American figure skater Alysa Liu takes early lead on opening night of world championships

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American fig skater Alysa Liu assumed the pb aft the abbreviated programme connected the opening nighttime of the satellite championships connected Wednesday, proving that the Olympian is overmuch farther on successful her comeback from status than astir anyone thought.

Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., successful 6th aft season-best people of 69.18

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 26, 2025 6:24 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

The 19-year-old from Clovis, Calif., had to combat backmost immoderate tears — and halt immoderate lips from quivering — aft scoring her international-best 74.58 points for her program, acceptable to the opus "Promise" by Laufey and Dan Wilson. Mone Chiba of Japan was 2nd with 73.44 points portion U.S. teammate Isabeau Levito, the reigning metallic medallist, was 3rd with 73.33 points.

Watch the ISU World Figure Skating Championships

"Outside of scores, I deliberation I skated the champion retired of immoderate competition," said Liu, who retired aft the 2022 satellite championships, lone to denote aboriginal past twelvemonth that she would beryllium making a comeback with an oculus connected the Milano-Cortina Olympics.

Three-time defending satellite champion Kaori Sakamoto was 5th with 71.03 points arsenic she tries to go the archetypal to triumph 4 consecutive titles since Carol Heiss successful the 1950s and '60s. Two-time defending U.S. champion Amber Glenn, who was among the favourites successful Boston, fell connected her opening triple axel and was ninth with 67.65 points.

WATCH | Liu leads aft abbreviated programme astatine fig skating worlds:

American Alysa Liu leads aft abbreviated programme astatine satellite fig skating championships

Alysa Liu of the U.S. scored 74.58 for her abbreviated programme Wednesday and sits successful archetypal spot astatine the satellite fig skating championships successful Boston.

Schizas posts season-best score

Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., posted a season-best 69.18 to spot sixth aft delivering a cleanable skate to her "Lion King" abbreviated program, putting her successful presumption to assistance Canada unafraid 2 quota spots for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.

Schizas secured 1 by qualifying for Friday's escaped skate. She'll request to decorativeness successful the apical 10 to gain her state a 2nd successful the women's event.

The 22-year-old placed 12th astatine the 2022 satellite championships, her champion result. She finished 18th connected location ungraded past twelvemonth successful Montreal.

WATCH | Schizas sits 6th aft season-best score:

Canada's Madeline Schizas sits successful 6th spot astatine satellite fig skating championships

Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., placed sixth successful the women's abbreviated program, astatine the satellite fig skating championships successful Boston.

"I was feeling confident, I came successful truly confident," Schizas said. "I felt a small spot tense due to the fact that I had a weird autumn connected 1 of my jumps successful the run-through of abbreviated programme yesterday here, truthful I was a small tense from that, but I knew if I conscionable focused I was gonna beryllium capable to propulsion it out.

"I'm blessed that we person 1 [Olympic] spot qualified now, and I'm hoping to marque it 2 aft the escaped skate."

The duo volition person contention from Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany, who are coming disconnected their rubric astatine the prestigious Grand Prix Final, and Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, the satellite champions 2 years ago.

The men's contention and crystal creation statesman Thursday. All of the medals volition beryllium decided by Saturday night.

WATCH | Gilles, Poirier look up to representing Canada successful Boston:

Canada's Gilles and Poirier look up to satellite fig skating title successful Boston

Ice Dance skaters Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier talk astir what it volition beryllium similar to correspond Canada successful Boston astatine the satellite fig skating championships.

The worlds are being hosted by the renowned Skating Club of Boston, which had six members killed astir 2 months ago, erstwhile an American Airlines formation collided with an Army chopper adjacent Washington. Skaters from the satellite implicit said this week that they hoped their performances would beryllium a cathartic acquisition for a tight-knit assemblage inactive grieving.

"The kids we mislaid — crossed the state — were the aboriginal of the sport," said Doug Zeghibe, the CEO of the club, which produced specified champions arsenic Dick Button, Tenley Albright and Nancy Kerrigan. "So it's truly bully to spot this being acknowledged."

The last satellite championships earlier the Milano-Cortina Olympics are besides important for establishing the quotas for the Winter Games. The fig of entries for each federation volition beryllium decided by however its champion skaters decorativeness successful each subject this week.

That Figure Skating Show | Previewing the 2025 satellite championships successful Boston:

That Figure Skating Show previews Boston 2025

The 2025 World Figure Skating Championships are successful Boston wherever Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin get to vie connected location soil. Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier look to triumph elusive satellite golden and Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps support their title. Olympic quota spots are connected the enactment for Canadian azygous skaters and we perceive from Devin Heroux, our antheral connected the crushed astatine Worlds.

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