Having led after the pairs short programme in the Crown Indoor Stadium at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, Duhamel and Radford were aiming to claim their maiden World Championship gold, having earned bronze at the previous two editions, in the Canadian city of London in 2013 and at last year's Championships in Saitama, Japan.

Duhamel and Radford comfortably secured gold after their free skate programme, which included a triple twist, a side by side triple Lutz, a throw triple Lutz and four level-four elements saw them receive 144.55 points, meaning the duo posted a combined total of 221.53 points from the two programmes.

The result also saw them become the first Canadians to claim pairs gold since Jamie Salé and David Pelletier were victorious in the 2001 World Championships in Vancouver.

"Eric and I are very proud about not only our performance, but our entire season that led to this experience and this performance here," Duhamel said, after their victory.

Chinese pairs completed the podium with Weijing Sui and Cong Han leapfrogging their compatriots and two time world champions Qing Pang and Jian Tong to earn silver, with 214.12 points from their two skates.

Pang and Tong, who were competing at their last competition, had occupied second place in standings after the short programme, but were forced to settle for bronze having received 212.77 points.

At the halfway stage of the women's individual event European champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia leads the way after dominating the short programme, scoring over eight points more than her nearest competitor.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia has a comprehensive lead at the halfway stage of the women's individual event ©Getty Images



Tuktamysheva claimed a level four for her footwork and two spins during her performance, which included a triple Axel, triple Lutz and a triple toe-triple combination, resulting in a 77.62 points from the judges.

The Russian's score is the third highest in a ladies short programme, behind South Korea's Yuna Kim who scored 78.50 at the 2010 Winter Olympics and Japan's Mao Asada, who set the highest score for the programme at last year's World Championships in Saitama, with 78.66.

"When I landed the triple Axel, I got goosebumps and I thought - is this a dream or did I really just do the triple Axel at the World Championships," Tuktamysheva said.

"It was a risk to do the triple Axel in the short programme, but figure skating has to evolve."

Tuktamysheva is trailed by her team mate Elena Radionova, after the European silver medallist received a score of 69.51 points from her performances, while Japan's Satoko Miyahara is third with 67.02 points ahead of Saturday's (March 28) free skating programme.

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