Kaori Sakamoto leads figure skating worlds after short program; Americans in medal contention

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan topped the short program as she seeks a fourth title on the World Figure Skating Championships in the final competitors of her profession.

Sakamoto, the Olympic singles bronze medalist in 2022 and silver medalist final month, tallied 79.31 factors, the world’s high rating in this Olympic cycle. She hit a triple Lutz, double Axel and triple flip-triple toe loop mixture in her “Time to Say Goodbye” short program.

Sakamoto leads by .86 of a degree over countrywoman Mone Chiba going into Friday’s free skate in Prague, Czechia.

Americans Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito are in third and fourth, 6.66 and seven.15 factors again, respectively.

FIGURE SKATING WORLDS: Full Results | Broadcast Schedule

Sakamoto, who introduced earlier than this season that it is going to be her final, can turn into the primary girl to seize 4 world singles titles since American Michelle Kwan took 5 between 1996 and 2003.

Sakamoto received three consecutive world titles in 2022, 2023 and 2024 earlier than American Alysa Liu snapped the streak in 2025. Liu, who is not competing at these worlds, edged Sakamoto once more on the Milan Cortina Olympics, taking gold by 1.89 factors.

“I had a lot of expectation on myself at the Milan Olympics, and a lot of people around me had a lot of expectations,” Sakamoto mentioned by way of a translator. “So not being able to meet those expectations was very, very sad for me. … This time, I’m really focusing on being able to leave it all out there and end these world championships with absolutely no regrets.”

Amber Glenn eyes first world championships medal

Glenn, the three-time US champion who was fifth on the Olympics, had a clear short program with minor touchdown errors on his triple Axel (after struggling on it in warm-up) and triple flip-triple toe loop combo. She was the one skater to land a triple Axel on Wednesday.

Glenn solely accepted one off-ice alternative after Milan — the GLAAD Media Awards on March 5 in Beverly Hills, the place she introduced the Outstanding New Series award to the forged of “Heated Rivalry” — and stored her give attention to worlds, although she grew to become “sick as a dog” after the Olympics with one thing resembling a sinus an infection or bronchitis.

“There were so many (opportunities) that I wanted to do so bad, but I knew it was not the responsible choice,” she mentioned.

At the Olympics, Glenn was thirteenth in the short after doubling a deliberate triple loop, then was third in the free skate to maneuver as much as fifth general.

In her three earlier worlds appearances, she was tenth, tenth and ninth in the short and ended up with a finest end of fifth in 2025. Glenn did win the most important competitors outdoors of the Olympics and worlds — the Grand Prix Final — in 2024.

In Wednesday’s post-short program press convention, Glenn introduced up the figure skating cliché, you possibly can’t win a contest in the short program, however you possibly can definitely lose it.

“I’ve experienced that,” she mentioned. “So to be in a good position after (the short) and not feel like I am clawing my way back and having to make this big comeback is really assuring.”

Levito, the 2024 World silver medalist who was twelfth on the Olympics, landed a triple Lutz-triple loop — the very best base worth leap combo of any skater — in her “Sophia Loren” medley program. Levito final did that combo on the 2023 World Team Trophy, based on SkatingScores.com.

She rebounded Wednesday after needing “five to six days” to get again to her New Jersey residence after the Games. An East Coast storm delayed her return journey, which ended up taking her to Atlanta, then Denver.

She had a pre-planned dedication in Alaska, however that was nixed as a result of by the point she made it to Colorado, she had come down with a flu-like illness. So she flew again east to New Jersey.

The third American, Sarah Everhardt, was ninth in her worlds debut and certainly one of 4 girls in the short time period to obtain +1 or larger levels of execution from all 9 judges on all seven of her parts.

Everhardt was known as up as an alternate to switch Liu, who introduced her withdrawal from worlds on March 8. It’s widespread for Olympic medalists to skip the post-Olympic worlds resulting from off-ice alternatives.

“It felt really nervy,” Everhardt mentioned. “Even going into the first jump, I was thinking about me messing it up. But then I was like, no, I can’t think like that. So I just told myself to trust myself and do my best and to do what I can do. After the first jumping pass, I think I relaxed a little bit.”

German lead pairs; US seems to be to maintain 3 world spots

Germans Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin topped the pairs’ short program by a scant 33 hundredths of a degree over Olympic silver medalists Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia.

Hase and Volodin additionally led after the Olympic short, then dropped to the bronze medal after inserting fourth in the free skate.

In truth, your complete high 4 is similar from the Milan short with Canadians Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud and Hungarians Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko rounding out the group.

Olympic gold medalists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan opted to not defend their world title, opening it up for a first-time world champion determined in Thursday’s free skate.

Americans are sixth and seventh after the short — Emily Chan and Spencer Howe, who had been seventh in Milan, adopted by nationwide champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who had been sixth at 2025 Worlds.

Chan and Howe had been initially alternates for worlds. They had been known as as much as exchange Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, who introduced their withdrawal resulting from damage on March 16.

“We actually felt like it was kind of a blessing in disguise for us,” Howe mentioned of the short discover. “I think that everyone coming off of the Olympics seemed pretty tired, and it makes total sense, right? Because it’s such a high from the Games, and then they know that they’re getting ready for worlds. For us, we had some shows after, so we stayed active, although we weren’t training necessarily. We were still moving. I felt like we had the best of both worlds. We had some true time in our minds where, like, our season’s done, but then when we got the call, we just picked up training again, and now here we are.”

Efimova and Mitrofanov were ineligible for the Olympics due to Efimova not having US citizenship, but they can compete at all other top-level international events.

US bronze medalists Daniil Parkman and Katie McBeath, in their worlds debut as a pair, are 11th.

The top two US pairs’ overall results must add up to no more than 13 to keep the maximum three spots for the 2027 Worlds. Chan and Howe and Efimova and Mitrofanov are right on that number after the short.

Worlds continue Thursday with men’s short program before the pairs’ free, both live on Peacock.

Ilia Malinin goes for a World Championships three-peat this week, dwell on NBC Sports and Peacock.