David J. Phillip / AP

South Korea's Kim Yu-na set a scoring record while winning her first World Figure Skating title on Saturday night.

The audience was on its feet for the last 15 seconds of her program, knowing it had seen something truly special for a second straight night. Her only flaws were popping a triple salchow and not getting credit for her final spin because it didn’t meet the criteria. But those were forgotten by the time her magical performance was over.

“This is my third world championships, and the last two I was really regretful I was not able to do well,” said Kim, who won bronze medals in 2007 and 2008. “Even with a little mistake tonight, I was able to do well. Now, I plan to practice for the Olympics.”

Asada was more than 10 points behind her rival heading into the free skate, and needed to pull out every trick she had to have any hope of catching Kim. She sure tried, attempting two triple axels in the most technically demanding program any woman has ever done at worlds. It would put some of the men to shame, too.

Triple axels are so difficult few women even practice it, let alone put them in their programs. Asada’s first was perfect, landed with ease and confidence right in front of the judges as part of a triple axel-double toe combination. She didn’t get all the way around on the second axel, though, and tumbled to the ice, drawing a groan of disappointment from the crowd.

That, and the fact she didn’t have much besides her jumps and spins, cost her not only a title, but a medal.

“I think she is a very good rival for me, and she motivates me,” Asada said.

The Americans failed to medal, too, for a third straight year. That hasn’t happened since 1962-64 — and that drought came after a plane crash wiped out the entire U.S. team on its way to the 1961 world championships.

Worse, Czisny and Flatt’s combined placement of 16 means the Americans will send only two women to Vancouver.

Czisny’s dismal 14th-place finish in the short program Friday all but doomed the United States. She managed to stay upright Saturday, but her program didn’t have any spark or emotion, the only color coming from her eggplant and green dress. It wasn’t until her last two elements, a combination spin and a layback spin, that she showed any kind of life.

“I came here and tried to do my best,” Czisny said. “The outcome is not in my hands and there is nothing I can do about that.”

Except skate better. Her 11th-place finish was the worst by a U.S. champion at worlds since World War II.

Flatt made two major mistakes, not getting all the way around on the second jump in a triple flip-double toe combination and turning it into more like a 1½. She also landed it on two feet. And she didn’t get any credit for her final spins. But fifth place at her first world championships is an impressive debut.