Ice dancing pair Natalie Buck and Trent Nelson-Bond are lying in 28th place in the Figure Skating World Championships after the opening segment of the competition.

The Australian champions scored 21.85 points for the compulsory dance in their fourth World Championship appearance.

Russian pair Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov lead the title chase on 45.97 points from Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the United States on 42.18.

The Russians are the defending world champions.

The ice dancing original dance will be skated on Thursday, with the free dance on Friday. Only the top 24 couples will skate in the free dance final, and only the top 20 pairs will qualify a place for their nations for the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics.

Wednesday’s program features the ladies qualifying and the pairs free dance.