Latest news with #FourContinentsChampionships
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Chock and Bates win third straight ice dance world title
Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete in free dance on the way to a third straight ice dance world title (Maddie Meyer) Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates dazzled again in the free dance to become the first duo in 28 years to win a third straight ice dance world title on Saturday. Leading by 3.74 points after the rhythm dance, the Americans captivated in their jazz-themed free skate, scoring 131.88 points for a total of 222.06. Advertisement Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who beat Chock and Bates at the Four Continents Championships in February, skated a superb free dance to "A Whiter Shade of Pale," scoring 130.10 for a total of 216.54. They added another world silver to the one they captured on home ice in Montreal last year after winning bronze in 2021 and 2023. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Britain were third, garnering 123.25 points for their free dance to a medley of Beyonce hits for a total of 207.11. Chock and Bates, who have skated together since 2011 and were married last year, are the first ice dancers to win three successive world titles since Russia's Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov won four from 1994-97. gif/bb/js
NBC Sports
28-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Madison Chock, Evan Bates take ice dance lead in bid for World Championships three-peat
BOSTON — Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates posted the world's best rhythm dance score in two years, opening their bid to become the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world titles in 28 years. Chock and Bates tallied 90.18 points at TD Garden on Friday, taking a 3.74-point lead going into Saturday's free dance (1:30-5 p.m. ET, Peacock, and 3-5 p.m., USA Network). Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who beat Chock and Bates at the Four Continents Championships last month, are in second. Gilles and Poirier are three-time world medalists — all silver or bronze. Chock and Bates are trying to become the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world titles since Russians Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov won four in a row from 1994-97. FIGURE SKATING WORLDS: Results | Broadcast Schedule Chock and Bates, ice dance partners since 2011 and married since last June, are already the oldest world champions in the event's history. Their leads after the rhythm dance at worlds were slightly smaller in 2023 (3.37) and 2023 (2.56). Now 32 and 36, they will bid next year to make a fourth Olympics together and hope to win their first Olympic medals in ice dance. They are already gold medalists from the team event in 2022. Worlds continues later Saturday with the women's free skate, starting at 6 p.m. ET on Peacock with NBC also coming on at 8 p.m. for the final groups. Philip Hersh,
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Alysa Liu finds the joy — and the lead — at World Figure Skating Championships
BOSTON – In her first figure skating career, the one she ended with a retirement three years ago at age 16, Alysa Liu won national titles, made history as the youngest this and the youngest that, did landmark jumps for a U.S. woman, competed in the Olympics and won a world championships bronze medal. The way Liu describes all that now, it was a pretty joyless experience. She didn't like to practice. That meant she rarely went into a competition as prepared as she needed to be. That — and injuries — made her performances erratic. 'It was a job,' she said. FIGURE SKATING WORLDS: Results | Broadcast Schedule Her unexpected return this season, on her own terms, has been so enjoyable that Liu literally turned a cartwheel on the entry walkway before taking the ice for Wednesday afternoon's short program at the 2025 World Championships. The way she skated, it would not have been surprising if Liu turned multiple cartwheels on the ice after a performance that not only brought the TD Garden crowd to its feet but put her in first place going into Friday night's free skate. 'It is so much more fun this time,' Liu said. 'I really don't think I wanted to do any competitions before, but now I really do want to.' With 74.58 points, her highest short program score in international competition, Liu leads Japan's Mone Chiba by 1.14 points and U.S. teammate Isabeau Levito, the reigning world silver medalist, by 1.25. U.S. champion Amber Glenn, a title favorite, fought back from a fall on her opening element, a triple Axel. The big mistake left Glenn ninth, but just 5.68 points from third. Three-time defending champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan made lesser errors on her jump combination, footwork sequence and a spin. They left her fifth, 2.30 from third and 3.55 from first. It was a top three few would have foreseen. Chiba, seventh at her first worlds appearance last year, was sixth at last month's Four Continents Championships. Levito had been sidelined by a foot injury from last fall until late February, when her comeback performance at a lesser event in Italy was both cautiously restrained and decidedly underwhelming. 'That injury traumatized me a little bit,' Levito said. 'I would be in constant fear I was going to do something to make it hurt again.' Not since Gracie Gold in 2016, also in Boston, had a U.S. woman led worlds after the short program. That was near the beginning of an eight-year period when Russians came to utterly dominate women's singles on both junior and senior levels. Russians have been barred from international figure skating competition since their country's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine just after the 2022 Olympics. The International Skating Union has decided to allow one Russian entry per discipline next season, including at the Winter Olympics. To the question of whether worlds would be more interesting with the Russians, Liu answered, 'Maybe. I think competitions are more fun, the more people you can include.' Skating to Laufey's 'Promise,' music that describes an off-and-on love relationship that mirrors her bond with figure skating, Liu flowed flawlessly through the 2 minutes, 50 seconds, executing the seven elements with utter command. 'Without the music, the moving is just not the same,' Liu said. 'You have to pick the right piece for yourself.' Ironically, the melancholy mood of the music does not match Liu's unabashed new enthusiasm for her sport, the attitude that led her to express herself with the cartwheel. 'I was trying to think, 'What am I gonna do?'' Liu said. 'I got to that moment and I was like, 'You haven't thought of anything,' but immediately saw open space and (went), 'Cartwheel.''' The 2022 Worlds, where she won bronze, had been Liu's final competition before a retirement that seemed permanent when she announced it. She then spent one season hanging with friends near her Oakland, Calif., home. She enrolled at UCLA the next. She travelled. Suddenly, a ski trip rekindled her desire to do a sport, and it led her back to a rink after 18 months of not putting on skates. People told her she was crazy to retire at what should have been the peak of her career. Her once and current coach, Phillip DiGuglielmo, told her she was crazy to try to come back when she first broached the idea with him. It was a sign of her growing maturity that Liu took control of her future after years of simply doing what others expected her to do. Her goal would be making another Olympic team. 'I wouldn't be here if I didn't decide to retire for a little bit,' Liu said. 'I'm glad I listened to myself.' She returned to competition last fall, improving incrementally, recapturing the skills that had at age 13 made her in 2019 the youngest U.S. champion in history, adding to it the élan and sophistication of a young woman. She made the U.S. world team by finishing a close second to Glenn at January's U.S. Championships. 'This isn't going to be my best season,' Liu said. 'This is definitely gonna be the starter season for me.' Yet her performance in the short program was that of a polished skater, one who never had skated better in either of her careers than she did Wednesday. The audience's reaction reminded her of how special her sport can be. 'I just love the feeling towards the end of the program, when you hear the crowd and you see them,' she said. 'You can't find that feeling like anywhere else. It's really cool.' It's what you can get with fire on ice. Philip Hersh is a special contributor to He has covered figure skating at the last 12 Winter Olympics. Max Naumov 'We Must Fight.' Figure Skater Max Naumov Hears his Father's Words and Carries On Max Naumov reflects on his final moments with his parents, and their legacy, two months after their plane crashed over Washington, D.C.
NBC Sports
26-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Alysa Liu finds the joy — and the lead — at World Figure Skating Championships
BOSTON – In her first figure skating career, the one she ended with a retirement three years ago at age 16, Alysa Liu won national titles, made history as the youngest this and the youngest that, did landmark jumps for a U.S. woman, competed in the Olympics and won a world championships bronze medal. The way Liu describes all that now, it was a pretty joyless experience. She didn't like to practice. That meant she rarely went into a competition as prepared as she needed to be. That — and injuries — made her performances erratic. 'It was a job,' she said. FIGURE SKATING WORLDS: Results | Broadcast Schedule Her unexpected return this season, on her own terms, has been so enjoyable that Liu literally turned a cartwheel on the entry walkway before taking the ice for Wednesday afternoon's short program at the 2025 World Championships. The way she skated, it would not have been surprising if Liu turned multiple cartwheels on the ice after a performance that not only brought the TD Garden crowd to its feet but put her in first place going into Friday night's free skate. 'It is so much more fun this time,' Liu said. 'I really don't think I wanted to do any competitions before, but now I really do want to.' With 74.58 points, her highest short program score in international competition, Liu leads Japan's Mone Chiba by 1.14 points and U.S. teammate Isabeau Levito, the reigning world silver medalist, by 1.25. U.S. champion Amber Glenn, a title favorite, fought back from a fall on her opening element, a triple Axel. The big mistake left Glenn ninth, but just 5.68 points from third. Three-time defending champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan made lesser errors on her jump combination, footwork sequence and a spin. They left her fifth, 2.30 from third and 3.55 from first. It was a top three few would have foreseen. Chiba, seventh at her first worlds appearance last year, was sixth at last month's Four Continents Championships. Levito had been sidelined by a foot injury from last fall until late February, when her comeback performance at a lesser event in Italy was both cautiously restrained and decidedly underwhelming. 'That injury traumatized me a little bit,' Levito said. 'I would be in constant fear I was going to do something to make it hurt again.' Not since Gracie Gold in 2016, also in Boston, had a U.S. woman led worlds after the short program. That was near the beginning of an eight-year period when Russians came to utterly dominate women's singles on both junior and senior levels. Russians have been barred from international figure skating competition since their country's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine just after the 2022 Olympics. The International Skating Union has decided to allow one Russian entry per discipline next season, including at the Winter Olympics. To the question of whether worlds would be more interesting with the Russians, Liu answered, 'Maybe. I think competitions are more fun, the more people you can include.' Skating to Laufey's 'Promise,' music that describes an off-and-on love relationship that mirrors her bond with figure skating, Liu flowed flawlessly through the 2 minutes, 50 seconds, executing the seven elements with utter command. 'Without the music, the moving is just not the same,' Liu said. 'You have to pick the right piece for yourself.' Ironically, the melancholy mood of the music does not match Liu's unabashed new enthusiasm for her sport, the attitude that led her to express herself with the cartwheel. 'I was trying to think, 'What am I gonna do?'' Liu said. 'I got to that moment and I was like, 'You haven't thought of anything,' but immediately saw open space and (went), 'Cartwheel.''' The 2022 Worlds, where she won bronze, had been Liu's final competition before a retirement that seemed permanent when she announced it. She then spent one season hanging with friends near her Oakland, Calif., home. She enrolled at UCLA the next. She travelled. Suddenly, a ski trip rekindled her desire to do a sport, and it led her back to a rink after 18 months of not putting on skates. People told her she was crazy to retire at what should have been the peak of her career. Her once and current coach, Phillip DiGuglielmo, told her she was crazy to try to come back when she first broached the idea with him. It was a sign of her growing maturity that Liu took control of her future after years of simply doing what others expected her to do. Her goal would be making another Olympic team. 'I wouldn't be here if I didn't decide to retire for a little bit,' Liu said. 'I'm glad I listened to myself.' She returned to competition last fall, improving incrementally, recapturing the skills that had at age 13 made her in 2019 the youngest U.S. champion in history, adding to it the élan and sophistication of a young woman. She made the U.S. world team by finishing a close second to Glenn at January's U.S. Championships. 'This isn't going to be my best season,' Liu said. 'This is definitely gonna be the starter season for me.' Yet her performance in the short program was that of a polished skater, one who never had skated better in either of her careers than she did Wednesday. The audience's reaction reminded her of how special her sport can be. 'I just love the feeling towards the end of the program, when you hear the crowd and you see them,' she said. 'You can't find that feeling like anywhere else. It's really cool.' It's what you can get with fire on ice. Philip Hersh is a special contributor to He has covered figure skating at the last 12 Winter Olympics. Tim Layden, Alysa Liu tells Andrea Joyce why her state of mind seems to work for her during competition, and despite leading ahead of the free skate, says nothing changes and the goals remain the same.
CBC
25-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Ice dancers Gilles, Poirier sticking to their plan at worlds with gold medal in sight
Social Sharing With the top of the podium closer than ever, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are keeping to the same tried and true script. Canada's top ice dancers head into this week's world figure skating championships in Boston with momentum following a breakthrough victory over their American rivals at last month's Four Continents Championships. Toronto's Gilles and Poirier, from Unionville, Ont., edged two-time reigning champions, and 2022 Olympic gold medallists, Madison Chock and Evan Bates to win gold by 0.53 points. The margins were razor-thin then, and they're expected to be just as close this week. "We're going into this event very confident and believing in our abilities," Poirier said in a recent conference call. "But I think that comes more from our training and our preparation than anything else." Veterans on the world stage, Gilles and Poirier, both 33, will compete in their 12th world championships. The three-time medallists took bronze in 2021 and 2023 before earning silver last year in Montreal, where their free dance topped Chock and Bates, more than demonstrating they were ready to contend for gold this year and at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. Years of experience have shown the duo what works and what doesn't, Poirier said. "We know exactly how we need to train and how to develop a program over the course of the season," he said. "We know what sells and what does well, and what shows off our best skating." A key lesson has been learning to pace themselves over a long and demanding season. WATCH | Gilles, Poirier dance to 2nd straight gold medal at Four Continents: Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier dance to a 2nd-straight gold medal at Four Continents 1 month ago Duration 11:22 Fatigue later in Grand Prix schedule "Many years we've gone into worlds and we've overtrained and haven't skated our best, because we felt dead by the time we got there," Gilles said. "We're really confident in the preparation that we have for this event this time." That's not to say there haven't been low points this season. They cruised to a gold medal at Skate Canada International in October to begin the 2024-25 campaign, but a decision to start off-season training two weeks earlier than usual led to fatigue later in the Grand Prix schedule. Their following competitions, including the Grand Prix Final in December, featured uncharacteristic falls. Gilles and Poirier rebounded with a stellar, confidence-boosting performance at Canadian nationals in January before delivering season-best scores at Four Continents, sticking to their "train but not overtrain" strategy. That's something they've tried to replicate in the month between Four Continents and worlds. "We learned a lot coming out of nationals and going into Four Continents, just training-wise and how many run-throughs we have to do," Gilles said. "We have really just mimicked what we did there, because we felt confident and strong, and we felt like by the time we got to Four Continents we were rested and ready to push." At Four Continents, their 87.22 rhythm dance score — set to a Beach Boys, Ken and Barbie theme — gave them a 1.01-point advantage over Chock and Bates. Though the Americans won the free dance, Gilles and Poirier's lead held firm for gold. Italy's Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri and Great Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson will also be aiming for the podium in Boston, while fellow Canadians Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha look to improve on their fifth-place finish in Montreal last year. Competition begins Wednesday The rhythm dance is set for Friday, followed by Saturday's free dance. Competition starts Wednesday afternoon with the women's short program. Later Wednesday, Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps will begin defending their world title in the pairs short program. Canada has only one entry in each singles discipline, and neither are podium contenders. Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., will skate in the women's competition, headlined by three-time reigning champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan. Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., represents Canada in the men's event, where American star Ilia Malinin will try to electrify the home crowd after a record-breaking free skate last year in Montreal. The Evolution Of Madeline Schizas 5 hours ago Duration 3:17 Olympic opportunities are on the line. Schizas and Sadovsky need to finish in the top 10 for Canada to secure two quota spots in their respective disciplines at the 2026 Games. Both skaters have finished as high as 12th, but Schizas placed 18th last year while Sadovsky was 19th. "They've had good seasons. There's been a lot of positive movement forward in their scores and placements," said Skate Canada high-performance director Michael Slipchuk. "I think they've both put themselves in a really good position this week to be right in the thick of it with everyone else." The world championships at TD Garden will be hosted by the Skating Club of Boston in a time of mourning as it grieves the loss of six members who died in the mid-air plane collision over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29. Canada roster
