KITCHENER, Ontario -- Michelle Kwan bounced up from a fall after the first 10 seconds and moved up to second to split her two Russian rivals Friday at the Grand Prix final.

She still trailed Irina Slutskaya after the second program of the day and has a slight mathematical chance to overtake her in Saturday's second free program using this year's routines.

	Irina Slutskaya didn't have her best performance Friday, but it was enough for the lead.

Slutskaya, who has made a habit of beating Kwan in the GP finals but losing to her at the world championships, led after the short program and maintained it by getting a questionable decision in the first of the free programs.

Evgeny Plushenko, with a sore ankle, completed two quads and seven triples in his free program to build up his margin in the men's event.

The Grand Prix final brings together the top scorers from the six major events during the season. All of the gold medal prospects are here, so it is looked upon as a tuneup for the Olympics, even with its altered format.

Earlier Friday, the skaters had a short program worth 20 percent of the score. This free program was worth 30 percent. On Saturday, another free routine will determine the final half of the score.

Kwan, a four-time world champion and five-time American champion, fell on a triple loop seconds into her routine of "Song of the Black Swan". She got up to complete five triples -- the most of the night by any of the women -- but still lost to Slutskaya, who did just four clean triples but didn't fall.

"It's tough coming back from a fall," Kwan said "I didn't hold anything back. I readjusted myself."

She readjusted enough to complete a triple lutz-double toe loop combination with 30 seconds left in the routine.

"I didn't do one early in the routine, and I know I didn't have enough combinations," Kwan said.

Slutskaya was good but not as superb as she was in the short program about six hours earlier.

"After a couple of jumps I felt tired," said Slutskaya, who cut down a few triples to doubles and eliminated another combination in her routine to "Don Quixote." Still, she beat Kwan on the cards of all seven judges.

"It wasn't great but it wasn't too bad."

Maria Butyrskaya, ahead of Kwan entering the evening program is now third. For Kwan to win overall, she has to take the free skating and hope that Butyrskaya or fourth-placed Sarah Hughes can beat Slutskaya in the free skate on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Kwan brought back her short program to music from Rachmaninoff from the last Olympic season when she won a silver medal at Nagano.

However she had trouble with the size of the rink, which is more than 10 feet shorter both in length and width than an Olympic-size rink.

"The rink is a lot smaller than what I have been training in the last couple days. I could hear the audience as I got close to the barrier in the combination," Kwan said. "I pulled back a little."

She hesitated slightly after landing the triple lutz as the audience gasped as she approached the boards. Then she had little room to maneuver and struggled to keep her balance on the double toe loop that followed.

Hughes, the other American entry who beat both Kwan and Slutskaya at Skate Canada, was fourth after doing four triples. Although she had rough landings on two triples, it was still good enough to come in third in this program, ahead of Butyrskaya.

The men's competition had Plushenko edging Alexei Yagudin 4-3 in judges as the Russians are far ahead after leading in the short program.

Plushenko was questionable starter with an ankle injury in Thursday's practice and said he took an injection for the pain in the morning.

"When I got up it hurt so much I couldn't skate," Plushenko said. "I needed a shot."

Both used last year's routines. On Saturday, they intend to show their Olympic routines and whoever wins that free skate will take the title.

Plushenko did his trademark quadruple-triple-double combination and added another quad.

Yagudin tried to match him but slipped on the last part of the jump combination and touched down on the second quad.

American champion Tim Goebel was third hitting two quads ahead of Todd Eldredge, the only skater of the six not to attempt a quadruple jump.

The pairs event had Jamie Sale and David Pelletier of Canada edging Russians Yelena Berzhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze by a one-vote margin.

Italians Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio, the current world champ, were in third in the ice dance after she stumbled in the stepwork. Leading were Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerfet of France.

Goebel is anxious to show better skating.

"If I do my job tomorrow, I will get high marks both artistically and technically," Goebel said.

Eldredge wasn't discouraged despite starting first of the six skaters in both the short program and the free skate.

"I go out and do my job," Eldredge said. "I try to get the crowd on their feet."

He almost did as he did eight good triples to the program that he did to win a bronze medal at last year's world championships, his sixth medal in 10 years.

In the pairs skating, Russians Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze reversed the short program placings with Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier to hold a slight lead heading into the second free program.

Both couples had slight mistakes but the Russians' routine to music by Charlie Chaplin was just enough to have a 4-3 lead on the judge's cards.

Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizeret of France led the ice dance with the current world champions, Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio fourth.