LONDON, Ontario (AP) - Denis Ten saw his marks and his mouth fell open. He jumped to his feet, screaming and pumping his fists as if he'd won. Close enough. The title may have gone to Patrick Chan, but there was no question that the night belonged to Ten. With a beautifully breezy and technically impressive performance to "The Artist," the little-known skater from Kazakhstan stole the Canadian star's spotlight at the World Figure Skating Championships on Friday night. Ten won the free skate, but he couldn't overcome the big lead Chan had from the short program. He finished 1.3 points behind Chan, who became the first man since Alexei Yagudin (1998-2000) to win three straight titles. Javier Fernandez was third, giving Spain its first medal, too. My dream came true. I still cannot believe that it all happened," said Ten, who had never finished better than seventh at a world championships or Olympics. This is my first world medal and, what's even more important is it's the first medal for my country. I'm feeling very proud, and I'm realizing that the whole country now is very proud of my little win and my little victory. It feels great. Ten began skating on outdoor rinks in Kazakhstan - "I still remember how my mother would put three pairs of pants on me. I looked like a cabbage. That's how I learned all the doubles, it helped me to be quicker" - before shopping malls with tiny rinks began springing up. In search of better training, he moved to Russia when he was 10, then came to California three years ago to train with Frank Carroll, Evan Lysacek's coach. But no one - Ten included - could have seen this coming a few days ago. Heck, Ten had been 12th just last month at Four Continents, a competition that doesn't include the Europeans or, this year, Chan. But in one of those happy twists of fate, everything came together at exactly the right time and place for the 19-year-old. When I came back after (Four Continents), I was like really, really disappointed. It was hard for me to start all over for me again and to get fresh thoughts and pump up my motivation," Ten said. At the same time, I felt worlds is coming and ... I realized that the game is not over. I realized how much I wanted to prove to everyone that I'm still playing. He didn't so much as skate to "The Artist" as he did pick up where the Oscar-winning movie had left off - minus Uggie. Honestly, throughout the skate, I didn't feel I was doing really, really well. I felt like I could have done better," Ten said. At the same time, I'm satisfied because it's my best performance of the year and maybe of my skating career. Chan can't say the same thing. "I definitely was disappointed in myself because I really wanted to go out there and have another short program moment," said Chan, whose short program score was a world record. It's kind of selfish of me, but I really wanted to enjoy it. ... The moment wasn't as good as it could have been but, nonetheless, it was very special. Chan slapped his forehead several times when he finished and again as he waited for his marks. When the camera focused on him, he gave a sheepish smile. "I'm a little disappointed I wasn't able to do great program in front of such a great audience," Chan said. But you know what? I'm going to take the win, put it in my back pocket and really learn from it next season. Fernandez, the European champion, feared he had dug himself too deep of a hole after a flawed short program. But few skaters can sell a program like Fernandez, who oozes charisma and swagger. When I finished my program, I knew it was going to be really hard to be on the podium. I knew I did some big mistakes," Fernandez said. But I still did a good program. ... I was hoping to have a little bit of luck. He watched the final skaters with Chan, his hopes of a medal climbing with each performance. "I was getting a little bit more excited, a little bit more excited, a little bit more excited," Fernandez said. When (the last skater) finished and I saw I was in the third position, I didn't know what to do. Jump. Cry. Hug Patrick. I didn't know what to do. I was really happy. So happy. So, so happy. But Ten might have been the happiest of all, regardless of the color of medal around his neck. "I feel like I had a long way being a kid skating like a cabbage," he said. Now I skate in a good costume at the worlds. Follow Nancy Armour at http://www.twitter.com