Kaori Sakamoto leads in Prague as one jump, one breath, reshapes the World Figure Skating Championships
In Prague, kaori sakamoto sat atop a women’s field that left little margin for doubt: after Wednesday’s short program at the World Figure Skating Championships, she led with 79. 31 points, holding off Japan’s Mone Chiba in second (78. 45) and Team USA’s Amber Glenn in third (72. 65) heading into Friday’s free skate.
What happened in the short program, and why Kaori Sakamoto leads
The scoreboard after Wednesday’s short program drew a clean line between contenders and chasers. Kaori Sakamoto, described as a three-time world champion from Japan, delivered the top mark at 79. 31. Close behind, Mone Chiba kept Japan one-two at 78. 45. Amber Glenn, a three-time U. S. champion, held third at 72. 65—just ahead of teammate Isabeau Levito at 72. 16.
Those numbers matter because they compress pressure into a single skate. The women return for Friday’s free skate in Prague with the podium still open and the margin for error tight, particularly for the skaters trying to climb from third and below.
How Amber Glenn’s triple Axel changed the emotional temperature of the event
Amber Glenn’s short program carried a rare hook: the triple Axel, described as the first and hardest jump in her programs. She was the only woman to complete it in Wednesday’s short program. The jump’s difficulty framed a night when risk and reward became personal rather than abstract.
The context around that moment was not calm. Glenn leaned too far forward on the Axel takeoff after botching two of three attempts in the warm-up before the short program. In the middle of that instability, she had to decide what to do with the noise in her head. “WHOA!” Glenn said to herself during the triple Axel, collecting her thoughts and her equanimity. “I’m not going to lose my balance. I’m going to do this thing. ”
Her performance, by her own accounting, wasn’t a victory lap. “It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t the cleanest, but I got the job done, ” Glenn said. Even with a slightly negative grade of execution on the Axel and a larger penalty on her next jumping pass—a combination that was not fully rotated—she stayed afloat in a way that changed her relationship to the standings. “To be in a good position and not feel like I am clawing my way back through the ranks and having to make this big comeback is really assuring, ” Glenn said. “I’d rather not have to have that extra step of redemption and just be able to go out and do what I’ve been training to do every day. ”
That relief has a specific edge because Glenn’s recent history has demanded late-week rallies. At the Olympics, she was 13th after the short, 9. 2 points from third, then took third in the free and finished fifth overall, barely four points from a medal. At 2025 Worlds, she was ninth after the short, 5. 68 points from third, then took fourth in the free to get fifth overall, nine points from third. In Prague, the short program didn’t erase that past—but it did change the starting conditions for Friday.
Who is chasing, and what Friday’s free skate represents
Friday’s free skate is not just an athletic reset; it is the moment the women’s event becomes legible. Kaori Sakamoto and Mone Chiba hold the top two positions, while Amber Glenn sits third and still within reach of the leaders depending on how the free skate unfolds.
One absence also shapes the atmosphere around the title race. Olympic champion Alysa Liu of the U. S. chose not to defend her world title, with her life described as a whirlwind of appearances and other commitments since Milan. That decision did not hand the event to anyone. Instead, it widened the space for a short program to feel like a referendum on steadiness—who could take the ice, control their first elements, and keep an entire program from unraveling.
What solutions and support look like off the ice
Glenn’s week in Prague also carries a story about restraint—how elite performance often involves saying no to the life that opens up around an athlete. She described taking just one opportunity to celebrate her acclaim since returning from the Olympics, where she won gold in the team event: she walked the red carpet and was a presenter at the 37th GLAAD Media Awards, an event that honors those in the media for fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of the LGBTQ community.
“That event is something so special to my heart, ” Glenn said. Glenn has been out as pansexual since December 2019. She also described turning down other opportunities, even ones she wanted, to protect her readiness for worlds: “There were so many others I wanted to (do) so bad, but I knew it was not the responsible choice since I was competing at worlds. ”
In an event defined by fractions—rotation calls, execution grades, and how quickly a skater can re-center after a shaky warm-up—those choices function as a kind of off-ice training plan. They do not guarantee outcomes, but they clarify priorities in a sport where confidence can be as perishable as physical timing.
What to watch next as the lead belongs to Kaori Sakamoto
The women’s free skate on Friday in Prague will decide whether the short program ordering holds or breaks. Kaori Sakamoto enters with the advantage of the top score, and the question is whether she can carry that control forward under the weight of expectations that come with leading a world championship field. Mone Chiba begins close enough to turn the free skate into a direct contest. Amber Glenn begins in a position that, by her own description, feels different—less like salvage, more like execution.
When the arena quiets again for the free skate, the story will return to the same basic test that framed Wednesday: one skater at center ice, one opening sequence, and the responsibility of making the body obey the mind. After the short program, that responsibility belongs most visibly to kaori sakamoto, with everyone else skating in the space her lead creates.
