ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018: Day 1 Result

Italy's Carolina Kostner leads the way in the ladies event at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Milan after Wednesday's short programme.

The 31-year-old finished with a score of 80.27 to top the standings ahead of Olympic gold medallist Alina Zagitova and Japan's Satoko Mihyahara. Here's a look at the top three scores:

In the pairs event, Olympic champions Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot won the short programme with a score of 82.98. The top three are shown below:

The full results from Wednesday's short programmes are available from the competition's official website. 

Wednesday Recap

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

Zagitova went into the tournament as the heavy favourite after claiming glory at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in South Korea ahead of Evgenia Medvedeva who is missing the tournament due to injury.

However, the 15-year-old had to settle for second place after a flawless routine from Kostner. ISU Figure Skating showed exactly how she did it:

Zagitova said after her skate that she had been nervous and made mistakes, according to figure skating analyst Jackje Wong:

Also in contention are Canadian pair Kaetlyn Osmond and Gabrielle Daleman who finished fourth and sixth, respectively. Osmond managed a score of 72.73 and was pleased with her performance, per ISU Figure Skating:

Bradie Tennell was the top scoring American athlete as she finished in seventh place on 68.76 while Mirai Nagasu lies ninth after scoring 65.21.

In the pairs event, Savchenko and Massot continued the form they showed at the 2018 Winter Olympics with another brilliant performance. Sports journalist Beverley Smith highlighted just how good their display was:

The German pair look in good shape to add a world title to their Olympic success, and they will return on Thursday for the free skate.