March 31, 2000 5:11 PM Reuters

NICE, France, March 31 (Reuters) - Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat gave France the world figure skating championship gold medal the country expected on Friday, winning the ice dance title with a stirring free skating routine.

The charismatic French couple's victory made them only the second skaters representing a non-Soviet country since 1985 to claim the crown, ending Russian domination of the event in much the same fashion as their compatriots Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay did with their triumph in Munich in 1991.

~It was a very emotional evening for us,~ said Peizerat. "It was the first time I have had to give that much dedication to a programme.

~To win such a title in front of your own public is unbelievable. This is a dream we could not have had a few years ago.~

The usually all too predictable ice dance competition had received an unexpected dose of drama 24 hours earlier when Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio of Italy were placed ahead of the heavily favoured Anissina and Peizerat after the original dance.

But the Italians had no answer to the French couple's haunting routine skated to 'Carmina Burana' and settled for silver ahead of Lithuania's Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas. It was the first ice dancing world championship medals for both countries.

RUSSIA FAIL

Fourth spot went to Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh, marking the first time in 32 years that Russia had failed to reach the podium in the ice dance event at a world championships.

The French routine, which told the tale of a monk seduced by an apparition, evoked emotions not seen on the ice since British duo Jayne Torville and Christopher Dean stunned the skating world with their Bolero.

But the similarities should come as no surprise, the British Olympic champions having choreographed Anissina and Peizerat's routine.

The first to skate in the final group, the pressure fell squarely on the French pair, whose every gesture, every move was greeted with deafening applause during the entire six-minute warm-up.

~The audience was great but there was a lot of pressure,~ said Moscow-born Anissina. ~It was difficult to concentrate, but we gave everything emotionally.~

The noise refused to let up throughout their routine, the decibel level going off the scale when they embraced at the conclusion as a crowd that included International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch, French sports minister Marie-George Buffet and skating chief Ottavio Chinquanta, gave them a thunderous standing ovation.

A few minutes later when their marks, which included four perfect 6.0s, flashed on the scoreboard, the crowd errupted again, Anissina and Peizerat falling into each other's arms in celebration, knowing the gold was their's even with four couples still to skate.

~We did a wonderful programme,~ said Fusar-Poli. ~We skated after four 6.0s and in France...it wasn't easy.

~But we think it was better to finish second this year because it gives us a dream for next season.~

The ice dance, not generally noted for robust competition, claimed several casualties.

Bulgarian Albena Denkova was taken to hospital with a badly cut leg following a collision during practice.

Denkova, who suffered what was described as a deep cut on her left ankle, underwent surgery to repair severed muscles later in the afternoon and will remain in hospital for two days.

Italian ice dancer Luciano Milo Federicas was also taken away on a stretcher after twisting his ankle in the middle of the free skating.

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