PRAGUE (AP) — It's time to say goodbye for Kaori Sakamoto, and she's aiming to go out on a high with the world figure skating title.
Sakamoto's short-program music, “Time to Say Goodbye,” was charged with emotion as she targets a fourth world title before retirement.
Sakamoto shouted with joy and clapped as she learned her score of 79.31, a season-best which put her into first place by less than a point from her fellow Japanese skater Mone Chiba on a personal-best 78.45 in her disco-themed program.
There's a strong U.S. challenge for the medals with Amber Glenn third and Isabeau Levito fourth.
Without Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu, who withdrew from the world championships amid a hectic media schedule, the focus was on whether Sakamoto could regain the title she won three times in a row from 2022 through 2024, and whether three-time U.S. champion Glenn could claim a first world medal.
Glenn came to the world championships with an Olympic team gold but missed the individual medals after a short-program error. She was back on form Wednesday, starting with a big triple axel on her way to scoring 72.65. Levito was just behind her with 72.16 for fourth in her return to form after 12th at the Olympics.
Ami Nakai's triple axel propelled her into the Olympic short-program lead — she ended up with bronze — but went missing Wednesday. The 17-year-old Japanese skater could only manage an awkward double as her opening jump and has a tough task to recover from eighth.
The championships continue with the pairs short program later Wednesday.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Love & Hope & Magic: The Making of Jinx, the Musical,” is a documentary chronicling … Read morePremiere of Love & Hope & Magic: The Making of Jinx, The Musical
Join us for an unforgettable evening as we set sail into the world of luxury river cruising!… Read moreLegendary Rivers & Tours Expo
San Francisco Symphony players get together in an intimate setting of the Gradus Ad Parnassu… Read moreSoirée Française: Our Favorite Violin Sonatas
Planning your dream wedding? Discover everything you need at the Wedding Fair in the Park – … Read moreWedding Fair in the Park
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.