Alysa Liu vaults to shock lead at figure skating worlds with statement program

Alysa Liu became the youngest ever US figure skating champion at 13 years old before vanishing from the sport at 16, uncertain if she’d ever return. Now, at 19, she’s back – and suddenly within touching distance of a world title that no American woman has claimed in nearly two decades.

On the opening afternoon of the world figure skating championships, the teenager from Clovis, California, delivered a career-best short program that not only captivated the home crowd at TD Garden, but vaulted her into the lead with 74.58 points – her highest international score to date. Her emotional performance to the song Promise by Laufey and Dan Wilson enamored the crowd and left Liu blinking back tears as she exited the ice.

“Outside of scores, I think I skated the best out of any competition,” Liu said. “I was trying to stop my lips from quivering.”

Skating 18th in a field of 33, Liu’s elegant, confident program held up through the final flights of top contenders. Her surprise lead places her in pole position heading into Friday’s free skate with a chance to become the first American women’s singles skater to win a world title since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.

She edged out Japan’s Mone Chiba, who scored 73.44, and fellow American Isabeau Levito, the reigning world silver medalist, who earned 73.33 for third place.

Liu was candid when asked how she managed to emerge as the leader. “I don’t know. It’s so strange. I really don’t know,” she said. “I would say it’s definitely my mentality. It’s hard to get in whatever state of mind I have, but I really like it. And everyone keeps telling me it seems to ‘work’ – I don’t know what that means, but I’ll just keep skating.”

Her program featured a clean triple Lutz–triple toe loop combination, fast and centered spins, and expressive choreography that earned her a standing ovation. She even threw in a spontaneous cartwheel during her introduction.

“I was thinking of doing something cool,” she said. “I saw the space I had and thought, ‘A cartwheel will be it.’”

The remarkable comeback has yielded richer dividends than many expected. Liu retired after earning bronze at the 2022 world championships – her final competition before stepping away. Early last year, she announced her return, with renewed motivation and long-term hopes of competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.

“Doesn’t really change anything,” Liu said of leading after the short. “My goals are still the same. I want to put out a really good performance for my free skate. The ideal one – that would be a dream.”

Her coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, met her at the boards with quiet smiles and a warm “welcome back”.

Just behind Liu, Levito – the reigning world silver medalist from Mount Holly, New Jersey – looked strong in her own return after missing four months with a foot injury. Her Audrey Hepburn-themed short program to Henry Mancini’s Moon River was another crowd favorite.

“I had 1,000 thoughts from start to finish in that entire program,” said Levito, a former world junior champion who turned 19 earlier this month. “At times I was thinking about something not even related to skating. I understand why I was nervous – I thought I would forget how to compete. But I’m so happy to be back.”

The three-time defending world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan mixed in some uncharacteristic struggles and posted a 71.03 for fifth place. She landed a double flip instead of a triple on her opening combination – a rare error that may have cost her the chance of becoming the first skater to win four straight world titles since the American great Carol Heiss’s run of five on the trot from 1956 through 1960.

Amber Glenn, considered one of the favorites after an undefeated Grand Prix season, stumbled on her trademark triple Axel and fell to ninth place with 67.65. Glenn remains the only woman in this field to land the high-risk jump cleanly in competition this season.

“I’m obviously very disappointed right now,” Glenn said. “It’s always hard to come back after a fall.”

South Korea’s Kim Chae-yeon, last month’s Four Continents and Asian Winter Games champion, touched her hand to the ice on a shaky triple toe loop and finished 11th with 65.67. That will leave the 18-year-old with an uphill battle of matching her world bronze medal from a year ago in Montreal.

Missing from the field once again was the Russian contingent, whose skaters remain barred from international competitions due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian women had won five of the six world titles prior to the ban and their continued absence has reshaped the medal landscape, creating new opportunities for rising contenders from Japan, South Korea and the United States.

The competition opened Wednesday at midday under a cloud of grief and remembrance. A tribute was scheduled ahead of the evening session for the 28 members of the skating community who died on 29 January, when an American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter near Washington. Among the 67 total victims were two skaters, two coaches and two parents from the host Skating Club of Boston.

“The kids we lost – across the country – were the future of the sport,” said Doug Zeghibe, chief executive of the club. “So it’s really nice to see this being acknowledged.”

Worlds continue Thursday with the pairs’ free skate and the start of the men’s and ice dance events. All medals will be doled out by Saturday night. This event also serves as a critical qualifier for the 2026 Winter Games, with Olympic quotas determined by national placements in each discipline.

For Liu, that road to Milano Cortina has already begun. But first, she has a world title within reach. “I didn’t expect too much from this season,” she said. “But I know that next season will be even better.”

That may be true. But right now Alysa Liu is leading the world – and skating like she never left.