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≡ ISU WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡
The first ISU World Championships to be held in the U.S. in nine years was once again in Boston, Massachusetts, less than two months following the 29 January crash in Washington, D.C. of an American Eagle flight with an Army helicopter, with more than two dozen American skaters, family and officials aboard.
A commemoration was held on Wednesday, followed by the skating in the women’s Singles, with an inspired performance from two-time U.S. champion Alysia Liu, the 2022 Worlds bronze medalist.
Still just 19, Liu led a crowded field of five within 3 1/2 points, scoring 74.58, ahead of Mone Chiba (JPN: 73.44), fellow American – and 2024 runner-up – Isabeau Levito (73.33), Japan’s Wakaba Higuchi (72.10) and three-time defending champ Kaori Sakamoto (JPN: 71.03).
It’s a lifetime best score for Liu for the Short Program. Two-time U.S. champ Amber Glenn suffered an early fall and stood ninth after the Short Program at 67.65.
The women’s Free Skate is on Friday evening.
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The men’s Short Program on Thursday morning was competitive … until World Champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S. took the ice.
Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov, the 2025 Four Continents winner, led the field after 37 of the 39 skaters at 94.77 points, and two-time European champion and 2024 Worlds bronzer, Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA) had disappointed in ninth place (87.22), due to a fall on his opening quad-Lutz element.
Then came Malinin, who blew the top off the event with a lifetime best Short Program that scored 110.41 points. Wow! It’s the fourth-highest Short Program score in history:
● 113.97 Nathan Chen (USA) 2019
● 111.82 Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) 2020
● 110.53 Hanyu 2018
● 110.41 Ilia Malinin (USA) 2025
● 110.38 Chen 2022
The final skater was Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, the 2021-22-24 Worlds silver medalist, and he was game, scoring a seasonal best of 107.09, to land as a steady second and in position to win on Saturday if Malinin falters in the Free Skate.
Malinin opened with a quad Flip and included a quad Lutz-triple toe loop combo in his routine, while Kagiyama completed a quad toe loop and quad Salchow.
The other two Americans, Andrew Torgashev and 2015 U.S. champ Jason Brown, were in group five, starting 23rd and 25th. They posted the top scores through the first 26 skaters, with Torgashev at a lifetime best of 87.27 and Brown scoring a seasonal best of 84.72. They finished 8-12 and qualified for Saturday’s Free Skate.
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In Pairs, Japan’s 2023 World Champion, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara led the Short Program, at 76.57, closely trailed by the 2023 bronze winners, Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii of Italy (74.61) and Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin (GER: 73.59).
Americans Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, the 2024 U.S. champions, were fifth at 68.61, and Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov stood ninth (63.70).
The Pairs Free Skate comes Thursday evening.
The competitive elements of the Championships will finish on Saturday, with the celebratory exhibition gala on Sunday.
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