updated 8:35 p.m. ET March 24, 2009

LOS ANGELES - Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy sure can skate. Their choice of fashion, however, is quite another matter.

The Germans sprinted ahead of the field at the world figure skating championships Tuesday night with a fast-paced, entertaining program that had the audience on its feet. The defending champions finished with 72.30 points, easily outpacing Russia’s Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov (68.94). Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao of China are third with 67.42.

U.S. champions Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker had a rough night in their worlds debut and were ninth. Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett were 10th. Considering McLaughlin and Brubaker are only in their third season together and Denney and Barrett haven’t even been together a year, the showings were more than respectable.

The free skate is Wednesday night.

Savchenko and Szolkowy skated to “Lost in Space,” and that’s about the only way to explain those costumes. She wore hot pink hot pants and leggings that looked like go-go boots while he had on a skintight, sparkly, lilac jumpsuit. Fashionistas, they were not.

But their skating more than made up for their fashion faux pas. Skating last, their high-octane program was the polar opposite of the lyrical, elegant performances of the Russian and Chinese. They raced around the rink at a frenetic pace that made the audience tired just watching them, yet every single one of their elements was done with perfection.

Their triple twist was fantastic, and their throw triple flip was huge yet she landed it effortlessly. Their side-by-side triple toes were so fast they looked more like stones skipping across the water, off to yet another element.

The only drawback to their program — aside from those costumes — was that half of the arena had already left by the time they took the ice at 11 p.m. local time.

Kawaguchi and Smirnov look as if they’re ready to revive Russia’s long tradition of excellence in pairs skating. A Russian or Soviet couple has stood atop the podium at every Olympics dating to 1964, but the program has fallen on hard times lately with just one medal — a bronze — at the last three world championships.

Maybe that’s why Kawaguchi looked surprised when their marks were posted and they were in first place with only the Germans left to skate. But it was a well-deserved finish. Skating to “The Swan,” Kawaguchi and Smirnov displayed the smoothness and elegance that have made Russian pairs so lovely to watch. They had exquisite detail, finishing every element right down to the tips of their fingers, and the landings on their throw triple loop was solid.

Coaches everywhere might want to TiVo Zhang and Zhang’s performance. Everything was done with such security and unison that there were none of those hold-your-breath-and-wince moments, yet it was still thrilling. Their triple twist was so high he could have gone out for a hot dog and still had time to catch her, their throw triple salchow covered half the ice and they could give some speedskaters a run for their money.

Each element flowed right into the next, and they skated with grace and lightness — the perfect complement to their “Riding on the Wings of Songs” music.

“We feel very good,” she said. “We did the best short program of the whole season.”

It wasn’t McLaughlin and Brubaker’s best. She fell on their side-by-side triple salchow, and brushed the ice with her right hand on their throw triple loop. They also had a bumpy landing on their triple twist. With 53.62 points, they are well behind the world’s top couples.

“This season, we looked at it more as a season to grow and try new things and see what works for us and what doesn’t,” Brubaker said. “This year we probably struggled more competitively, but we learned more.”

And to be fair, McLaughlin and Brubaker are way ahead of where most pairs teams would be after only three years. The expectations for them rose last year, when they won the U.S. title and qualified for the Grand Prix final in their first season as seniors.

But it takes years to develop the seamless chemistry and unison that make a champion pair, and McLaughlin and Brubaker are already in the top 10. Not to mention that McLaughlin is just 16.

“We know we have the ability to be competitive,” Brubaker said. “It just takes time. In a year, so much can change.”

Look at Denney and Barrett, who weren’t even together a year ago.

They skated together briefly two years ago, but split when Denney decided she wanted to try training in Colorado. But the separation proved to be too much for her family — she moved with her mom and sister while her father stayed behind in Florida — and they returned in June. She quickly reunited with Barrett, and they not only qualified for the U.S. championships, they finished second to earn a trip to worlds.

And they looked like they belonged. They weren’t as energetic as they were at nationals, and he tripped on the landing of their side-by-side triple toes. But they do a throw triple lutz, a jump so difficult few pairs teams even try it, and land it with ease.

Earlier Tuesday, Russia’s Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin won the compulsory dance to take the early lead in the ice dance competition. Their sharp and aggressive paso doble earned them 40.77 points. Americans Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, in their first competition since Agosto injured his back, are second with 39.65 points. Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the reigning world silver medalists, are third.

The original dance is Thursday, and the free dance Friday.

“This is a great dance to start the competition off because we’re fighting,” Belbin said. “We had to fight these last few months to get through Ben’s injury, we had to fight last season. ... It’s only the beginning. We want even more for the original dance and the free dance.”

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