(March 26, 2004)

Another event, another afternoon of outstanding skating.

The trend of high caliber performances at the 2004 ISU World Figure Skating Championships continued with the ladies’ short program on Friday afternoon.

And the Canadian ladies didn’t disappoint.

Eighteen-year-old Joannie Rochette, in only her second trip to the World Championships, skated a clean program that included a solid triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, a triple flip and a double Axel.

Rochette, a native of Ile-Dupas, Que., is currently standing in ninth-place overall after the short program, and her goal in Dortmund is to improve upon her 17th-place finish at last year’s World Championships.

“I sure feel I belong here, but I've got a lot to learn from the top girls to move up to the higher group,” said Rochette.

Jennifer Robinson, 27, also skated a clean performance. Like Rochette, Robinson completed a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, a triple flip and a double Axel in her program.

The Windsor, Ont. native stands 13th overall heading into tomorrow’s free skate.

“I'm really happy with that performance,” said Robinson. “That took a lot of mental tenacity and I'm really happy with the way I handled that program.”

After an incredible afternoon of skating, American Sasha Cohen currently finds herself in first-place. Cohen’s program was flawless, and she hit all of the required elements. The judges rewarded Cohen with marks from 5.6 to 5.9 for technical merit and from 5.7 to 6.0 for presentation.

“I feel very ready, very confident,” said Cohen. “That was a great performance for me.”

Two Japanese skaters, Shizuka Arakawa and Miki Ando, currently stand second and third, respectively. Five-time World Champion Michelle Kwan of the United States is in fourth-place.

Robinson has drawn to skate first in the second group for the free skate, while Rochette will skate last in the second last group.