A renaissance across the board for US in World Figure Skating Championships

Boston Globe

30-03-2025

Alysa Liu, performing during the World Figure Skating Championships exhibition gala at TD Garden on Sunday, is the first US women to win the singles title since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.
Globe Staff
Advertisement
And
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
That collective performance sets up Team USA for an unprecedented three individual gold medals at next winter's Olympics in Milan. Until last week the Yanks never had produced a trio of world champions.
Not since 1996 when Todd Eldredge and Michelle Kwan prevailed in Edmonton had the US taken both the men's and women's laurels.
Related
:
And with Alisa Efimova-Misha Mitrofanov of the Skating Club of Boston and Ellie Kam-Danny O'Shea finishing among the top seven, the US also picked up a third pairs entry for the Games for the first time since 1994. Also for the first time since the Sarajevo Games in 1984 the Americans will have a full complement of 12 entries for the four disciplines.
It was a star-spangled renaissance across the board and fittingly it happened in Boston with its rich history of skaters like
This was the first time that the world championships were staged in the States since they were held at the Garden in 2016.
Since then the sport has been dealing with dwindling interest from a public that at various times since the turn of the millennium has been outraged, confused, bored, and disgusted by skating's self-created follies.
Advertisement
The Salt Lake judging scandal with its unsavory backroom dealings gave credence to critics who long considered the competition rigged. The subsequent switch to a 'fix-proof' scoring system was bewildering to audiences accustomed to a simple 6.0 format.
Then came the multiple migraines involving the Russians, who exploited young skaters, then doped them. Their government's brutal invasion of Ukraine three years ago made the performers pariahs while also depriving skating of its most dominant country over the past three decades.
The larger issue for the ISU has been to attract an audience that is younger and more global through better fan engagement and 'event delivery,' especially for spectators in the arena. 'Providing an experience that they remember,' said president Kim Jae-youl.
Related
:
If that meant making a skating competition more like a rock concert and a social media magnet, the federation finally was ready 'to be relevant to the next generation.'
After test-driving its new look at the Grand Prix Final in France in December, the ISU went all-in on Causeway Street, where there was the right arena (filled to the rafters daily), the right audience (knowledgeable and passionate), and the right host.
The Skating Club of Boston did a superb job of organizing and marketing the event at a time when it was still mourning the loss of skaters, coaches, and parents in the January plane crash in Washington.
The building was nearly sold out all week, even for Friday afternoon's rhythm dance. Spectators were treated to novelties like a colorful entrance gate where competitors were introduced.
Advertisement
Each skater was interviewed before heading off to the kiss-and-cry area to await the scores. For the contending group, whoever was in first place sat in the 'Leader's Chair.'
Before and after each performance swirling lights and thumping music provided an immersive, if not dizzying, experience. 'Athletes have come up to me and said we feel the winds of change,' Kim observed.
Skaters, encouraged to build their own brands, now have access to the federation's photos of them for their personal use and have their hashtags posted alongside their names on the LED rink boards.
'I think that's something that our sport needs right now and I'm really happy,' said Malinin, who has become the sport's foremost entertainer with his aerial acrobatics (including his 'raspberry twist' and two-footed backflip), his 'Quad God' merch and his inventive music ('I'm Not a Vampire.')
'I feel excited when I hear the loud music and the cheering. It gets me pumped for the event and I'm sure the other skaters feel the same way.'
What the sport most needs after the grim Beijing Games with its dictatorial COVID restrictions and doping controversy is a fortnight of style and sizzle in one of the planet's most fashionable cities. Surely a Milanese designer can shape a more comfortable Leader's Chair.
John Powers can be reached at