Australian figure skating pair Hektor Giotopoulos Moore and Anastasia Golubeva have recorded an incredible eighth place at their first ever senior World Championship event in Saitama, Japan.

After finishing in the silver medal position at the past two Junior World Championships, the pair showed they are ready to compete against the very best in the world, to record Australia's best World Championship result since Anthony Liu finished seventh in 2002.

The pair started off in the short program scoring 61.85 points to be ranked in 11th place, with just one mistake holding them back from a higher score.

In the free skating final event, the pair had an unbelievable performance to score a personal best 127.52 points, the fifth highest of the round, moving them up into eighth place with a total score of 189.47, also a career best.

In first place was Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi of Japan with 222.16, with Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the USA in scoring 217.48 in second, and Italy's Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii in third with 208.08.

Also representing Australia at the World Championships was Holly Harris and Jason Chan in the ice dance.

The couple reached the top-20 free dance final skate with a 16th place performance in the short program scoring 64.80.

In the free dance, the couple improved to have the 15th best performance of the round, scoring a career best 104.67 points, giving them a final ranking of 16th overall with a total score of 169.47.

Australian Ice Dance couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan have finished eighth at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Colorado Springs, USA, matching their previous best result at the event.

Competing in the opening rhythm dance, the couple scored 60.71 points and ranked ninth, with a fall impacting their score.

The couple had a much improved final free dance performance, recording a career best score of 101.98 points, the seventh best of all competitors.

With a total combined score from both combined programs of 162.69 points, the final ranking for the couple was eighth place, finishing behind event winners Madison Chock and Evan Bates of America with a score 220.81.

Also in action for Australia at the Four Continents was India Nette and Eron Westwood who finished in 11th in the ice dance, Vlada Vasilev who placed 18th in the women's singles, and Darian Kapitch who also placed 18th in the men's singles.

The ISU 2023 World Figure Skating Championships will be held in Saitama, Japan, from March 20–26.

Australian figure skaters Holly Harris and Jason Chan have claimed victory at the Santa Claus Cup in Budapest, Hungary.

In a field of 14, the ice dance couple had the highest routines in both the rhythm dance and free dance programs to score 178.16 points in total

Competing in her sixth World Championships, two time Olympian Kailani Craine has finished in 22nd place in Montpellier, France.

Craine advanced to the free skate in 22nd place, after scoring 56.64 points in the short program.

In the free skate, she received a score of 105.11 from the judges, giving her a total score of 161.75, and remained in 22nd for her final ranking.

Also representing Australian in Montpellier, were the ice dance couple of Holly Harris and Jason Chan.

Harris and Chan recorded a World Championship personal best finish of 18th place, after scoring 64.91 in the rhythm dance and 95.01 in the free dance,giving them a total score of 159.92 points.

2018 NSWIS Olympian Kailani Craine has just fallen short of qualifying for the free program at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, finishing in 26th place.

The 22-year-old from Newcastle scored 56.86 points in the opening short program at the World Championships, missing out on the 24-woman-final by just two spots in 26th place.

The women's podium was was an historic clean sweep for Russia, with 16-year-old Anna Shcherbakova taking victory with Yelizaveta Tuktamysheva in second place and Aleksandra Trusova in third.

In the Ice Dance event, Australia was represented by Holly Harris and Jason Chan who also just fell short of advancing to finals.

The Ice Dance couple finished the rhythm dance program in 24th place, missing out by four places for the free dance in their World Championship debut.

Victory in the ice dance also went to Russia, with the team of Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov in first, with Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue of the USA in second and Canadian pair Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier rounding out the podium in third.

Unfortunately two time Olympian Brendan Kerry was unable to compete in the men's due to an injury sustained earlier in the season.

IMAGE: Kailani Craine at the World Championships in Stockholm

The Australian Figure Skating community is very excited for our team at the upcoming ISU World Figure Skating Championships being held in Montreal, Canada, later this month.

Our team almost covered every discipline, however the very recent and unexpected split of our Junior World & Junior Grand Prix Pair Champions has left a hole in the team.

This year’s Championship will feature for the first time ever the ISU World Skating Awards with our ice princess, Olympian Kailani Craine nominated in the best costume category. Kailani will compete in the ladies division alongside two time Olympian Brendan Kerry in the mens.

In the ice dance division we have a brilliant new couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan competing in their first World Championship.  

Be sure to tune in for what promises to deliver fantastic performances from our team.

Next year, for the first time ever, Ice Skating Australia will host the prestigious ISU Four Continents Championships in Sydney at Olympic Park Feb. 9-14, 2021.

These Championships will feature the top ranked skaters from US, Canada, Japan, China and Australia in the important pre Winter Olympic year.

Article courtesy of Peter Lynch/Ice Skating Australia

IMAGE: Australian National Champions and our representative at the World Championships, Kailani Craine, Brendan Kerry, Holly Harris and Jason Chan  © Michael Santer Photography