Alysa Liu delivers the U.S. a women’s figure skating world championship; Isabeau Levito finishes fourth
Liu became the first American world champion since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium in 2006. Levito and Amber Glenn scored three spots for the Americans at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
BOSTON — Alysa Liu became the first American figure skating world champion in nearly two decades on Friday night, dethroning three-time defending champion Kaori Sakamoto with a brilliant free skate that earned her a standing ovation inside TD Garden.
With her gold dress shimmering, Liu landed all of her jumping passes to a rendition of MacArthur Park by Boston native Donna Summer, and finished with 222.97 points to culminate a remarkable comeback from a two-year retirement.
As the 19-year-old Liu's score was read, the sellout crowd roared and her coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, pulled her into a hug. Moments later, Sakamoto came over and also gave her a hug, as if to pass her the championship torch as the first world champion from the U.S. since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium in 2006.
» READ MORE: South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito back on the ice at the world championships in Boston
“What the hell?” Liu asked. “I don't know. I don't know how to process this.”
Sakamoto finished with 217.98 points to add a silver medal to her three previous golds. Her Japanese teammate, Mone Chiba, was third with 215.24 points while Isabeau Levito, who lives in Mount Holly, trains in Mount Laurel, and Amber Glenn gave the Americans three of the top five.
Levito finished fourth and Glenn finished fifth. The women’s scores needed to add up to no higher than 13, and with fourth and fifth place respectively, Levito’s and Glenn’s placements added up to nine.
Even before new world champion Liu stepped onto the ice, Levito and Glenn had scored three spots for the American women at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Levito earned three spots for this world championship last year in Montreal, when she placed second.
Liu alone earned three spots at next year’s Olympics, as the first and second place skaters get three spots for their country.
With these placements, the three American women made strong cases to be on the 2026 Olympic team, as the Olympic and world teams are based on results from the past two seasons.
The pairs skaters also won three spots for the Olympics. On Thursday night, U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov placed sixth and Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea placed seventh, adding up to 13.
The ice dance and men’s event end Saturday night, and the Americans lead in both.
American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates built a big cushion as they chase a third consecutive world title, scoring a season-best 90.18 points for their rhythm dance to lead Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.
Gilles and Poirier scored 86.44 points to their dance, set to music from The Beach Boys. They held the lead only long enough for the U.S. duo to finish their “tour of the decades” program, which earned them a raucous ovation inside TD Garden.
The International Skating Union chose the theme this season of social dances and styles of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. But while some skaters picked one — the Watusi, the Madison or disco — Chock and Bates threw it all into their rollicking showcase.
“It was probably the most fun I've had thus far on competitive ice in a performance, maybe ever,” Chock said. “It was really a joy to perform in front of a home crowd and share that excitement with Evan. It was the best.”
» READ MORE: South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito in third place after figure skating world championships’ opening night
Now, Chock and Bates will try to finish off the first three-peat since Russia's Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov in the 1990s.
“That’s a tough amount of points to catch up on,” Poirier admitted, “but we also know that sport is really unpredictable.”
In the men’s, world champion Ilia Malinin is in the lead, with Andrew Torgashev in eighth and Jason Brown in 12th.
Levito surprised even herself by placing third in the short program and fourth in the free skate after a season of more ups than downs. Levito only returned to competition a month ago and told Olympics.com that she had a foot injury, the worst of her life. She said it was “terrifying” and that she still felt nervous tapping into toe jumps with that foot.
With her fourth-place finish, Levito showed the doubters on social media that despite being off the ice for several months and missing January’s U.S. championships, she deserved that spot on the world team.
Inquirer writer Ellen Dunkel contributed to this article.