Nina Pinzarrone took a surprise bronze on 215.20, a breakthrough moment after years of being overshadowed by her Belgian teammate, 2022 world silver medalist Loena Hendrickx.<\/p>\n
Isabeau Levito was fourth for the United States and three-time U.S. champion Amber Glenn<\/a> was still waiting for a first world medal in sixth after popping two jumps. Glenn had been third after the short program and started her free skate with a huge triple axel, but halfway through, a triple loop became a single, and then a double axel went missing too, leaving valuable points on the ice. \u201cI lost my focus,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Amber Glenn from the United States reacts at the end of her routine during the women free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Petr David Josek)<\/p>\n Petr David Josek \/ AP<\/p>\n Sakamoto broke through with individual bronze at the 2022 Olympics and won the first of three world titles in a row \u2014 a feat not seen in women\u2019s skating since the 1960s \u2014 soon after.<\/p>\n Sakamoto never won Olympic gold but leaves with four career Olympic medals including team and individual silvers from the Milan Cortina Olympics. She plans to become a coach.<\/p>\n A Japanese podium sweep had seemed possible before the championships but Olympic bronze medalist Ami Nakai was only ninth after errors in both programs.<\/p>\n Alysa Liu<\/a> withdrew from the world championships as she negotiates her rise to fame after winning the Olympic gold last month.<\/p>\n French team leads ice dance<\/p>\n Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France improved their rhythm dance to take a commanding lead in the ice dance.<\/p>\n The crowd in O2 Arena was applauding the Olympic champions<\/a> before the start of their unrivaled dance to music by Madonna, and they delighted the spectators from the opening twizzle sequence to a rotational lift at the end.<\/p>\n Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron hugged after seeing their personal-best score of 92.74 points, which was better than the 90.18 they received for their rhythm dance<\/a> at the Milan-Cortina Olympics.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2032s our first world championships together so we really wanted to have fun and we really enjoyed the crowd,\u201d Fournier Beaudry said. \u201cThey were exchanging energy with us and it just reminds us why we do it, we wouldn\u2032t be there without them. It\u2032s just a very, very nice moment for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Olympic bronze medalists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada were a distant second with 86.45 heading to Saturday\u2032s free dance.<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, third at last year\u2019s worlds, were third again with 85.09.<\/p>\n U.S. pair Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, fifth at the Olympics, were lying fourth, and teammates Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were seventh.<\/p>\n At the Olympics, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron narrowly beat U.S. stars Madison Chock and Evan Bates to the gold in a result that sparked a furore over judging<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Amber](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WLLYJJJAUJFFZNKNQ7WA6HQYSI.jpg\")
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