Figure skating World Champs starting after month delay

MOSCOW - Figure skating's top athletes take to the ice for the world championships a month later than they'd expected and in a different country.

The championships' hasty relocation to Moscow from Tokyo after Japan's catastrophic earthquake has been a challenge to every skater's training schedule. But for some, it's also brought an additional jolt of motivation.

"I feel like, OK, I can do it and I have to do something for the people who are living ... in Japan," says Miki Ando, a top contender for women's gold. "So many people can't have a normal life any more, and so many people died, or they don't know where they are still, so I feel like I couldn't be like normal. But after so many people were telling me and so many people were sending (messages) to me 'go forward' ... they push me to feel better to skate."

After two days of qualification rounds, the championships open Wednesday at the Megasport Arena with the men's short program.

The championships originally were to have started March 21 in Tokyo, and the ensuing uncertainty and rescheduling left most skaters wobbling with doubt and anxiety about how to train.

"When we knew about Tokyo and Russia I was very tired, and it was very difficult to come back on the ice again to get ready for the world championship," said Brian Joubert of France, a bronze medalist at the last two worlds.

But most appear to have adjusted. "I think we're all in the same boat, on the same playing field," said Canada's Patrick Chan, the reigning silver medalist. "It feels like a world championship, like it always does."

Japanese fans seeking consolation through the beauty and power of skating will have much to watch in this championships. Mao Asada is defending her title and Ando, the 2007 world champion, aims for another gold. Ando recently has appeared to be resurgent, defeating Asada in the Four Continents and in the Japanese national championships.