2025 Figure Skating World Championship sees Team GB win first medal in 40 years

The figure skating 2024-25 season wrapped up with the annual World Championships, held in Boston’s famous TD Garden. It was a very exciting Worlds – Team USA got almost a full sweep, with t3/4 gold medals in the Women’s, Men’s and Ice Dance events, with Team GB getting their first Worlds medal in the Ice Dance event since Torvill and Dean. Worlds also marked the first qualifier event for countries’ Olympic quotas for the 2026 Winter Olympics, so competition was fierce across all events.

Ilia Malinin ended up with a 31-point lead over silver medalist Michael Shaidorov, who was the first man from Kazakhstan to medal since 2015

The men’s event was highly anticipated, with many fans tuning in to watch Ilia Malinin win his second consecutive world title. Malinin’s victory seemed like a foregone conclusion to many people – he hasn’t lost a competition since November 2023, and was called ‘invincible’ by competitor Yuma Kagiyama. This competition was no different; he broke another world record by landing six quads in his fan-favourite free skate, set to Falling In Reverse’s ‘I’m Not a Vampire’, including his quad axel – he still remains the only man in the world to have landed it in international competition. He ended up with a 31-point lead over silver medalist Michael Shaidorov, who was the first man from Kazakhstan to medal since 2015, and Yuma Kagiyama, with France’s Adam Siao Him Fa and Kevin Aymoz rounding out the top five.

The Women’s event was much more contested than the Men’s. Pre-event favourites to win included Kaori Sakamoto, who was going for her fourth consecutive world title, and this year’s Grand Prix Final winner Amber Glenn, who was going into Worlds having had an undefeated season so far. Both had solid short programmes but struggled in the free skate. Glenn landed her iconic triple axel at the start of her skate but was shaky and unfortunately remained shaky throughout, and Sakamoto just missed out on the gold despite a gorgeous free skate to ‘All That Jazz’, with characteristically strong jumping passes. However, the gold medal ultimately went to Team USA’s Alysa Liu, a victory which was the culmination of her comeback season. Liu retired from figure skating after winning bronze at the 2022 Worlds, but returned this season, with incredibly joyful short and free programs which saw her to the top of the podium – USA’s first win in 19 years – with Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Mone Chibe coming second and third respectively. Team USA’s Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn made up the rest of the top five.

Team USA’s flawless skates were beautiful to watch on the ice, energetic and fast-paced

Going into the Pairs event, the undisputed favourites to win was Japan’s Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi, who won this season’s Four Continents. Both their short and free programs were gorgeously artistic, and technically perfect, with their short program’s throw triple lutz being a particular favourite of the commentators. Germany’s team of Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin, this season’s European Champions, also put out a very strong showing, with their lifts being especially stunning, but the Japanese team beat them to the gold by 0.71 points. Last year’s champions, Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, didn’t manage to defend their title and came fifth, but said afterwards that they are hoping for a shot at glory at Milan 2026, with Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii making it onto the podium in third and Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava coming fourth.

The ice dance theme this season was the ‘social dances and styles of the 1950s, 60s and 70s’, and this season’s World Champions, the USA’s team of recently married Madison Chock and Evan Bates, delivered all of those styles in a thrilling program to clinch the victory. They were the favourites going in to the event, and got a season’s best score to take gold following a surprise defeat at the Four Continents competition earlier in the year, landing them a historic ‘three-peat’ victory – three consecutive World Championships. Their flawless skates were beautiful to watch on the ice, energetic and fast-paced.

Another story from the Ice Dance event was Team GB’s first medal in this event at Worlds since Torvill and Dean, with Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson coming in third. Their free dance, set to a medley of Beyoncé songs, was a fan favourite with the crowd and commentators alike, and Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier also made it onto the podium with a silver medal.