Kwan's penalty appeal denied; Cohen steals show

DORTMUND, Germany -- The U.S. protest of the timing of Michelle Kwan's short program was denied Saturday, all but ending her chance to set an American record for world titles.

Kwan was outskated by teammate Sasha Cohen on Friday and penalized for a program ruled two seconds too long. She was fourth entering Saturday's final, making it almost impossible for her to win a sixth world championship no matter how well she skates.

Referee Jan Hoffmann told U.S. figure skating team leaders Kwan's program lasted 2 minutes, 42 seconds -- two seconds too long. The violation requires a 0.1 deduction on each mark.

The U.S. team filed a protest Friday, but it was rejected the next day. The International Skating Union said three independent sources confirmed the 2:42 timing.

"We certainly accept their findings being correct," said Chuck Foster, president of U.S. Figure Skating. "We did it in support of our athlete. It's in accordance with the rules that we filed the protest."

Kwan's admirable but cautious program, including a triple-double jump combination, earned relatively low technical marks of 5.1 to 5.8. Her artistic marks were 5.6 to 5.9.

Cohen skated the same jumps as Kwan, but with a fire no other competitor could match. Her tantalizing interpretation to "Malaguena," which included the spirals that showcase her flexibility, earned her four perfect 6.0 marks for artistry. Her technical marks ranged from 5.6 to 5.9.

"I wanted it so badly today, that's why I skated aggressively," Cohen said. "I'm much more confident than a year ago. I have the feeling that I can make it."

Long regarded as the best female skater of her era, Kwan last year tied the U.S. record for world titles held by 1960 Olympic champion Carol Heiss.

Two Japanese, Shizuka Arakawa and national champion Miki Ando, were in second and third place. Both did triple-triple jump combinations.

The 16-year-old Ando, who won the world junior title three weeks ago, is planning a quadruple salchow jump in the final free skate. That would be a first for a woman at the world championships, although she has done them before in junior and Japanese competition.

Russia won its third gold medal of the worlds when Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov captured the ice dance with an array of perfect 6.0 scores. They earned marks of 5.7 to 5.9 for required elements, and 5.8 to nine 6.0s for presentation.

This was the 26th ice dance world title for Russia or the former Soviet Union since 1970.

Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria finished second, and Kati Winkler and Rene Lohse of Germany won the bronze.

Evgeni Plushenko of Russia won the men's title Thursday. On Wednesday, Russians Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin won the pairs.