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Obertas and Palamarchuk defend pairs title
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- Yulia Obertas and Dmitry Palamarchuk of Ukraine defended their title Wednesday in the pairs competition at the world junior figure skating championships.Obertas, 14, and Palamarchuk, 18, won both the short program and free skate.
Lenny Faustino of Woodbridge, Ont., and Jacinthe Lariviers of Princeville, Que., were third after the short program, but made several errors in the free skate and ended up seventh overall. Eve Butchart of Hanover, Ont., and Clinton Petersen of Barrie, Ont., finished 15th.
Americans Laura Handy and Paul Binnebose were second, ahead of Russia's Victoria Maxiuta and Vladislav Zhonirsky.
There was a delay during the first heat, when Artem Knyazev of Uzbekistan clipped a panel off from the side wall and spiked his partner, Irina Shabanov, as he was falling. Irina was carried off the ice and needed several stitches. The couple were forced to retire.
In the ladies qualifying, Daria Timoshenko finished atop Group A, followed by fellow Russian Viktoria Volchkova and Julia Sebestyen of Hungary.
American Sarah Hughes, 13, finished atop Group B, followed by Poland's Sabina Wojtala and Russian Irina Nikolaeva.
Canadian junior champion Marie Laurier of Ile Bizard, Que., was eighth in Group B.
Qualifying results are carried forward as 20 per cent of the total mark.
The men's title and ice dancing champions will be decided after today's free skating program.