Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) won the Women's Free Skating and the World title on Friday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal © ISU
Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) moved up from fourth place after the Short Program to claim her third consecutive World title as the ISU World Figure Skating Championships continued Friday in Montreal (CAN).
Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) completes hat trick
Kaori Sakamoto of Japan soared to the top of the podium from fourth place to claim her third consecutive World title on Friday.
Isabeau Levito (USA) skated off with the silver and Korea’s Chaeyeon Kim came from sixth place to take the bronze medal in what was an exciting competition.
Starting the night in fourth place, Sakamoto had nothing to lose and went out ready to fight. She opened her elegant program to “Feeling Good” with a double Axel and followed up with a triple Lutz and six more triples, including a triple flip-triple toe combination. The 2022 Olympic bronze medallist collected a level four for her spins and a level three for her step sequence to score 149.67 points. The Japanese star racked up 222.96 points to jump on top of the podium.
Sakamoto became the first woman to win three consecutive World titles since Peggy Fleming (USA) from 1966-1968.
“Being fourth after the Short Program, I was anxious going into the Free Skating but I am very happy with the result,” Sakamoto said. “At the start of my performance, I accidentally caught an edge, but I managed to regain my composure and delivered a performance that left me satisfied. I skated well from the beginning of the season and I feel like I gained confidence going for next season.”
Skating to “Nureyev” from “The White Crow”, Levito delivered a balletic performance, highlighted by beautiful spins and six clean triples. Only a triple toe was slightly underrotated. The 2022 World Junior Champion posted a season’s best of 138.43 points and totalled 212.16 points to take her first World medal.
Isabeau Levito (USA) reacts to her silver-medal clinching program at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal on Friday © ISU
“At the end of program I threw my arms out and hopped on the ice. I was in a state of shock that I did that,” Levito said. “I had two goals coming into this World Championship, getting on the podium and securing the third spot for the American women next year. I did both. It was extremely satisfying. I worked so hard for this moment, it took everything of me and I did it.”
Kim skated first in the final flight and produced a strong performance to “Le bal des folles”, completing six clean triple jumps and a slightly underrotated triple Salchow as well as difficult spins and footwork. The 2024 Four Continents silver medalist scored a personal best 136.68 points for a total score of 203.59 points.
Chaeyeon Kim (KOR) climbed from sixth place after the Short Program to third overall on Friday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal © ISU
“I had no idea that I was going to win a World Championship medal,” Kim admitted. “This feels new, but it is also a happy experience. At the beginning of the season I had a lot of injuries and I wasn’t able to commit fully to my training, so I just wanted to show what I was capable of rather than winning a medal.”
European Champion Loena Hendrickx (BEL), who was dealing with an injury, fell on a triple flip and struggled with some other jumps to slip to fourth from first place at 200.25 points. Kimmy Repond (SUI) moved up to fifth from 12th with an excellent performance (196.02 points). Haein Lee (KOR) dropped to sixth from third after some errors (195.48 points), while 2024 ISU Four Continents Champion Mone Chiba (JPN) climbed to seventh from 13th with 195.46 points.
Loena Hendrickx (BEL), the leader after the Short Program, dropped to fourth at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal © ISU
Schedule of the event
The schedule of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships is as follows:
Wednesday, March 20: Pairs & Women's Short Programs
Thursday, March 21: Men's Short Program, Pairs Free Skating
Friday, March 22: Rhythm Dance & Women's Free Skating
Saturday, March 23: Free Dance & Men's Free Skating
Sunday, March 24: Exhibition Gala
For full entries and results, please see the ISU event page and the official website. Follow the discussion on social media using #WorldFigure and #FigureSkating.
Where to watch the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2024:
The ISU World Figure Skating Championships will be live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news here.
Subscribe to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive alerts when the live streams start and when new videos are posted.
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