Russian champion skater Yevgenia Medvedeva set a world record in the short program at the Grand Prix figure-skating championship in Marseilles, France.
Medvedeva, 17, the reigning world champion, earned a score of 79.21 points on December 9, beating the former record of 78.66 points set by Japan's Mao Asada at the world championship in 2014.
"I'm happy with the world record, but the world record isn't my goal," said Medvedeva, who is aiming to clinch the championship again.
Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond holds second place after the short program with 75.54 points, followed by Japan's Satoko Miyahara, with 74.64 points.
The competitors will perform their free-skating programs on December 10.
Earlier, Russian skaters Yevgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov won the pairs event for the first time, with a total score of 213.85.
