- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,152,173
- Reaction score
- 59
Kaori Sakamoto became the first women's singles skater to win a fourth world title since Michelle Kwan, prevailing in the last competition of her career.
Sakamoto, a 25-year-old from Japan, topped both Wednesday's short program and Friday's free skate in Prague, Czechia.
She totaled 238.28 points— a personal best and the world's top score in this Olympic cycle by more than six points. She won by 9.81 over countrywoman Mone Chiba. Belgian Nina Pinzarrone earned bronze, rising from fifth after the short program.
American, Isabeau Levito, the 2024 World silver medalist, placed fourth (8.21 behind Pinzarrone) — after taking 12th in her Olympic debut a month ago.
FIGURE SKATING WORLDS: Full Results | Broadcast Schedule
Levito was fourth in the short, then had just one significant mistake in the free skate. Her opening triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination was downgraded to a triple-double for under-rotation.
Three-time U.S. champion Amber Glenn was in third after the short, then dropped to sixth after jumping errors in her free skate. They included singling a planned triple loop, the same mistake she made in the Olympic short program that took her out of medal contention.
Glenn buried her head in her hands while kneeling on the ice at the end of her program, then in the kiss and cry used the words "slip out of my hands" moments before her score came up.
Sakamoto announced before this season that it would be her last.
She burst on the senior scene as a 17-year-old in the 2017-18 season, becoming at the time the youngest Japanese Olympic figure skater since Shizuka Arakawa in 1998. Arakawa later became the first Japanese skater to win Olympic gold in 2006, ushering in a golden era for the nation that Sakamoto has extended.
Sakamoto won Olympic bronze in 2022, then three consecutive world titles before taking silver at the 2025 Worlds and 2026 Olympics behind American Alysa Liu.
Liu skipped these worlds due to off-ice opportunities, which is common for Olympic medalists in the post-Olympic worlds.
Worlds finish Saturday with the men's free skate and free dance, live on Peacock.
Alysa Liu, Taylor Swift share a moment at iHeartRadio Music Awards
Alysa Liu presented Taylor Swift with her seventh award of the night.
Continue reading...
Sakamoto, a 25-year-old from Japan, topped both Wednesday's short program and Friday's free skate in Prague, Czechia.
She totaled 238.28 points— a personal best and the world's top score in this Olympic cycle by more than six points. She won by 9.81 over countrywoman Mone Chiba. Belgian Nina Pinzarrone earned bronze, rising from fifth after the short program.
American, Isabeau Levito, the 2024 World silver medalist, placed fourth (8.21 behind Pinzarrone) — after taking 12th in her Olympic debut a month ago.
FIGURE SKATING WORLDS: Full Results | Broadcast Schedule
Levito was fourth in the short, then had just one significant mistake in the free skate. Her opening triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination was downgraded to a triple-double for under-rotation.
Three-time U.S. champion Amber Glenn was in third after the short, then dropped to sixth after jumping errors in her free skate. They included singling a planned triple loop, the same mistake she made in the Olympic short program that took her out of medal contention.
Glenn buried her head in her hands while kneeling on the ice at the end of her program, then in the kiss and cry used the words "slip out of my hands" moments before her score came up.
Sakamoto announced before this season that it would be her last.
She burst on the senior scene as a 17-year-old in the 2017-18 season, becoming at the time the youngest Japanese Olympic figure skater since Shizuka Arakawa in 1998. Arakawa later became the first Japanese skater to win Olympic gold in 2006, ushering in a golden era for the nation that Sakamoto has extended.
Sakamoto won Olympic bronze in 2022, then three consecutive world titles before taking silver at the 2025 Worlds and 2026 Olympics behind American Alysa Liu.
Liu skipped these worlds due to off-ice opportunities, which is common for Olympic medalists in the post-Olympic worlds.
Worlds finish Saturday with the men's free skate and free dance, live on Peacock.
You must be registered for see images attach
Alysa Liu, Taylor Swift share a moment at iHeartRadio Music Awards
Alysa Liu presented Taylor Swift with her seventh award of the night.
Continue reading...
