World champions Kim Yu-Na and Evan Lysacek both battled from behind to win the men's and women's Grand Prix Final titles Saturday, boosting their confidence ahead of the Winter Olympics in February.

With a slim 0.56-points behind short-programme leader Miki Ando of Japan, the 19-year-old South Korean topped the longer free skating programme, despite two minor jumping errors.

She doubled the second jump, a triple toeloop, each in two combination jumps. But she skated on with grace to George Gershwin's "Concerto in F" to collect 123.22 points.

Her total came to 188.68 ahead of 185.94 for Ando, who took 119.74 in her free-skate performance to soundtrack music from the movie "Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra."

Another Japanese, Akiko Suzuki, third in free skating, finished third overall with a total 174.00.

"It was a very tough competition and I didn't give up to the end," said Kim after regaining the GP Final title which she lost last year to Japan's then reigning world champion Mao Asada, after holding it for two straight years.

"I am not satisfied with the way I skated. But I want to work harder still toward the Olympics," she added.

Asada, the 2008 world champion, struggling with her trademark 3.5-revolution triple axel this year, has failed to qualify for the elite event.

The Grand Prix Final brought together the top six finishers by points in each category from the six-event ISU (International Skating Union) Grand Prix series in October and November. Each skater or duo can enter two events.

Kim won the season-opening Grand Prix in Paris in October with a new world record score of 210.03 points. She then took Skate America, in which she stretched her own world short programme mark to 76.28.

In the short programme on Saturday, Kim made two jumping errors to finish second.

It was the first time she has not led the short programme in an event since the March 2008 world championships.

In the men's contest, Lysacek hit back with his best free skating yet.
With a 0.1-point gap behind short-programme leader Daisuke Takahashi of Japan, the lanky American skated dynamically to "Scheherazade" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and topped the field with a personal best of 159.60 points.

He won the title with a total of 249.45 points, ahead of Japan's national champion Nobunari Oda at 243.36 and fellow American Johnny Weir at 237.35. Takahashi slipped to fifth spot with an error-strewn free skate.
The total bettered 24-year-old Lysacek's previous best of 242.23.

"I feel good and really confident," he said. "Definitely, I've improved from other competitions this year and I'll continue at the same level."

Lysacek said he was now looking forward to the US national championships next month and to winning a berth at the Vancouver Winter Games: "One more practice run and the main fight."

Lysacek finished fourth in his Olympic debut in Turin in 2006.
On Saturday he nailed six triple jumps but singled a triple axel attempt in the middle of his performance.

In pairs skating, China's three-time former world champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo lifted their sixth Final title, crowning their return to competition as they chase a hitherto elusive Olympic gold medal.

Fellow Chinese and 2008 world champions Pand Qing and Tong Jian finished second ahead of reigning world and European champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany.