WASHINGTON -- Evgeni Plushenko's left knee hurt. Tim Goebel was nauseous.

So that's the secret to superb skating?

Plushenko won the short program at the World Figure Skating Championships and Goebel was second Tuesday night. That set up a showdown between the Russian and American in Thursday night's free skate -- if both of them can stay healthy enough to make it to the rink.

Or maybe they are better off not feeling right, considering what they did in the short program, worth 30 percent of the total score.

Plushenko, the Olympic silver medalist and only former champion in the field, finished first with eight of the nine judges. Goebel, who won bronze at Salt Lake City, got the other first-place vote.

"Pain. It hurts,'' Plushenko said. "But I can skate. Last year, after the Olympic Games I have a problem with my right knee. I couldn't walk ... on the stairs. So this year I have a problem with my left knee, but I can skate and I can walk.

"So,'' he added with a laugh, "that's good.''

Like Plushenko, Goebel looked just fine on the ice. And then ...

"I've been having stomach problems all day long,'' he said. "But I think it might have helped -- I'm quite a bit lighter than I was at practice this morning.''

Two years ago, Plushenko won worlds. Otherwise, he generally has finished behind 2002 Olympic champion Alexei Yagudin in major competitions. But Yagudin is recovering from a hip injury, so that made Plushenko the heavy choice for this event, even though he fears he will require an injection before the free skate.

"That's not final,'' he said of his being favored. "We should skate the long program. There's great guys here and they are really fighters.''

Plushenko had some superb combination spins that made him look like a pretzel, and a massive quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination.

He needed all the strength in his legs to save a triple axel landing, but then he breezed through the rest of his routine to "Adagio.'' Plushenko earned nothing but 5.7s through 5.9s.

"I can skate better, of course,'' he said. "I can do a triple axel cleaner.''

Goebel skated one of the best short programs of his career. The Olympic bronze medalist and 2002 world silver winner then headed for the bathroom.

Goebel has had a rough year, plagued by a hip injury that forced him out of the Grand Prix series. He won the short program at nationals, then fell apart in the free skate to drop behind winner Michael Weiss.

He was sensational, however, on Tuesday, even with his illness. Not only did he do a smooth quadruple salchow-triple toe loop combo -- no one else did a quad salchow -- but one of the cleanest triple axels Goebel's ever managed.

"I didn't feel that bad when I was skating, but when I finished, I felt really, really sick,'' Goebel said.

Weiss, who won his third national title in January despite two so-so programs, was the biggest disappointment -- fifth in the short and fourth overall. Skating before a rocking hometown crowd, he was pumped as he hit a triple axel and appeared to land a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combo. Replays indicated he two-footed the landing, but Weiss insisted he hit it.

There was no question, though, on his triple lutz, a jump he usually cruises through. This time, he went splat -- and all the air in the building went with him.

"Such a silly mistake,'' said Weiss, who tapped his head in disgust before leaving the ice. "Just shock is the only thing I can say. I can do a quad lutz.''

A two-time world bronze medalist behind Yagudin and Plushenko in 1999 and 2000, Weiss has struggled on the international scene ever since. But he did win his qualifying group, albeit with a performance that didn't come close to Plushenko's in the other section. And in the short program, worth 30 percent of the total score, he was looking good until the sloppy lutz.

"I was really trying to bring the crowd along and get them going at the end,'' he said. "I couldn't believe it. That's the easiest jump in the program.''

Japan's Takeshi Honda, the 2002 bronze medalist, cut a quad-triple combination to a quad-double. But he did a superb triple lutz and his footwork was both intricate and impressive.

Honda wound up third in the short and is third overall heading into Thursday night's free skate.

Unheralded Ryan Jahnke, the third American entrant, fell on his triple axel, but skated decently otherwise. In his first world championship, Jahnke stood seventh heading into Thursday night's free skate.

"I'm feeling really comfortable out here,'' said Jahnke, 25. "I definitely feel like I belong. I feel like I am competing up to this level. I am extremely excited and pleased with how the event is playing out.''

Earlier, Canada's Shae-Lynn Bourne and Viktor Kraatz won their compulsory dance group, while Russia's Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh took the other.

Bourne and Kraatz have won four bronze medals and one silver at worlds. Lobacheva and Averbukh are the defending champions.

The American couples -- five-time U.S. champions Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev, and reigning world junior champions Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto -- both finished fourth in their groups.