A season of tragedy and triumph for U.S. figure skaters

/
A season of tragedy and triumph for U.S. figure skaters

The figure skating season that ended nine days ago at the World Team Trophy in Japan was one of overwhelming tragedy and historic triumph for Team USA.

The tragedy happened Jan. 27, when 28 members of the U.S. figure skating family were among the 67 people who died in a crash between their plane and a military helicopter near Washington, D.C.

Among the 28 with ties to the skating community were 11 young skaters, plus some of their parents and coaches, all returning from a development camp following the U.S. Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

At that point, with a pall hanging over them and hearts heavy with pain, the top U.S. skaters still had nearly three months left in the season, with three championship events left:  Four Continents, World Championships and World Team Trophy.

For nearly all of them, going back to practice was both incredibly difficult and necessary, as the U.S. elite sought ways to honor the memories of those who had died by honoring the sport they all loved with their best efforts.

Read More

Ilia Malinin won a second straight world title, but he wanted more

/
Ilia Malinin won a second straight world title, but he wanted more

BOSTON — Ilia Malinin won a second straight world title Saturday night, this one by a larger margin than the first.

But, despite his utter dominance of men’s singles skating, Malinin felt upset that he had left something undone.

That’s why he whacked the ice in frustration after finishing a free skate that left him happy because it brought another gold medal but disappointed because he fell short of his goal.

This season, Malinin wanted to further enhance his reputation as the Quadg0d by doing an unprecedented free skate in which all seven jumping passes began with a successful quad, and they were to include all six different types of the jump.

The skating gods apparently still think that is hubris.

He now has tried it unsuccessfully three times.

“It’s a pretty decent challenge that I’ve given myself,” he said.

Read More

Alysa Liu on top of the world, a startling position after two years away from skating

/
Alysa Liu on top of the world, a startling position after two years away from skating

BOSTON — During her two-year retirement from figure skating, Alysa Liu joined four friends in May 2023 on a 40-mile trek to Mount Everest base camp, some 17,500 feet above sea level.

That was nothing compared to the trip Liu made Friday, climbing to the top of the world in her sport, a result that is one of the biggest surprise endings in figure skating’s long history. It seemed beyond the realm of comprehension even to Liu.

She did it by being unabashedly, completely herself, a 19-year-old who mixes adult maturity with teenage goofiness, as she did when asked by rinkside host Ashley Wagner how it felt to be world champion.

“Just, what the hell?” she told the sellout crowd at TD Garden, which had roared and stomped and clapped so loudly near the end of the program it drowned out the million-decibel Donna Summer music.

What the hell, indeed?

Read More

Ilia Malinin looks invincible to his top rival at figure skating worlds

/
Ilia Malinin looks invincible to his top rival at figure skating worlds

BOSTON - Yuma Kagiyama was smiling when he said it, as if he were trying to lighten the meaning of his words and the implication they carried about the weight of the challenge for any figure skater trying to compete with Ilia Malinin.

After Thursday’s short program at the World Championships, when he finished a close second to reigning world champion Malinin, Kagiyama was asked what impresses him most about the man known as Quadg0d.

“He does all those difficult jumps, and he makes them look effortless,” Japan’s Kagiyama said through a translator. “Maybe he is putting (out) effort, but to us, it looks effortless and really easy.

“And it’s not just his jumps. I feel like his skating and his artistry, his expression is getting better year by year, so I’m starting to think he’s invincible.”

Invincible.

Read More

Amber Glenn’s path to Grand Prix Final, figure skating stardom a decade-long journey

/
Amber Glenn’s path to Grand Prix Final, figure skating stardom a decade-long journey

(Note: After this story was published, Amber Glenn won the Grand Prix Final (above), becoming the first U.S. woman to take that title since 2010)

Damon Allen remembers well how he felt about Amber Glenn after seeing her performances in the junior event at the 2014 U.S. Championships.

“I thought, ‘This girl is going to be the next star,’” Allen recalled last week.

There is, of course, a tendency in figure skating to anoint the next big thing prematurely. Still, Allen’s reaction did not seem impulsively hasty.

After all, the 14-year-old Glenn had shown preternatural poise in winning the title. Her free skate earned a score better than those of all except the three medalists in the senior event, despite juniors having one fewer scoring element.

“This was not an overnight success, to say the least,” Glenn told NBC Sports earlier this season.

Read More