Women’s short program at figure skating worlds produces tears, thrills, spills

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Women’s short program at figure skating worlds produces tears, thrills, spills

MONTREAL - Isabeau Levito, the 2023 U.S. champion, was deservedly thrilled by finishing second with a near flawless performance and a personal best score. Her compatriot, new U.S. champion Amber Glenn, was shocked by an error that left her ninth.

Belgium’s Leona Hendrickx was teary despite a dominant skate. And two-time defending world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan burst into a bemusedly goofy smile after two mistakes left her fourth, a whisker behind second.

Such were the highs and lows of the world championships women’s short program Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.

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For jumper extraordinaire Ilia Malinin, surprise is a key element

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For jumper extraordinaire Ilia Malinin, surprise is a key element

MONTREAL – Skating’s international young man of jump mystery and mastery slipped into a seat in a hotel lobby Tuesday evening, a smile on his eternally boyish face and who-knows-what surprises in his 19-year-old mind for the world championships?

Will there be a quadruple Axel in his short program when the men’s competition begins Thursday? (He did that for the only time in winning December’s Grand Prix Final.)

Two quad Axels in the free skate? (He talked about that earlier in the season.)

A quad-quad combination? (He has been amusing himself by trying quad toe-quad Axel and other quad-quad combos with quad flip, quad Salchow or quad loop as the second jump.)

All six types of quads in the free skate, before rumored upcoming rules changes limit the number of quads?

We may not know until the music starts. Malinin may not know until his final warm-up.

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Far from heavenly, quadg0d Malinin still far ahead of U.S. rivals

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Far from heavenly, quadg0d Malinin still far ahead of U.S. rivals

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Put at least a brief hold on the apotheosis of Ilia Malinin.

For the second year in a row, the quadg0d fell far short of the heavenly in the free skate at the Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Yes, Malinin landed a beautiful quadruple Axel, a jump no one else can do, for the first time at nationals. Yes, he won the free skate, an improvement on his second place in that phase last season. Yes, Malinin tripled his winning margin of a year ago, beating ageless and quad-less Jason Brown by nearly 30 points.

Yet there was a sense of the unfulfilled when Malinin finished, a final letdown for an event where the winners in each of the four disciplines had notably flawed free skates. The sizeable, enthusiastic crowds at Nationwide Arena deserved more.

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Amber Glenn makes personal and social history despite flawed performance

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Amber Glenn makes personal and social history despite flawed performance

COLUMBUS, Ohio — When eventual winner Amber Glenn finished her free skate, she was crestfallen, her head bowed, her eyes downcast as she kneeled on the ice.

When defending champion Isabeau Levito finished her free skate a few minutes later, she was despondent, her hands covering her face as she kneeled on the ice.

Rarely has a national championship had such a deflating ending, even if Glenn’s triumph after years of struggles deserves to be celebrated.

“It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to get my first national title,” Glenn said. “It was a mix of being extremely grateful for the results but also knowing I can do so much better.”

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Jason Brown, star in his own right, bears witness to another supernova lighting up U.S. men's skating

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Jason Brown, star in his own right, bears witness to another supernova lighting up U.S. men's skating


COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jason Brown has spent the past eight years as a skating star competing in the national championships against a supernova.

First it was Nathan Chen, who overwhelmed the field while winning six straight U.S. titles en route to the 2022 Olympic gold medal.

Now it is Ilia Malinin, on his way to a second straight U.S. title after scoring 108.57 points to win Friday afternoon’s short program at Nationwide Arena by a whopping 18.85 points over Max Naumov.

“The level of skating just continues to be elevated year after year,” said Brown, a two-time Olympian and 2015 U.S. champion, who was less than a point behind Naumov.

“Nathan just kept pushing and pushing and pushing the sport. Ilia is doing the same thing. I think it’s incredible. Mad respect.”

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