Australian figure skater Matthew Precious is lying in 22nd position after the short program of the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Skating against a field of41 competitors in the men’s event, Precious earned 47.04 points from the judges in his second outing at world junior championship level.

The Australian junior men’s champion for the past two years, the Perth 16-year-old  finished in 33rd position at the 2008 World Junior Championships.

“I think I did very well today,” Precious said.

“It was the first time I did the triple lutz in the program and I landed a really good one.”

US skater Adam Rippon leads the competition after the first program on 74.30 points, almost five points clear of Czech skater Michal Brenza on 69.55.