Ando takes gold when Kim slips

TOKYO – Miki Ando won gold, and didn’t need her much-anticipated quad.

Japan swept the top two women’s places Saturday at the World Figure Skating Championships, with Ando taking the title and Mao Asada the silver, after South Korea’s Kim Yu-na fell twice in her final skate and had to settle for bronze.

Defending champion Kimmie Meissner of the United States was fourth.

Ando didn’t do the quad she had been practicing, but her seven triples to a Mendelssohn violin concerto earned her a total score of 195.09. That was enough to edge Asada, who had the best marks in the free-skating portion to total 194.45 points.

“I didn’t think I would end up at the top of the podium,” Ando said. “So I was very happy to hear I won the gold medal.”

Kim, last year’s junior world champion, had a commanding lead entering the free skate after a record 71.95 in the short program. Two minutes into her free skate, it appeared she would take home her country’s first title.

But it all fell apart quickly for the 16-year-old, who needed acupuncture during the world championships because of a back problem.

She fell on the first jump of what was to be a three-jump combination, fell again and had another combination ruled scoreless. Her final score was 186.14, relegating her to third place.

“I didn’t really feel any pain in my back. But my legs felt heavy and so I was unable to perform well and I wasn’t as confident in my jumps,” said Kim, who won the Grand Prix final over Asada and Ando in December.

Meissner, who performed to flamenco music, said skating against the Japanese in Tokyo was a challenge.

“It was tough tonight,” Meissner said. “Mao skated before me and obviously did very well, so the crowd was really into it. It was very emotional and intense. I couldn’t tune out the screams.

“It was not my best, I can do better. So I will regroup and come back next year.”

Emily Hughes, the sister of 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, came in ninth. Another American, Alissa Czisny, was 15th.

Ando’s win is another big skating crown for Japan. Shizuka Arakawa won the title at the Turin Olympics.

Los Angeles retains Worlds

The 2009 World Figure Skating Championships are staying in Los Angeles.

Four days after saying the United States could lose the world championships because of a conflict over television broadcasting, the International Skating Union said it will not move them.