For the US, youth won't be well served

Dancers Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, among the few true US medal hopes, are second after the compulsories. (Paul Chiasson/Associated Press)

LOS ANGELES - Maybe the US Figure Skating people should have issued "Hello, my name is . . . " badges along with the team jackets this year. Only five of the 15 skaters at the World Championships, which began yesterday at Staples Center, competed last year in Sweden, and none won medals.

"We're going to competitions with people we don't even know," said dancer Tanith Belbin.

Eight of them - Rachael Flatt, Brandon Mroz, dancers Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates, and pairs Keauna McLaughlin-Rockne Brubaker and Caydee Denney-Jeremy Barrett - are global rookies.

"It's a new and educational experience," said McLaughlin. "I'm excited I'm old enough to go."

It's an unusually young team for a pre-Olympic year: Mroz and Samuelson are 18, McLaughlin and Flatt 16, and Denney 15. And they will be under exceptional pressure not only to win medals on home ice but also to earn entry spots for the US for the Winter Games in Vancouver. While the men and dancers both figure to retain the three they have, the women and pairs likely won't be able to improve on their two.

To do that, they'll have to finish at least sixth and seventh here. That's rarely been a problem for the American women, who usually have a gold medal contender, but injuries and puberty have made a hash of what once was the deepest roster on the planet.

"We're still kind of the babies of the bunch," said McLaughlin.

A look at this week's events:

WOMEN: The days of two US medals in this event are a distant memory. More likely, the Americans will miss the podium for the third straight time, which hasn't happened in 45 years. Alissa Czisny, who won the US crown despite placing third in the free skate, was 15th in her previous world appearance. And while Flatt, last year's world junior titlist, shows promise, she's still a rookie. It'll be Kim Yu Na, bidding for South Korea's first gold in any skating discipline, up against the last two champions, Japan's Mao Asada and Miki Ando.

MEN: There has rarely been a better chance for the US males, who haven't won since Todd Eldredge in 1996. With Canada's Jeff Buttle and Switzerland's Stephane Lambiel, who won three of the last four titles, both in retirement, the door is open for a Yank - if one can withstand the wobblies. "Having the field wide open is an advantage," said Jeremy Abbott, who was the surprise Grand Prix winner in December and dethroned Evan Lysacek at nationals. "There's probably a group of eight or 10 men who could win this." Brian Joubert, the French former champ and four-time medalist, is the best of a bunch that includes Canada's precocious teenager Patrick Chan and Japan's Takahiko Kozuka. With Johnny Weir, last year's bronze medalist, not making the team, Lysacek, a two-time medalist, has the best résumé among the Americans. But Abbott has had a better season.

PAIRS: Just when it seemed that the Chinese were taking over the event, Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy broke up the Sino-Russo hammerlock last year, winning Germany's first title since 1997. To keep it, they'll have to outskate former victors Pang Qing and Tong Jian and the Zhangs (Dan and Hao), the Olympic runners-up who have been second twice since. No chance here for the two American entries, both making their debuts. "We're considered the new kids on the block," said Brubaker.

DANCE: With French defending champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder missing (he's rehabbing from shoulder surgery), the gold is up for grabs. But few expected that Russia's Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, who have never won a medal in five tries and didn't compete last year because of his knee problems, would be leading after yesterday's compulsories. "When we're here to win, it's disappointing to see we're not winning," said Canada's Scott Moir, who's in third with Tessa Virtue after winning the silver last year. Sitting happily in second were Belbin and Agosto, the Olympic silver medalists who were off the podium last year and withdrew from the Grand Prix final and US championships because of his back problems. "Good way to start off the competition," proclaimed Agosto, who was off the ice for three weeks. "Now it's an all-out dogfight." With Meryl Davis and Charlie White in fourth place ahead of Russia's Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski, the European champions, it's an auspicious beginning for the Americans, who haven't won two dance medals since 1966.

John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com.