Germans win pairs crown

"This gold medal is special because it will go down in the history of the German figure skating," Ukraine-born Savchenko said. "It also feels special because we had skated so well in Moscow and because it's our third title, making it a hat-trick."

The German duo, champions in 2008 and 2009, edged out Russian pair Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov with a personal best of 217.85, while holders Pang Qing and Tong Jian of China finished third after Tong missed the combination jump.

"We had a good chance to win especially because today is our coach's birthday," Tong told reporters.

"Probably I was thinking too much about it and lost concentration on my jump."

The Russians, making their debut in international competition after Ukraine-born Volosozhar was cleared to represent Russia earlier this year and skating last, kept their nerves under control, earning 210.73 - more than enough to beat the Chinese who led after Wednesday's short programme.

"We're so happy because it was our first international competition," said Volosozhar. "We've only been skating together for less than a year so from now on we can only get better."