Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) strikes gold in Montpellier
Kaori Sakamoto of Japan wins the Gold Medal in the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 (Photo by Mickael Chavet/RX/TheInvisibleSilence)
Kaori Sakamoto of Japan skated to a confident victory winning with almost 20 points to spare. Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx earned a historic silver medal for Belgium while newcomer Alysa Liu of the United States claimed the bronze in her World Championship debut..
Sakamoto skated last and put out an excellent performance, reeling off a seven triple jumps including a triple flip-triple toeloop combination, a double Axel-triple toe-double toe as well as level-four spins and footwork in her program to “No More Fight Left In Me”. The Olympic bronze medalist maintained high speed throughout the performance and set a new personal best with 155.77 points. She accumulated 236.09 points to win the first World title for a Japanese lady in eight years.
“I feel that this medal has a very precious meaning to me,” Sakamoto said. “It was the hardest month I have ever had, but this experience is something that only those who have competed in the Olympics and the World Championships can make, so it was a great experience to have it this time. I am very happy that I was able to overcome this challenge, because I don't think there is anything tougher than this in the future. It was the last time I performed this program in this season, so I felt it was a really good end to the season, and I was so happy to finally perform so well in the World Championships, I was so excited,” she continued.
Shoma Uno (JPN) claims first World title
Shoma UNO of Japan wins the Gold Medal in the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 (Photo by Mickael Chavet/RX/TheInvisibleSilence)
Two-time Olympic medalist Shoma Uno claimed his first World title. 2022 Olympic silver medallist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan took his second consecutive World silver medal while Vincent Zhou of United States rose from sixth to earn the bronze.
Short Program leader Uno opened his dynamic performance to a modern version on Ravel’s Bolero with a confident quadruple loop and followed up with a quadruple Salchow, quad toe-double toe, quad flip and two triple Axels. The only glitches came when he underrotated a wobbly quad toe and singled the flip in combination with the second Axel. The two-time World silver medalist collected a level four for his spins and footwork and for the first time cracked the 200-points barrier in the Free Skating with 202.85 points. His total score of 312.48 is a new personal best as well.
“This was my last short and free program for this season, so I wanted to have a performance that made my coach Stephane Lambiel proud. I was able to achieve that and I haven’t won too often, so I’m very happy about that,” the 24-year-old said. “The choreography of this program is very challenging and I had to challenge myself for five quads. It was a very challenging year in a physical way. That I came here under these circumstances makes me really happy and I’m grateful for my score after having a difficult experience last time in France (at the Grand Prix in 2019). “During my steps I thought I was doing enough and I was really getting tired, but I wanted to do justice to Stephane. I was watching all the performances of the previous groups, so I knew very well where I was. All my emotions went into a smile at the end of my program,” he added.
Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) dance to fifth World title on home ice
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France win the Ice Dance World Championships 2022 (photo Mickael Chavet/RX/TheInvisibleSilence)
Olympic Champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France danced to their fifth World title on home ice at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier (FRA) Saturday. Madison Hubbel and Zachary Donohue of United States took the silver, their fourth consecutive World medal while teammates Madison Chokes and Evan Bates collected the bronze, their third World medal.
When Papadakis/Cizeron took the ice last out of the 20 Couples in the Final the capacity crowd at the Arena Sud de France greeted them with huge applause. The Olympic Champions danced with dreamlike confidence, with each step, each movement expressing the Tango “Elegie” by Gabriel Fauré. The moment the music ended, the crowd rose as one and cheered. The five-time European Champions earned a level four for two lifts, the spin and twizzles and a level three for the diagonal step sequence and rotational lift to post a new record score and personal best of 137.09. They picked up a total of 36 perfect 10.00s and racked up 229.82 points, another new highest score.
“After a season like this, after winning the Games, being here at home in France with our team, our coaches, there's so much history, so many people, I think the emotions we had on the ice today, it does not compare to anything. It was magical,” Cizeron said. “I think we try to make the most of every moment with all the skaters that are here, we try to make the most of every memory, with every person, every moment,” he added.
Papadakis agreed. “It was a magical moment, we knew there would be a lot of people but we didn't expect that, so it was really emotional, so much that I don't know how to focus, but it was beautiful too. I’m just so grateful and we’re so lucky to have been surrounded by our closest friends here on the podium. I think that’s very rare and it’s what makes it worth it - gold medals, and the event, and the work. I think friendship in the end is what stays.“
Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier (USA) crowned World Pairs Champions
Alexa Knieri and Brandon Frazier of United States win the Pair Skating World Championships 2022 (photo Mickael Chavet/RX/TheInvisibleSilence)
Pair Skaters Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier (USA) claimed the first ISU World Pair Skating title for the USA since 1979 when striking gold at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier (FRA) Thursday. Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara (JPN) took silver, the highest finish in history for a Pair Skating team of Japan. Vanessa James/Eric Radford (CAN) earned the bronze.
Overnight leaders Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier skated last and put out an excellent performance to “Fix You”, hitting a triple twist, triple toe-double toe, triple Salchow, throw triple loop and flip as well as level-four lifts. The 2021 National Champions posted a new personal best of 144.21 points and totaled 221.09 points.
“So many emotions I can’t even explain it – it was so much gratitude, fulfillment, excitement, disbelief - it was magical! In the moment, it was living a dream that Brandon and I always sought after but never knew it would actually be possible and we want to live in this moment for a long time,” Knierim shared. “I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the season. For Alexa and I this was such a personal journey since we teamed up. For us to finish the season on this kind of program, that means so much to us. I’ve dreamed about this moment so many times but this (reality) is even better,” Frazier noted.