Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Figure Skating - Exhibition Gala - Milano Ice Skating Arena, Milan, Italy - February 21, 2026. Kaori Sakamoto of Japan performs during the Exhibition Gala. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo

Figure skating-Japan's Sakamoto on pace for fourth world title in Prague

25 Mar 2026, 15:37 · CNA · Join

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

(Corrects Chiba score in paragraph three)

PRAGUE, March 25 : Japan's Kaori Sakamoto surged into the lead in the women's singles short programme at the world figure skating championships on Wednesday, putting her on course for a fourth world title in the final competitive event of her career.

The silver medallist at last month's Milano Cortina Olympics delivered a polished performance to "Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman to score 79.31 points.

Mone Chiba of Japan scored 78.45 for second, while American Amber Glenn heads into Friday's free skate in third with 72.65.

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

The field was missing reigning Olympic and world champion Alysa Liu of the U.S., who cited a packed post-Games off-ice schedule.

It is common for skaters to withdraw from worlds in an Olympic season after an intense, months-long physical and emotional peak.

The pairs short programme was scheduled for later on Wednesday.

Newsletter