MOSCOW, April 12 (R-Sport) - Figure skating world champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov took the lead in the pairs' event at the World Team Trophy in Japan on Friday.
The Russians scored 74.41 points in the short program and will enter Saturday's free skate with a five-point lead over Canadian pair Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford.
French duo Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres are a distant third, having accrued 58.73 points.
Volosozhar and Trankov's accomplishment earns their country 12 points in the overall standings, pulling Russia to within two points of the United States, which leads with 55.
The winners of each category earn 12 points for their country, the silver medalists 11 and the third-placed skaters 10 to determine the overall champion by the end of competition. Japan and the US had been tied for the overnight lead on 47 points.
The star-studded event runs through Sunday at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo.
