ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022: Women's, Pairs Short Program Results
The 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships kicked off Wednesday from Montpellier, France with the women and pairs beginning their competitions.
Japan's Kaori Sakamoto posted the best score during the women's short program and will look to secure a gold medal during the free skate on Friday. Two American teams lead the pairs event after the short program as Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier hold a small advantage over Ashley Cain-Gribble/Timothy Leduc.
The final session in pairs will take place Thursday, resulting in the first medals of the week.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Here is the latest from Day 1 at Sud de France Arena.
Women Short Program
1. Kaori Sakamoto (JPN): 80.32
2. Loena Hendrickx (BEL): 75.00
3. Mariah Bell (USA): 72.55
4. Young You (KOR): 72.08
5. Alysa Liu (USA): 71.91
Full results via ISU.
There are no Russian competitors at the world championships after a ban from the International Skating Union, which significantly shakes up the women's competition. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Anna Shcherbakova took gold, Alexandra Trusova earned silver and Kamila Valieva finished fourth as part of the Russian Olympic Committee, but none are in France.
It leaves Kaori Sakamoto as the biggest name remaining after taking bronze last month in China.
The 21-year-old lived up to expectations early on with a score of 80.32 in the short program:
Sakamoto easily led the field in both the technical element score and program component score, giving her more than a five-point cushion over Loena Hendrickx entering the free skate.
American Mariah Bell also put herself in good position, sitting in third place after scoring 72.55 on Wednesday:
The personal best was a relative surprise going into the competition:
Bell finished in just 10th place at Beijing but is now in position to medal.
Fellow Americans Alysa Liu and Karen Chen are also among the top eight and will hope to finish strong in the free skate.
Pairs Short Program
1. Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier (USA): 76.88
2. Ashley Cain-Gribble/Timothy Leduc (USA): 75.85
3. Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara (JPN): 71.58
4. Karina Safina/Luka Berulava (GEO): 67.36
5. Vanessa James/Eric Radford (CAN): 66.54
Full results via ISU.
With no Russian or Chinese competitors in the pairs event, the field is without the top five finishers at both the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2021 Figure Skating World Championships.
It opens the door for several top teams to potentially win gold, and it was Americans who took advantage in the short program.
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier especially impressed with a career-best score of 76.88 to lead the field.
The technical element score was the best of the 14 groups, which helped put them in position to earn their first medals in the pairs competition. The duo did help the United States earn silver in the team competition at the 2022 Olympics.
The biggest fight for gold will come from fellow Americans Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy Leduc, who finished eighth in Beijing. The team's interpretation of music and composition especially stood out to the judges, leading to an impressive 34.98 program component score.
Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara is also still in the running for the top spot after posting a 71.58 score in the short program despite not having the most difficult routine. The duo can still skate as well as anyone in the field and could keep the pressure on the Americans in the free skate Thursday.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
