World Figure Skating Championships - Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier top pairs short program standings

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier topped the standings after the pairs short program, as Great Britain’s Zoe Jones and Christopher Boyadji finished in 10th at the World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier. With the top five from last year’s Olympic Games not competing, the focus was on the pair who took sixth place in Tokyo, Knierim and Frazier. Ad/> The Americans did not disappoint, as they produced a personal-best performance of 76.88.

/> World Championships'She can't believe it!' — Sakamoto's brilliant reaction to topping World Championship standings5 HOURS AGO The gold medal is far from secure, as their fellow American skaters Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc produced an excellent routine to take second with a score of 75.85. Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who were seventh at the Olympics, scored 71.58 for third despite losing a couple of marks for a costly hand touch from a lift and throw. Nolan Seegert and Minerva Fabienne Hase arrived in Montpellier looking to extinguish the memories of last year’s Olympics.

/> Seegert tested positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the Games and although he was cleared to skate, the virus sapped his strength and he was unable to execute the big moves and they had to settle for 16th place. Their performance on Wednesday earned them 66.29, which leaves them firmly in the hunt for a medal. World Championships will be ‘much more interesting’ with competition so open – Savchenko ‘I find it strange’ – Savchenko on Valieva silence Jones and Boyadji produced a superb routine to claim a season-best score of 49.67.