Volosozhar, Trankov capture pairs world title

Russia's Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov claimed their first-ever gold medal at the World Figure Skating Championships following Friday's completion of the pairs competition.

The duo, who finished as the runner-up to Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy in each of the last two years, easily outdistanced their German rivals after winning both Wednesday's short program and Friday's free skate for a total of 225.71 points.

Savchenko and Szolkowy, who were seeking their fifth overall world title, vaulted ahead of Canadian hopefuls Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford to claim silver following the free skate. The German pair finished with 205.56 points, one better of Duhamel and Radford for second place.