Yamaguchi and Browning Lead Pro Championships

The World Professional Figure Skating Championship before 11,520 at MCI Center. An unforgiving puddle forced Yamaguchi and many of the other skaters to avoid the center of the rink, and a bouquet of flowers tossed prematurely onto the ice made her shorten turns near the end of her performance. She said it reminded her of the 1992 national championships, when her hair ribbon unraveled and fell onto the ice.

Still, Yamaguchi, the event's defending champion, was nearly flawless in her flirty performance to a Louis Armstrong medley, successfully completing a triple Lutz, a triple flip and double Axel to lead the ladies competition, which will conclude tonight.

"There was one spot in the middle [of the ice] that I tried to avoid. It was bumpy," said Yamaguchi, a crowd favorite who leads with 99.0 points-more than 1o points ahead of second-place Ekaterina Gordeeva. "I could have landed a couple of jumps better."

This is the first year the 24-year-old event has been split into two nights. Organizers hoped to make the event, which often lasted more than six hours, a little easier on the crowd and competitors. Last night focused on the technical and athletic performances, and tonight's final will highlight the skaters' artistic abilities.

The men's event was more competitive, with four-time world champion Kurt Browning in the lead with 98.5 points and defending champion Rudy Galindo second with 98.3.

Browning's classical performance was not meant to be used in technical competition, he said. "It's a fun skate," he said. "I've been juggling numbers a little bit, not knowing what to do."

Galindo had been doing a little juggling of his own. His upbeat, fast-moving performance was choreographed four days earlier. "I wanted more elements in that one," said Galindo, who turned professional after winning the U.S. championship before a home crowd in San Jose last year. "I just wanted to do something different."

Having the competition in a new arena helped motivate the skaters, Browning said. "It's got a new vibe to it," he said. He also is happy to put US Airways Arena-and its highly competitive world professional championship history-behind him.

Brian Boitano, who is in third place with 97.8 points, said the extra day of competition will help him regroup for the artistic program. "It's actually good. It gives me some more energy," he said.

Pairs competitor Radka Kovarikova fell during a warmup, landing hard against the boards and scaring her partner and husband, Rene Novotny. She wasn't hurt, just a little shaken up. They led the pairs division with 98.0 points after their Spanish-influenced performance.