DORTMUND, Germany (AP) – A costly penalty to Michelle Kwan left Sasha Cohen with visions of her first world title.

Kwan’s bid for a sixth title at the World Figure Skating Championships all but ended Friday when she was penalized for a short program that officials contend ran two seconds too long.

The rare call helped Cohen move into the overall lead, and dropped Kwan to fourth with the long program remaining.

“There is going to be a lot of talk about two seconds,” Kwan said. “But it’s over.”

Cohen skated the same jumps as Kwan, but with a fire that no other competitor could match.

“I wanted it so badly today, that’s why I skated aggressively,” Cohen said.

Kwan turned in an admirable but cautious performance. She executed all her elements, including a triple-double jump combination and another triple, but her technical marks were low – 5.1 to 5.8. Her artistic marks were 5.6 to 5.9.

Referee Jan Hoffmann told U.S. figure skating team leaders that Kwan’s program lasted 2 minutes and 42 seconds – two seconds too long.

The violation requires a 0.1 deduction on each mark.

The U.S. team filed a protest asking for a review of the program’s timing.

“All week long, Michelle Kwan’s music has been timed at 2:40. Our question is, how then can the timing be off in the performance? That’s the reason for the protest, to confirm that the timing of the performance was correct,” said Chuck Foster, U.S. Figure Skating president.

Kwan skated to “The Feeling Begins.” Officials say that after the music ended she skated two additional seconds before her final pose. Kwan said she was unable to hear the music at the end of the program over the crowd.

“It was silly. The audience was loud. The music kind of bled,” Kwan said. “So what am I supposed to do?”

Cohen’s tantalizing interpretation to “Malaguena,” which included the spirals that showcase her flexibility, earned her four perfect 6.0 marks for artistry. Her technical marks ranged from 5.6 to 5.9.

Japan’s Shizuka Arakawa and national champion Miki Ando were second and third, respectively.

Both did triple-triple jump combinations.

The 16-year-old Ando, who won the world junior title three weeks ago, is planning a quadruple salchow jump in the final free skate. That would be a first for a woman at the world championships, although she has done them before in junior and Japanese competition.

It would take a complex series of events for Kwan to take the title. One possible scenario would be for Kwan to win the free program, Ando to finish ahead of Arakawa, and Cohen to place fourth.

“I’m trained. I’m ready,” Cohen said. “I feel very ready, very confident. I just have to keep believing and attacking.”

Hungary’s Julia Sebestyen, the European champion, was fifth, and Italy’s Carolina Kostner was sixth. Kostner also did a triple-triple. Russia’s Irina Slutskaya, the 2002 world champion who has had health problems this year, finished seventh with a flawed program.

Russia claimed its third gold medal of the competition when Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov won the ice dance title with an array of perfect 6.0 scores.

Navka and Kostomarov glided with impressive footwork, twirls and lifts to the “Pink Panther” and “Austin Powers” soundtracks, earning marks of 5.7 to 5.9 for required elements, and 5.8 to nine 6.0s for presentation.

Their win is the 26th ice dance world title for Russia, or the former Soviet Union, since 1970.

Bulgaria’s Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski finished second, getting marks from 5.7 to 5.9 for required elements. Their presentation marks ranged from 5.7 to two 6.0s. Germany’s Kati Winkler and Rene Lohse took the bronze with scores ranging from 5.6 to 5.8, and 5.7 to a single 6.0.

Evgeni Plushenko won the men’s title Thursday – the second straight night Russia captured a gold medal. On Wednesday, Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin won the pairs title.

AP-ES-03-26-04 1846EST