Regardless, Slutskaya's mastery of Michelle Kwan carried through the short program in the World Figure Skating Championships on Friday.

	Michelle Kwan has had a difficult time defeating her main rival, Irina Slutskaya, this season.

"Our styles are completely different. Michelle has a more lyrical style and my programs this year are more upbeat," Slutskaya said. "So it's very hard to compare each other."

The Russian, who beat Kwan in three of their last four major events, including the last two Grand Prix finals, was first with seven judges. She built the edge with her speed across the rink; an amazing 16-revolution layback spin that requires only eight turns; and, perhaps, a slight bobble by the American.

Slutskaya also flowed better than the three-time world champion and five-time U.S. winner.

"Today was like a warmup for tomorrow," said Slutskaya, who never has won this crown. "Today was important, too, but whoever wins the free program wins the championship, and I waited so long for this championships to come."

Kwan, who rallied to win worlds last year, beating Slutskaya in the process, looked like a beam of sunshine in her flashy orange costume. Kwan's spirals carried her from one end of the rink to the other, a huge smile creasing her face as she floated along the ice.

But coach Frank Carroll believed the judges felt Kwan two-footed the landing on her triple lutz, which would have been enough to cause the difference in marks.

"I don't know what I did," Kwan said. "Frank says I put my foot down ... I don't know, I know that I was a little off when I landed."

She also didn't have quite the pizzaz she showed at nationals, although the American and Dutch judges had her first. The Romanian, Croatian and Japanese judges placed her third.

"It's not what I would dream of doing," Kwan said. "But, hey, it's not always perfect. Close enough for today."

Kwan saw no reason to question the judging.

"They are very critical and they should be," she said. "I've been to worlds eight times, so they know my skating well. They know my best performances."

Angela Nikodinov gave one of her best performances. The third-ranked American skater displayed the vast improvement she's made this season by finishing just behind Kwan.

"This year, with all the changes I made, I don't quite know where I fit in with everyone," she said. "I feel like a totally different person. My personality, my attitude going into competition, I can't compare my skating this year to my skating last year. I feel like I have a fresh start."

Nikodinov, 12th and ninth in her previous two worlds, is in line for a medal if she does well in Saturday's free skate, worth 50 percent of the total score.

"People have always told me, `You can do it.' First, I have to believe I can do it before I can go out and do it," she said.

Sarah Hughes, the 15-year-old runner-up in the U.S. championships, was fourth in the short, one spot lower than most projections. Hughes also performed a stunning set of spirals and nailed every other element.

"Sometimes it's harder when everybody is looking at you like a shoo-in," said Hughes, who placed seventh and fifth in the last two worlds. "Maybe Michelle or Irina, there is so much pressure on them to get the world championship. I don't like to feel like I have to be cautious. I like when I go out there to feel like nothing is given to me. It's like, `I am going to show you.' "

Once again, Maria Butyrskaya, the 1999 world champion, didn't show much. She was fifth in the short and sixth overall.

The free dance was won by Barbara-Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio of Italy - the first world gold medal ever for Italy. The couple won all nine of its competitions this season.

Following the Italians were France's Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat, the defending champions. The bronze went to Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh of Russia.