
Sakamoto runner-up in women's short program
Finishing second at worlds in Boston to Alysa Liu, Kaori Sakamoto found herself in a familiar spot following the women's short program at the ISU World Team Trophy in Tokyo, Japan, sitting just 0.16 points behind Liu.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Alysa Liu plans to bring back triple Axel for Olympic season
World figure skating champion Alysa Liu plans to reincorporate the triple Axel into her programs for the upcoming Olympic season. In an interview with retired NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, Liu was asked, "What's the next technical statement that you're going to make?" Advertisement "Yeah, I'm pretty risky on the ice," she said. "This (past) season, not as much, just because I was focusing on my stamina. But now that it's back, I'm going to be trying my triple Axels a lot more and incorporating those into my programs next season." This past season, the 2022 Olympian Liu returned from a two-year retirement. She worked her way up, entered the World Championships ranked eighth in the field by best total score on the season and then became the first U.S. women's singles skater to win a world title in 19 years. 'Personally, I can be so much better,' Liu said at worlds, reflecting on the season. 'That's why I call this a starter season because this season is me picking up the pieces." Advertisement Liu is the youngest woman to land a triple Axel — at age 12 in 2018. She also landed a quadruple jump at age 14 — the first American woman to do so. She attempted neither a triple Axel nor a quad in the 2024-25 season. She last attempted a triple Axel in competition at the 2022 World Championships and last landed a positively graded (clean) triple Axel at the 2020 World Junior Championships, according to But Liu did train the triple Axel in practices in the Bay Area last season. The triple Axel carries 4.7 more base points than the double Axel, which can be a significant difference. Liu won the world title by 4.99 points over three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan. Advertisement U.S. champion Amber Glenn was the lone woman to attempt a triple Axel at the 2025 World Championships, though a few others performed the jump at other senior competitions in 2024-25. Such as Adeliya Petrosian, an 18-year-old from Russia who is shaping up to be a 2026 Olympic medal contender. She was the only senior women's singles skater in the world to land both a clean quadruple jump and a clean triple Axel in competition this past season, according to Petrosian competed strictly in domestic events in Russia since all Russian skaters have been banned from international competition since shortly after the invasion of Ukraine. Petrosian has been cleared by the International Skating Union to compete as an individual neutral athlete at an Olympic qualifier in September in China, where she could earn a spot for herself at the Milan Cortina Games. Advertisement A skater from Russia won the last three Olympic women's singles titles. The U.S. last earned an Olympic women's singles medal in 2006 — Sasha Cohen's silver. Figure skating Grand Prix assignments: Alysa Liu, Chock/Bates headline Skate America The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating starts in October.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Figure skating Grand Prix assignments: Alysa Liu, Chock/Bates headline Skate America
World champions Alysa Liu and Madison Chock and Evan Bates headline November's Skate America as figure skating's Grand Prix Series assignments for the Olympic season have been announced. The world's top skaters each compete twice over the six-event regular season in October and November, with the top six per discipline over the series qualifying for December's Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan. Advertisement The Final will be the last gathering of the world's top skaters before the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. Liu and Chock and Bates will be joined by at Skate America in Lake Placid, New York, by two-time U.S. Olympian Jason Brown. GRAND PRIX ASSIGNMENTS: Women | Men | Pairs | Ice Dance This season, Skate America is the fifth of six Grand Prix stops from Nov. 14-16. The Grand Prix season starts in France from Oct. 17-19, then moves to China, Canada and Japan before Skate America. After Skate America, the last regular season Grand Prix is in Finland. Two-time world champion Ilia Malinin is entered in the first and third Grand Prix events in France and Canada. Adeliia Petrosian ISU names figure skaters from Russia eligible for Olympic qualifying as neutral athletes Adelia Petrosian has been cleared to compete in Olympic figure skating qualifying and is a gold-medal contender.


NBC Sports
7 days ago
- NBC Sports
Figure skating Grand Prix assignments: Alysa Liu, Chock/Bates headline Skate America
World champions Alysa Liu and Madison Chock and Evan Bates headline November's Skate America as figure skating's Grand Prix Series assignments for the Olympic season have been announced. The world's top skaters each compete twice over the six-event regular season in October and November, with the top six per discipline over the series qualifying for December's Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan. The Final will be the last gathering of the world's top skaters before the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. Liu and Chock and Bates will be joined by at Skate America in Lake Placid, New York, by two-time U.S. Olympian Jason Brown. This season, Skate America is the fifth of six Grand Prix stops from Nov. 14-16. The Grand Prix season starts in France from Oct. 17-19, then moves to China, Canada and Japan before Skate America. After Skate America, the last regular season Grand Prix is in Finland. Two-time world champion Ilia Malinin is entered in the first and third Grand Prix events in France and Canada. Nick Zaccardi,