World Cup champions Olga Brousnikina and Maria Kisseleva of Russia were untouchable scoring four perfect 10's in their free program to win with 99.104 points. They received one 10 for technical merit and three more for artistic impression.

  "We expected to win," said Brousnikina, also a world champion in 1998 with Olga Sedakova. "But we never expected four 10's."

  Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda of Japan, world championship and World Cup silver medallists, were a distant second at 97.907 while Virginie Dedieu and Myriam Lignot of France were third at 97.233.

  The Canadians received an enthusiastic response from the 1,500 spectators at the Sydney Aquatic Centre for their final routine which combined speed, originality, high difficulty and humour. However the judges placed them fourth at 96.593. Still it was a big improvement on the sixth place finish at the World Cup last September.

  "We've really closed the margin on the top-three with this performance," said Carver-Dias, 22, who joined forces with Letourneau two years ago.

  "Now it looks hopeful for a podium in Sydney. The routine is crowd pleasing and really zany. You get a lot a laughter. I even saw a judge crack a smile. It's really different and creative."

  The routine was designed by Deborah Brown, the head choreographer of the Cirque du Soleil. Letourneau, 20, competed despite a broken toe suffered in training last week.

  The top-20 pairings qualified for the Games while four more spots will be up for grabs for those that didn't make it on Thursday.

  Competition continues Wednesday with the free routine in the team event. The Canadians stands third after Monday's technical routine behind the Russians in first and Japan second. They'll execute their Olympic Journey routine in the final. The top-four qualify for the Olympics while another four spots will be up for grabs on Thursday.

  Canadian team members are Carver-Dias, Letourneau, Erin Chan and Reidun Tatham, both of Calgary, Lyne Beaumont of Pont-Rouge, Que., Catherine Garceau of Montreal, Kirsten Normand of Edmonton and Jacinthe Taillon of St-Eustache.

Results

  Duet (top-20 qualify for the Olympics)

  1. Olga Brousnikina and Maria Kisselva, Russia, 99.104 points

  2. Japan, Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda, 97.907

  3. France, Virginie Dedieu and Myriam Lignot, France, 97.233

  4. Claire Carver-Dias, Mississauga, Ont., and Fanny Letourneau, Deux-Montagne, Que., 96.593

  5. Tammy Cleland-McGregor and Heather Pease-Olson, U.S., 95.891

  6. Li Min and Li Yuanyuan, China, 94.473

  7. Maurizia Cecconi and Alessia Lucchini, Italy, 94.184

  8. Gemma Mengual and Paola Tirados, Spain, 93.073

  9. Jang Yoon-Kyeong and Yoo Na-Mi, South Korea, 91.683

  10. Erika Leal and Lilian Leal, Mexico, 91.343.