Gracie Gold of the United States. [Photo/IC]

SHANGHAI - The medal drought for American singles skaters at the figure skating world championships grew even longer after a couple of near-misses on Saturday.

Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner narrowly missed out on medals in the women's event, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, while Jason Brown finished fourth in the men's event.

It's been nine years since an American woman won a medal at worlds and six years since an American man has been on the podium.

Though they fell just short, Gold and Wagner were pleased with the way they recovered after their spotty performances in the short program to end the season on a positive note.

Gold was second in the free skate Saturday to improve from eighth place to fourth overall, while Wagner jumped from 11th to fifth.

"It's what I kind of hoped to do is skate strong and be tough," Gold said. "Ten out of 10 times you'll land a jump and to miss it when it matters is frustrating."

The 19-year-old Gold has missed her share of jumps this season. After losing to Wagner to relinquish her US national title in January, she had one of her worst performances of the season at the Four Continents Championships, failing to medal at an event she was expected to easily win.