SHANGHAI, China -- Elizaveta Tuktamysheva has been so far ahead of the rest of the women's figure skating field this season, she didn't think twice about adding a much more difficult element to her repertoire of high-flying jumps.

It was far riskier to attempt it in the most important event of the year.

The 18-year-old Russian landed a triple axel on her first leap of the figure skating world championships on Thursday, opening a massive lead over the rest of the field after the short program.

"When I landed the triple axel, I got goosebumps and I thought, 'Is this a dream or did I really just do the triple axel at the world championships?"' she said.

Only a handful of women skaters have successfully landed a triple axel in international competition, among them Tonya Harding, Midori Ito and Mao Asada. Tuktamysheva landed the difficult jump in one of the biggest competitions of her career after only practicing it for a couple months.

"It was a risk to do the triple axel in the short program, but figure skating has to evolve," she said. "The men are doing three quads in their programs and the girls also have to develop."

A year after inconsistent results kept her off the Russian team for the Sochi Olympics, Tuktamysheva is having a banner season. She has captured seven titles in nine events, including the European Championships and Grand Prix Finals, and is now closing in on her first world title.

With a technical level far above the other women, Tuktamysheva scored 77.62 in the short program, more than eight points ahead of countrywoman Elena Radionova in second. Japan's Satoko Miyahara finished third on her 17th birthday.

Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., was in 10th place with 60.24 points and Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., was 21st with 48.13 points out of 24 skaters to advance.

While the Russians were out in front as expected, the skaters believed to be their biggest challengers, the Americans, were faltering.

Both Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner struggled with their opening triple lutz-triple toeloop combinations. Gold, the bronze medallist at Sochi, took an extra step on her triple lutz and didn't perform the second jump, and three-time U.S. champion Wagner fell on her toeloop.

Gold was in eighth place after the short program, just behind fellow American Polina Edmunds. Wagner was in 11th place.

For Gold, it was yet another disappointment in a season she'd rather forget. After pulling out of the Grand Prix Finals in December with a stress fracture in her foot, she failed to defend her title at U.S. Nationals and finished fourth at the Four Continents Championships in South Korea.

"It's just been a tough year for me. I've just had so many ups and so many downs, it's not like me," she said. "I'm just looking forward to doing a great long program on Saturday so I can redeem myself and just prepare for next season."

Wagner believed she had been skating well enough to finish on the podium and break the United States' nine-year medal drought at worlds.

"Today was a horrible day, there's no other way to say it," she said. "I think it was just that I was focusing on way too many things at once and that was the recipe for disaster."

Japan had three women in the top five, led by the diminutive Miyahara, competing in her first world championship.

"I wasn't sure how I can celebrate my birthday up to today's performance," she said. "Because I skated with satisfaction, I can be really happy on my birthday."