Figure Skating - Stolbova, Klimov lead pairs at GP Final

 Russia's Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov cast a spell over the audience with a flawless acrobatic display to take top spot after the short programme in the ISU Grand Prix Final on Thursday. The Olympic silver medallists hit all their required elements to Annie Lennox's 'I Put a Spell on You' on the first day of competition in Barcelona's International Convention Centre. They scored 74.84 to open up a 1.20 lead on fellow Russians Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov (73.64) going into Friday's free skating final. World champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada are sitting third (72.74), after Duhamel tumbled on their final throw triple lutz jump. The Canadians won the Grand Prix Final title for the first time in Barcelona last year and are among the favourites after winning both their Grand Prix assignments this season at Skate Canada and the NHK Trophy in Japan.
Source: AFP