Comeback queen Alysa Liu leads US to figure skating’s World Team Trophy win

TOKYO – World figure skating champion Alysa Liu capped off a triumphant comeback season with another victory to help the United States win the World Team Trophy in Tokyo on April 19.

Liu, who walked away from the sport in 2022 at the age of 16 before returning to the ice in 2024, topped the women’s free skate with a season-best score of 150.97, ahead of American teammate Amber Glenn.

The result sealed victory for the US in the six-team season-ending competition, with Japan finishing second and Italy third.

Liu won her first world title in Boston in March and the 19-year-old was satisfied with her latest success. She said: “I’m really grateful and I’m honoured. It really just makes me want to work so much harder because I feel like I can put out much better.”

Glenn finished second with 148.93 points, ahead of Kaori Sakamoto of Japan with 145.00.

Sakamoto made no significant errors during her intense display and had her knees on the ice after fulfilling her duty as Japan’s captain.

“Everyone was physically in a tough condition, and I’m happy we’ve all come away without injuries,” she said. “I powered through it with determination. I’d have faltered without cheers from everyone here.”

Japan’s Mone Chiba fell with her triple loop but she kept battling to come fifth on 138.52, behind Georgia’s Anastasiia Gubanova (141.39).

“It wasn’t a perfect performance, but I was able to skate feeling most relaxed,” said Chiba. “We wanted to win, but everyone contributed to get a good overall result.”

Liu also won the women’s short programme last week in Tokyo, where men’s world champion Ilia Malinin was in imperious form for the US. The win was a fitting finale to a successful season for American skaters, with ice dance duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates also bagging world championship gold.

But it was marked by the tragedy of a January plane crash in Washington, in which 28 of the 67 people who died were members of the skating community.

“For us, the motto of this week, and it has become the motto of the season, is: ‘Stronger Together’,” said US team captain Jason Brown.

“Through good and bad we are able to lean on each other and this event gives us that opportunity to come together as a team and support one another.”

World champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan won the pairs free skate with 145.06.

“We managed to skate through with smiles on our faces,” Miura said. “We had a big mistake with one of our jumps but still managed to get our best score. We feel it’s not beyond our dream to score 150.”

Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (142.26) were second, ahead of Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava (139.96). AFP, KYODO NEWS