ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2024: Women's Free Skate, Dance Short Results
March 23, 2024
Japan's Kaori Sakamoto made history Friday during Day 3 of the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.
Sakamoto rallied from a fourth-place short program finish to win her third straight world title, becoming the first woman to three-peat as singles champion since 1968.
Before the women's free skate, the ice dance competition began Friday in Montreal. Here are the day's leaderboards, as well as a breakdown of the Day 3 results.
Ice Dance Rhythm Dance Leaderboard (Ahead of Saturday's Free Dance)
- Madison Chock / Evan Bates, USA: 90.08
- Charlene Guignard / Marco Fabbri, Italy: 87.52
- Pipe Gilles / Paul Poirier, Canada: 86.51
- Lilah Fear / Lewis Gibson, Great Britain: 84.60
- Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha, Canada: 82.30
Find the full leaderboard at isuresults.com.
Women's Final Leaderboard (After Friday's Free Skate)
- Kaori Sakamoto, Japan: 222.96
- Isabeau Levito, USA: 212.16
- Kim Chae-yeon, Korea: 203.59
- Loena Hendrickx, Belgium: 200.25
- Kimmy Repond, Switzerland: 196.02
Find the full leaderboard at isuresults.com.
Analysis
Ice Dance Rhythm Dance
The reigning world ice dance champions, Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates, took first place Friday after the rhythm dance competition.
Chock and Bates are hoping to complete their 13th season together with an undefeated record.
They're off to a good start after scoring 90.08 Friday. That's the highest ice dance score in the world this season, per NBC Sports.
ISU Figure Skating @ISU_FigureMadison Chock and Evan Bates put their skate forward to bid for another World title.<br><br>The American couple leads the field after the rhythm dance in Montreal 🇨🇦<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldFigure?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldFigure</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FigureSkating?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FigureSkating</a> <a href="https://t.co/hyJoF7Oao9">pic.twitter.com/hyJoF7Oao9</a>
The duo, who last year became the oldest couple in ice dance history to win a world title, are set to get married this summer. This could potentially be their last season, they told Nick McCarvel of Olympics.com in February.
Two Canadian pairs wowed the home crowd Friday as Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, as well as Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, finished in the top five.
Gilles has successfully made her return to the world stage after missing most of last season due to a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. She and Poirier are two-time world bronze medalists.
Lajoie and Lagha, who won the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in 2019, are meanwhile hoping to earn their first world medal.
Women's Free Skate
Sakamoto became the first woman to win three consecutive world individual titles since Peggy Fleming thanks to Friday's free skate.
Her performance earned her an 11-point lead in the event, enough to lift lift her to the top of the podium after Wednesday's fourth-place short program finish.
ISU Figure Skating @ISU_FigureOn top of the world 🌍⛸ <br><br>Kaori Sakamoto 🇯🇵 leaps to the top of the podium securing her third consecutive <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldFigure?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldFigure</a> Title 🏆<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FigureSkating?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FigureSkating</a> <a href="https://t.co/mHIsAlEW3L">pic.twitter.com/mHIsAlEW3L</a>
"I was fourth in the short program, so I was a little anxious about that, but today I was in a really good place emotionally," Sakamoto said after the free skate, per McCarvel for Olympics.com. "And the intention was suitable: I was able to perform my elements one by one, so I'm happy with the result."
A pair of 17-year-olds rounded out the podium as American Isabeau Levito took home the silver medal and Korea's Kim Chae-yeon claimed bronze.
Levito is the first American to win silver in the world championships since Ashley Wagner in 2016, per NBC Sports. No American woman has won the individual title since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.
The competitive portion of the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships wraps up Saturday with the ice dance free dance at 1:30 p.m. ET, followed by the men's free skate at 6 p.m. ET. Find the full broadcast schedule here.