only the base value. Her coach, Manon Perron, said her heart sped up when she saw the way her pupil took off on the first jump. Some how, when Rochette jammed her toe into the ice it appeared to stick in too much. Rochette had to use all of her upper-body strength, which is considerable, to pull herself up into the air to get the height needed for a triple rotation. Rochette said, "I was a bit late into the air. I really needed to snap quickly to get up. I’m glad I did that and was able to tack on the double toe. "

Rochette followed that with her Level 4, +0.40 GoE flying sit spin and a great +1.20 triple flip. Once that jump was landed, "Then I could relax and enjoy myself," she said. She also received Level 4 for the change foot combination spin (+0.30) and for her spirals (+1.40). Her straight line steps were Level 3 and +0.90. However, her concluding layback spin was only Level 2 and +0.30 GoE. Rochette is a product of the old system in which flexibility was not stressed to the level of today’s juniors. Flexibility is developed off the ice when a child is young. Our sport is not gymnastics and this aspect has nothing to do with actual skating skills. It should not be rewarded as highly as it is.

3. 66.06 (35.90+30.16) Mao Asada, who skated a beautifully choreographed routine to Debussy’s Clair de Lune, shot herself in the foot when she doubled her planned triple Lutz. The Japanese defending world champion wass the 50^th skater to compete. She began her routine with a triple flip to triple toe which earned +0.80 over the base value of 10.50 but then she approached her second move cautiously. She was obviously over-thinking the take-off, worrying about keeping on the correct outside edge. She has been penalized heavily for that fault, and, even here, she got an exclamation mark, which is a less serious criticism. (The "e" call results in a cap in what can be awarded for the GoE; the exclamation is just a warning that she had a short time on the wrong edge.) Asada’s body was leaning so much to make sure she was on the outside edge, when she took off she wasn’t straight in the air and couldn’t get high enough to do the triple.

Once that happened, the air seemed to go out of her balloon. Although the double Axel gained a very good +1.80, she was awarded only one Level 4, for her change foot combination spin which was rewarded with +0.60 GoE. Her spirals (+0.70), flying sit spin (+0.40), circular steps (+0.70) and layback spin (+1.10) were only Level 3. She said, "I am not satisfied. I missed the lutz and I can do much better in the second half. I was a little nervous. I’m pleased that I did the triple flip-triple loop combination, but I didn’t attack the Lutz enough. That is disappointing. I have been working all season on the Lutz problem. I always aim for clean programs. I will try my best without messing anything up in the Free Skate."

4. 64.12 (34.40+29.72) Miki Ando, who won the 2007 world title but was forced to pull out during last year’s event, got flustered before they even stepped on the ice at the Staples Center. "For the six minute warm up, me and Fumie (Suguri) were late, because I couldn’t hear the announcement. I was nervous. I just had to concentrate and I had to do it myself and do my best possible performance. But, of course, I got nervous and triple-triple was downgraded, but after was fine. I am very much enjoying this experience. The audience was saying good luck in Japanese and American, "Go Miki". It made me very happy to hear that and they gave me some power for the skating, so I was very happy.

Skating 44^th, second on of the last but one warm-up group immediately following Sarah Meier and before her team mate, Fumie Suguri, in a beautiful turquoise and pink outfit made to resemble an expensive kimono, she opened her routine, set to The Chairman’s Waltz from the soundtrack to Memories of a Geisha, with the triple Lutz to triple loop. Had she succeeded, it would have been the most difficult combination in the event. (The Lutz is considered more difficult that the flip and the loop more difficult than the toe loop.) She brought off her second move, the triple flip, earning +0.40 over the base value and her double Axel earned a high +1.40. Her spirals (+1.0) and the change foot combination spin (+0.60) were Level 4. Her flying sit spin (+0.10) and straight line steps (+0.70) were Level 4. Like Rochette, she has flexibility problems, and her layback spin was only Level 2 and (+0.20).

5. 63.18 (33.50+29.68) Carolina Kostner, the Italian who won the silver medal in this event last year, started her badly. She charged down the ice accumulating speed like a race horse but though she completed the revolutions of the triple flip, she was forced to put her hand on the ice to keep from falling, and was only able to do a double instead of triple for her second jump. Then she two footed the landing of the triple Lutz. The rest of the program, set to Mujer Soje by Omette Coleman and Canaro en Paris by Scarpino and Calderella, was good. Her double Axel, normally her worst element, gained +1.0. Her spirals (+1.20) and two of her three spins (both +0.40) were Level 4. Her layback spin (+0.50) and the circular steps (+0.90) were Level 3. She said, "I actually feel quite alright. I’m really not satisfied with my program. I think it could be better. I have not thought really much about next season. I want to focus on this one first. I guess this will be one more experience and try to find the right balance for the competition.

6. 59.66 (31.74+27.92) Laura Lepistö of Finland, the current European champion, gave a delightful showing to Leeloos Tune by Maksim Mrvica. Technically, however, her program was inferior. Her combination was only triple toe to double toe instead of the planned triple-triple, and her solo jump out of steps a triple loop, rather than the more difficult flip or Lutz. That was reflected in the technical score which wa only 11^th best. But her components were sixth best. She skated 53rd immediately after Kim. Was she upset at having to perform after the huge reception Kim received? She answered, "Well, maybe it was a little hard. Of course, I already had thoughts that there would be a lot of cheering after her. So it didn’t surprise me. I think I could still concentrate even though Yu-Na had skated so well. I did have problems finding enough practice time at home before this event because my rink closed. Of course, that affected my preparation because I had to go from rink to rink and so on, but I managed. I’m a little disappointed that my jump combination was only triple-double and my spiral was a little shaky, but I’m very pleased with my points. The other elements were good quality and I got the points from those elements."

7. 59.30 (32.50+26.80) Rachael Flatt, the 2008 world junior champion making her debut in this event after gaining the runner-up spot for the past two years, was sensible enough to keep thinking on her skates. She salvaged what could have been a bad situation. She skated 46^th immediately following Suguri and before Rochette, in a sleeveless yellow creation with a black band to a combination of Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Henry Mancini and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2. Her first move was a planned triple flip to triple toe but she stepped out of the first jump. But then she added a double toe to her double Lutz. She explained, "I’m disappointed with how the combination came out. I knew that I needed a combination in, so I just tacked a double on to the triple Lutz. It wasn’t triple-triple, but I was still getting points and that’s important right now. Aside from that it was a good program."

The triple flip got a bad GoE (-2.20) because of the step out and that there hadn’t been the steps into the move but the base value for a triple flip from steps is 5.50 and she salvaged 3.30. The triple Lutz to double toe earned the base value for this combination of 7.30. Her change foot combination spin (+0.10), straight line steps (+0.40) and Layback spin (0.50) were all Level 3. Her double Axel gained +0.60. Her final two moves, the spirals (+1.0) and flying sit spin (+0.50), were both Level 4. It was an impressive debut.

8. 58.82 (31.54 + 27.28) Elene Gedevanishvili from Georgia, who lives in New Jersey, where she is trained by Elaine Zayak, presented a lively routine to music from the musical Cabaret. She said, "It didn’t matter to me that I had to skate last. First when I got out on the warm up I was a little shaky as the ice felt different. I hadn’t practiced on this ice yet as we were always over at the practice rink. The first triple toe wasn’t so good, so I couldn’t do a triple-triple as planned, but I rotated the double Axel. For me, it is very important to do well here and to prove something for myself after the huge disappointment from Europeans." She had finished 25^th in the Short Program in the recent European championships, not making the Free Skate.

9. 58.40 (32.20 + 27.20 -1.0) Fumie Suguri, who was 2^nd in the recent Japanese championship, performed to Fanfan by Nicolas Jorelle. She received a costume deduction of one point when part of her head piece fell off. She was given an exclamation mark on her triple Lutz to double toe and a negative GoE of -0.40. Her triple flip also got a negative GoE (-1.0). However, her double Axel gained a full point over the base Level. Although her spirals (+0.40) and change foot combination spin (+0.60) were Level 4, her layback spin received only the base value for Level 1. Her other two moves, the flying sit and straight line steps, were both awarded gained Level 3 and +0.50.

She said, "I was a little more nervous than usual today." She confirmed Miki Ando’s story about a misunderstanding on the timing of their warm-up. "I don’t know. They just started. We were behind waiting, and I heard my name called and I thought, ‘Oh, this is just the presenting.’ But they had already started.’"

10. 58.36 (32.00+26.36) Sarah Meier of Switzerland is returning from a chronic back problem which prevented her competing in the recent European championship in which she had earned silver medals the previous two years. Skating to Samba and Brazilliance by Steve Stevens, she began with a +0.60 triple Lutz to double toe. Her only negative was for her triple flip which got two full points taken off. Her double Axel earned +0.60. She earned two Level 4s, for her spirals (+0.20) and for her flying sit spin (+0.10). She said, "I am so relieved that it went quite well. It wasn’t perfect, but I had been injured for quite some time. It was only a few days before we left that I decided to come here, and I did my short program really only once before in practice, so this was quite a success. Today I didn’t feel anything other than a lack of stamina in my program. I didn’t feel any pain today, and that’s a good thing. I have been up and down, but I caught a good day today."

11. 58.18 (32.50+25.68) Alena Leonova from Russia is the 2009 World Junior Champion.

12. 57.12 (31.60+31.60 -1.0) Susanna Pöykiö of Finland, the 2009 European bronze medalist, got a time violation. She explained, "At the end I was trying to do a level four spin and I ran out of time. That was a really annoying mistake because I got the deduction and also didn’t get Level 4."

13. 55.90 (32.70+23.20) Elena Glebova is the Estonian national champion.

14. 53.28 (30.00+25.28 -2.00) Skating 41^st which was fourth in the 8^th of 10 warm-up groups, Alissa Czisny appeared in a glamorous white sleeveless creation with adornment on the left side. The US champion performed to The Swan by Saint-Saens. She was the top placed skater who fell, and she did that twice. She said, "I think I just rushed my jumps. Today was disappointing because it’s not the way I’ve been practicing. I guess I had higher expectations of myself and today it just didn’t happen. The first jump was pretty good." That was the triple Lutz to double toe which earned +0.40 over the base value. Czisny continued, "I was comfortable going into the second jump." But she fell on that triple flip which was downgraded. "I got tight after that," she said. Her straight line steps were Level 3 and +0.40. (No competitor received Level 4 for the steps.) Her flying sit spin was Level 4 and +0.60. However, then she fell again on the double Axel. "I wasn’t expecting to fall." She got up and did her Level 4 +1.60 spirals, Level 4 +0.90 change foot combination spin. One judge thought that move was so good, it deserved his maximum award of +3. Czisny concluded with a Level 3 +1.30 layback spin which so impressed the judging panel, four punched in +3. Another four gave +2 and there was one +1.