Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White hold a lead of 3.25 points on reigning world champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir after the completion of the Ice Dancing short program during Thursday's World Figure Skating Championships.

Davis and White, the 2011 world champs who placed second to Virtue and Moir last year, received 77.12 points to take the lead entering Friday's free skate. The Canadian pair stands second with 73.87 points, with Russians Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev third with 70.05.

France's Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat, the bronze medalists at last year's event, are currently fourth at 69.65.

Virtue and Moir also edged Davis and White to claim the 2010 world title, but placed second to the American tandem the following year before reversing the order last March.