Kim sets new world record; Canada, Japan, Russia also golden in Paris

Yu-Na Kim just keeps rolling.

The 19-year old phenom from South Korea set a new world record Saturday at the Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris, the first Grand Prix event of the season. Her overall score of 210.03 demolished the rest of the ladies, and put her ahead of rival Mao Asada by more than 36 points.

After a 76.08 point short program, Kim probably could have skated around the rink doing cross-overs and single jumps and still won the gold medal. Instead, she landed five clean triple jumps with ease, including a difficult triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination as well as a double Axel-triple toe loop combination. Her only mistake came on a planned triple flip; heading into it, she said something didn't feel right. Rather than risk a fall and disrupt the flow of the program, Kim simply skated right through the element, which makes her world record scores even more impressive.

Asada, the pride of Japan, finished a distant second after an up-and-down free skate. She nailed her opening triple Axel combination after botching it in the short program, but then underrotated other jumps and fell on a double Axel at the end of her program. On top of that, her program is uninspiring. The music and choreography are far too heavy for this exuberant skater, and all of the joy seems gone from her skating. Whether this is her coach Tatiana Tarasova's "influence" or not, something isn't right. One can only hope the Japanese Skating Federation will step in and demand either a coaching change or some music changes before Vancouver.

Another Japanese skater, Yukari Nakano, was third, with Americans Caroline Zhang and Alexe Gilles in fourth and fifth, respectively. Zhang is still recovering from a knee injury this summer, and it was evident in her performances here. The good news for her is that her second event is five weeks away -- plenty of time for her to regroup and train hard. For Gilles, a top-five finish in her senior Grand Prix debut is nothing to sneeze at, and she'll look to build upon this momentum a month from now at Skate America.

In ice dancing, Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir took gold, as expected. Their stirring free dance to music by Gustav Mahler features intricate and inventive lifts, including one where Virtue "jumps" off of her partner's leg into a full turn and then lands on the ice next to him. With reigning World champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin out right now due to injury, teams like Virtue/Moir and the American teams of Meryl Davis/Charlie White and Tanith Belbin/Ben Agosto have got to be dreaming big of the top prize in Vancouver. The world of ice dance is so unpredictable and deep right now, that it may very well be the most exciting discipline of the season.

In the men's event, Japan's Nobunari Oda was flawless in his "Charlie Chaplin" program. Even though he has yet to medal at the World Championships, Oda will be a serious threat to the Olympic podium come February, with or without a quadruple jump. Tomas Verner took silver here, and American Adam Rippon won his first Grand Prix medal by taking the bronze. Perhaps the most shocking story of the men's event was Brian Joubert's disappointing fourth place finish on home ice. Joubert looked lethargic and slow, and his jumps didn't have the ease and fluidity that they normally do. Although it's early in the season, Joubert must improve drastically for his second event if he has any hopes of making the Grand Prix Final and building momentum towards the Olympics.

Finally, in pairs, Russians Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov were the surprise winners over two-time and reigning World champs Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany who placed third. Canadians Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison were second, while American's Rena Inoue and John Baldwin used their trademark throw triple Axel to vault them from fifth to fourth in the standings.

The Grand Prix series continues this coming week in Moscow at the Rostelecom Cup. 2006 Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko makes his return to competition here, while Asada will face off against her main Japanese rival, 2007 World champion Miki Ando. The United States will be represented well by Davis/White in ice dance, Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker in pairs, Alissa Czisny and Ashley Wagner in the ladies event, and three-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir in men's.