San Francisco Frontiers - Women's skating favorites falter as Liu leads at worlds

The 19-year-old American led 24 qualifiers for Friday's women's free dance final by winning the short program with 74.58 points followed by Japan's Mone Chiba on 73.44 and US teen Isabeau Levito on 73.33.

"Doesn't really change anything," Liu said. "My goals are still the same. I want to put out a really good performance for my free skate.

"The ideal one -- that would be a dream."

Three-time defending champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan, trying to become the first woman in 65 years to capture four consecutive world crowns, was a disappointing fifth on 71.03.

American Amber Glenn, a winner in all five of her starts this season, fell and stood ninth of 67.65.

South Korean teen Kim Chae-yeon, last month's Four Continents and Asian Winter Games champion, was 11th on 65.67.

Even Liu struggled to explain how she came out on top in the short program.

"I don't know. It's so strange. I really don't know," Liu said.

"I would say it's definitely my mentality. It's hard to get in whatever state of mind I have but I really like it and everyone keeps telling me it seems to 'work' -- I don't know what that means but I'll just keep skating."

Sakamoto, in the penultimate performance, landed a double flip instead of a triple in combination with a triple toe loop to set her score back, dimming the 24-year-old's chances to be the first to win four in a row since American Carol Heiss captured five in a row from 1956-1960.

Reigning US champion Glenn, 25, skated fourth from the end and fell on her first jump, a triple Axel.

"It just didn't lift like it does in practice," Glenn said. "There wasn't that efficiency that I usually have."

Kim, third at last year's worlds, was the final skater and touched her hands to the ice on an under-rotated landing of a triple toe loop to fall back.

Levito, last year's world runner-up, was nagged by a "terrifying" foot injury that kept her out for four months, but the 19-year-old was solid when it mattered.

"I had 1,000 thoughts from start to finish in that entire program. At times I was thinking about something not even related to skating," Levito said.

"I understand why I was nervous I would forget how to compete. It's a different kind of stress. But I'm glad to be back and I'm so happy."

The pairs short program will be skated Wednesday night with the pairs free skate final on Thursday.

Defending pairs champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada have struggled for consistency this season, which could open the door for Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, the Grand Prix Final winners.

- Memories of tragedy -

The world championships are being contested in the wake of a deadly January plane crash that rocked the figure skating world.

Among the 67 people who died when an American Airlines plane collided with a military helicopter in Washington on January 30 were 28 members of the skating community, many of them young US skaters returning from a training camp in Kansas accompanied by parents or coaches.

A tribute will be paid to the victims Wednesday at TD Garden, home of the NBA champion Boston Celtics, on the opening night of the four-day competition.

Two skaters, two coaches and two parents from the Boston Skating Club were among those who died in the crash.

B.Johnson--SFF