The 2025 World Figure Skating Championships are taking place in Prague. Japanese skater Kaori Sakamoto won the women's free program at the World Championships, securing her fourth World gold. Kaori Sakamoto set a new personal best score of 158.97 in her free program. Mone Chiba finished second in the women's event with a personal best of 150.02 points in the free program. Nina Pinzarrone from Belgium won the bronze medal in the women's event. Amber Glenn finished fifth in the women's event at the World Championships. American skater Ilia Malinin won the men's World Championship gold medal on Saturday, his third consecutive World title. Ilia Malinin scored 218.11 points in the free program and 329.40 points total. Yuma Kagiyama finished second in the men's event with a total score of 306.67 points.
Ilia Malinin had a disappointing performance at the Olympics, finishing eighth after falls in the free program. Simone Biles offered advice to Ilia Malinin on handling Olympic pressure.
Finnish ice dance pair Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis performed excellently in the rhythm dance at the World Championships on Friday. Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis scored 78.03 points in their rhythm dance program. Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis are in 11th place before the free dance. Matthias Versluis suffered from back problems that worsened in Prague on Wednesday. The decision for Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis to compete was made in the arena's backrooms just minutes before taking the ice.
Finnish ice dance pair Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen experienced a major disappointment in the rhythm dance. Yuka Orihara stumbled during the step sequence in their rhythm dance. Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen scored 67.45 points in the rhythm dance. Yuka Orihara broke down in tears after their performance.
It went well, better than expected.
German pair Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel entertained the audience with their free program on Thursday. Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel performed a headbanger move in their free program, where Kunkel spins Hocke in the air holding only her ankle. The headbanger move is banned in competition rules, but Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel included it as part of their final movement sequence. Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel finished seventh in the pairs event.
Finnish figure skater Iida Karhunen, 17, has gained worldwide attention with her unique eye-blinking move in her short program. Iida Karhunen is reportedly the only figure skater to have eye blinks as part of her performance. Iida Karhunen scored 61.40 points in her short program at the World Championships. Iida Karhunen made an error in her combination jump, with a stumble interpreted as a fall. Iida Karhunen advanced to the free skate at the World Championships.
Finnish synchronized skating team Helsinki Rockettes is in fourth place after the short program at the World Championships. Helsinki Rockettes scored 72.44 points in the short program. Two Helsinki Rockettes skaters fell during a crossing element, resulting in a two-point deduction. Finnish synchronized skating team Team Unique is in seventh place after the short program with 66.16 points. Team Unique had three falls in the last minute of their short program.
Canadian team Les Suprêmes leads after the short program with 83.24 points.
It was really challenging and really tough, but thanks to you I managed to get through it.
In the women's qualifiers, Jia Shin of South Korea placed first with a total segment score of 73.48, technical element score of 41.31, program component score of 32.17, and no deductions. Ikura Kushida of Japan placed third with a total segment score of 66.61, technical element score of 37.79, program component score of 28.82, and no deductions. Iida Karhunen of Finland placed fourth with a total segment score of 64.64, technical element score of 36.96, program component score of 27.68, and no deductions. Elina Goidina of Estonia placed fifth with a total segment score of 63.03, technical element score of 36.87, program component score of 26.16, and no deductions.
Mid-ranked qualifiers included Inga Gurgenidze of Georgia in seventh place with a total segment score of 62.28, technical element score of 35.55, program component score of 26.73, and no deductions. Rena Uezono of Japan placed eighth with a total segment score of 61.96, technical element score of 34.56, program component score of 28.40, and a deduction of 1.00. Stefania Gladki of France placed tenth with a total segment score of 58.65, technical element score of 32.80, program component score of 25.85, and no deductions. Sherry Zhang of the United States placed 11th with a total segment score of 58.57, technical element score of 32.22, program component score of 27.35, and a deduction of 1.00. Jana Horcickova of the Czech Republic placed 12th with a total segment score of 58.33, technical element score of 33.48, program component score of 24.85, and no deductions. Anthea Gradinaru of Switzerland placed 13th with a total segment score of 57.85, technical element score of 33.29, program component score of 24.56, and no deductions. Sarina Joos of Italy placed 14th with a total segment score of 57.66, technical element score of 33.33, program component score of 25.33, and a deduction of 1.00. Lulu Lin of Canada placed 15th with a total segment score of 57.12, technical element score of 32.36, program component score of 24.76, and no deductions.
Lower-ranked qualifiers included Yujae Kim of South Korea in 18th place with a total segment score of 54.98, technical element score of 28.20, program component score of 27.78, and a deduction of 1.00. Josephine Lee of the United States placed 20th with a total segment score of 54.33, technical element score of 27.55, program component score of 26.78, and no deductions. Phattaratida Kaneshige of Thailand placed 21st with a total segment score of 54.01, technical element score of 30.74, program component score of 23.27, and no deductions. Nina Fredriksson of Sweden placed 27th with a total segment score of 51.61, technical element score of 29.11, program component score of 22.50, and no deductions. Hannah Frank of Austria placed 31st with a total segment score of 49.59, technical element score of 28.21, program component score of 22.38, and a deduction of 1.00. Angel Delevaque of the Netherlands placed 33rd with a total segment score of 48.33, technical element score of 26.25, program component score of 23.08, and a deduction of 1.00. Yekaterina Balyuba of Kazakhstan placed 34th with a total segment score of 47.25, technical element score of 27.87, program component score of 19.38, and no deductions. Lena Cusak of Croatia placed 36th with a total segment score of 45.71, technical element score of 25.28, program component score of 21.43, and a deduction of 1.00. Gian-Quen Isaacs of South Africa placed 38th with a total segment score of 44.30, technical element score of 23.98, program component score of 21.32, and a deduction of 1.00. Megan Wong of Hong Kong placed 40th with a total segment score of 39.88, technical element score of 19.31, program component score of 20.57, and no deductions. Mia Risa Gomez of Norway placed 43rd with a total segment score of 37.97, technical element score of 19.05, program component score of 20.92, and a deduction of 2.00. Alexa Se placed 46th in the qualifiers, but the entry is incomplete with missing score details.
Several unknowns persist from the championships, including the specific advice Simone Biles offered to Ilia Malinin on handling Olympic pressure and the exact nature and severity of Matthias Versluis's back problems. Additionally, it is unclear why Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel included the banned headbanger move in their routine or how judges reacted to it, and missing score details for Alexa Se in the qualifiers remain unresolved.
The implications of these performances extend to future competitions, with skaters like Kaori Sakamoto and Ilia Malinin solidifying their legacies ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics.