MILAN, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates powered the United States to an early lead in figure skating's team event at the Milano Cortina Olympics, winning the rhythm dance with the best score in the world this season.
Their teammates Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea held that advantage for the U.S. with their fifth-place finish in the pairs, despite Kam's fall on their triple throw loop.
After two of the four short programmes in the event, the U.S. lead with 16 points, followed by Italy, Georgia and Canada on 14 points apiece, while France and Japan are on 13.
Skating with the precision and polish that made them three-times world champions, Chock and Bates scored 91.06 points with their programme to a montage of music by The Guess Who and Lenny Kravitz to ignite the raucous U.S. fans inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
"We definitely skated great," Bates said. "I think we both felt the excitement of just getting these Olympics underway. You never know what to expect with the score.
"There was even a little delay, (because) they said it in Italian, we were looking for the score, and once we saw it, we were thrilled. To break 90 is always a great feat, and to do it to open the Games is even better."
New French duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron were second with 89.98 for their skate to Madonna's "Vogue." The Olympics are only their fifth major international competition after they teamed up last March.
"Our goal was to really keep building," said Cizeron, who claimed the ice dance gold with former partner Gabriella Papadakis at the 2022 Beijing Games.
"We've been improving at each competition and adding to our score, obviously, but getting more precise with our technical elements and having more fun, enjoying the performance and giving 100% so I think we're still kind of climbing that ramp a little bit."
Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson were third but Team GB slipped down the standings to seventh overall following the pairs competition.
Introduced in 2014 in Sochi, the three-day team event features one entry per country in men's, women's and pairs skating as well as ice dancing in both short and long programmes.
Unlike other skating events, the athletes sit in their respective national boxes rinkside to cheer on their teammates.
Skaters are awarded points according to their place in the standings, from 10 points for first-place to one point for finishing last. Only the top five countries after the short programmes have been completed in each discipline advance to the free skates.
Two-times world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the pairs short programme to lift Japan up the standings, while European champions Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia were second with their performance to Bolero. Home favourites Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii were third.
The women's short programme will cap Friday's competition, while the men's short programme will feature on Saturday.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Pritha Sarkar)
