Russians Evgeni Plushenko and Irina Slutskaya have the lead after the men's and ladies' short programs at the International Skating Union's Grand Prix Finals in Beijing, China.
Former world champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China lead the pairs' standings. Russians Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov lead after the original dance portion of the ice dancing competition.
Plushenko completed a quad-triple toe loop combination on his first element and finished with a total of 84.35 points. Canada's Jeffrey Buttle is in second place (76.45) with his countryman Emanuel Sandhu third (75.60).
In the ladies' competition, Slutskaya wore trousers instead of the traditional dress and finished with 65.46 points. World champion Shizuka Arakawa of Japan is in second place (64.10) and Canada's Joannie Rochette is third (55.68).
In pairs, China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo included a high-flying double twist in their program and finished with 70.52 points. Russians Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov are second (67.42). Another Russian couple, Julia Obertas and Sergei Slavnov, are in third place (60.64).
Navka and Kostomarov earned 65.3 points in the original dance program. Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto are in second place (62.37). Israel's Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovski are third (60.33). The free skating programs are on Saturday.
Some information provided by AP.