ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021: Men's Short Program, Pairs Results
Mar 25, 2021
Nathan Chen of the USA performs during the Men Short Program at the Figure Skating World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday, March 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov stood atop the podium as the first medals were handed out in the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm.
Mishina and Galliamov narrowly edged out two-time champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong on Thursday in the pairs competition.
The Russian tandem sat third following the short program. They excelled in the free skate, with their 151.80 score bringing their overall tally to 227.59, 1.88 points better than Sui and Han.
🥇😍 What a skate! Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov skate clean and with all their heart to take home the World title from the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021!
Mishina and Galliamov certainly made an excellent first impression. Neither skater had performed in the Worlds before, with Olympic Channel's Nick McCarvel noting they're the first duo since Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov in 1986 to prevail in their debut.
"After every element we were less nervous and it was closer to the end," Mishina said, per McCarvel. "Every element we were more happy."
Sui and Han had to settle for their third silver medal in the World Championships, and the pair of Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii collected the bronze. Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier (192.10) were the highest-finishing American team, placing seventh.
Thursday also saw the start of the men's competition as Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu set the pace after the short program.
The 26-year-old started off strong with a quadruple salchow followed by a quadruple toeloop and a triple toeloop. That helped collect a score of 106.98.
🎸 "Let meeee ENTERTAIN you!" And Yuzuru Hanyu most certainly lives up to the words of his program music as he takes first place in the Men's Short Program at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships!
Two-time reigning champion Nathan Chen has some work to do in Saturday's free skate, but capturing a third straight gold medal isn't out of the question.
Chen fell on his opening element, a quadruple lutz, so his 98.85 isn't too bad all things considered. He anchored his routine with a quadruple flip and a triple toeloop, which earned 19.86 points on its own.
"I made a big mistake right off of the bat," he told reporters of his performance. "I had to figure out how to regroup. Mistakes happen. I'm glad I had this opportunity to learn from and move forward."
The 21-year-old American will have to pull off something he didn't need to do in his last two victories at the Worlds. He led the field following the short program in 2018 and 2019.
ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021: Ladies, Pairs Short-Program Results
Mar 24, 2021
Russian skater Anna Shcherbakova performs during the Ladies Short Program at the Figure Skating World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Russia may be banned from fielding a national team in international competition, but its athletes remain dominant in the figure skating world.
Anna Shcherbakova leads the ladies and Dmitrii Kozlovskii and Aleksandra Boikova sit atop the leaderboard in the pairs competition following the short programs of their respective competitions at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.
Shcherbakova posted a score of 81.00 in her short program, giving her a slight lead over Japan's Rika Kihira (79.08). Russian Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (78.86) is in third place, while American Karen Chen (74.40) and South Korea's Kim Ye-lim (73.63) round out the top five.
"I was nervous, controlled every movement and I am happy that all elements were successful," Shcherbakova said after her run. "Most of all I am satisfied with the jump combination, because it was the most difficult and most important element of the program. The support from the audience is very important. I know, that there's a big support now, a lot of people write that they support me from their homes. It is also very important for me. But I miss full stands of people supporting you before the start and during the performance."
A Russian has won every world championship in ladies' figure skating since 2014.
Kozlovskii and Boikova posted a score of 80.16 in their opening program, carrying a lead over China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong (77.62). The Russian duos of Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov (75.79) and Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov (71.46) are in third and fourth, respectively. Peng Cheng and Jin Yang of China (71.32) round out the top five.
Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy Leduc (64.94) were the top-ranked American pair in sixth place.
ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021: Dates, TV and Live-Stream Schedule
Mar 21, 2021
Nathan Chen performs during the skating spectacular at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The 2021 World Figure Skating Championships are set to commence Monday, nearly one year to the day after the 2020 event was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The best skaters on Earth will gather in Stockholm for a week of intense competition to determine who will make it to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The United States' Nathan Chen is looking to defend the men's titles. Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China return as the reigning pairs champions while the gold medal-winning ice dance pair of Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron withdrew from the field to focus on the 2022 season and the Olympics.
Russian star Alina Zagitova remains on her previously announced hiatus and will not be in the field to defend her women's title, either.
Here's a look at this year's schedule and which skaters are worth keeping an eye on.
Broadcast Schedule
Wednesday, March 24
Women's Short Program (5 a.m. - 11 a.m.), Peacock Premium
Women's Short Program (9 a.m. - 11 a.m.), NBC Sports Network
Pairs' Short Program (1:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.), Peacock Premium
Thursday, March 25
Pairs' Short Program (1:30 a.m. - 3 a.m.), NBC Sports Network*
Men's Short Program (6 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.), Peacock Premium
All times ET. Full broadcast schedule via NBC Sports.
*Delayed Broadcast.
Preview
All eyes will be on Chen as he goes for his third consecutive gold medal at the World Championships. Arguably the best male skater in the world, Chen has won the past 13 competitions he's entered and, at 21, appears to only be getting better.
Joining him from the United States are the 26-year-old Jason Brown and the 20-year-old Vincent Zhou on the men's side.
Brown placed ninth at the most recent Worlds and is seeking a bit of redemption on the year's biggest stage. Zhou, meanwhile, placed second at the U.S. Championships this year and will enter as one of the top challengers to Chen's title.
Bradie Tennell, 23, leads the Americans from the women's side after taking the gold medal at the U.S. Championships in January. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue will look to build on their own gold medals at the U.S. Championships with another strong showing at Worlds.
Fellow Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates will likely stand in the way as the top challengers to Hubbell and Donohue as skating fans hope for a showdown similar to when the two pairs faced off at the U.S. Championships, going back and forth in the standings before Hubbell and Donohue pulled off the win.
In pairs, the field will be chasing the Russian duo of Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov. Canada's Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro will be worth keeping an eye on to see whether they can continue putting pressure on the Russian pair—if not take the gold medal from the tournament favorites.
Olympian John Zimmerman Suspended, Accused of Covering Up Sexual Abuse
Mar 9, 2021
Figure skater John Zimmerman arrives for a gala benefiting Figure Skating In Harlem at Central Park's Wollman Rink Monday, March 31, 2008, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Former Olympic figure skater and U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famer John Zimmerman has been suspended by the U.S. Center for SafeSport after allegedly failing to report sexual abuse against a 13-year-old girl in 2017, according to Christine Brennan of USA Today.
Zimmerman, who was coaching the girl, was allegedly told in 2017 that French Olympic figure skater Morgan Cipres sent two pictures of his penis to the girl. Zimmerman was also Cipres' coach, and the girl and her parents say both Zimmerman and his wife, Silvia Fontana, told them not to go to the authorities because Cipres and his pairs partner Vanessa James were in preparations for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Per Brennan: "The girl and her parents allege that Zimmerman and Fontana intimidated the girl for several weeks, telling her that she was at fault for receiving the pictures because she was a 'pretty girl and men have their needs,' that no one would believe her and that she would be shamed on social media, particularly in France, where Cipres was popular."
The girl and her parents say that Vinny Dispenza, a coach who works with Zimmerman and Fontana at the AdventHealth Center Ice rink in Florida, initiated the sending of the photos and also threatened the girl.
"If I said something, he said I would never skate again," the girl said.
The girl's tutor, who learned of the alleged pictures, sent an email to psychologist Dara Bushman in 2017, and Bushman contacted authorities. But, according to her parents, the girl would not talk with police at the time.
A friend of the family did report the situation to SafeSport—which was formed in 2017 to investigate sexual abuse cases in Olympic sports—in 2019, however, and the Pasco County Sheriff's Office in Florida reopened the investigation in June 2020.
Per Brennan, the 47-year-old Zimmerman is now banned from "participation in any capacity in any program, activity, event or competition sponsored by, organized by or under the auspices of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the national governing body for the sport (U.S. Figure Skating in this case), or at a facility under the jurisdiction of the USOPC or USFS."
Zimmerman competed at the 2002 Olympics, finishing fifth in pairs with partner Kyoko Ina.
Winter X Games 2021: Full Results, Medal Winners and Best Trick Highlights
Jan 31, 2021
Chloe Kim, of the United State,s performs a trick during the women's snowboard halfpipe final at the freestyle ski and snowboard world championships, Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
There were no fans in attendance for the 2021 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn't stop the competitors from unleashing a number of gravity-defying tricks and highlights.
Here is a look at the full results of this year's edition that started Friday and concluded Sunday.
The results are courtesy of the X Games' official website.
This year's X Games were more about the marquee stars than the individual events.
Few names are bigger than Jamie Anderson when it comes to the Winter X Games, and she added two more golds to her illustrious resume in the women's snowboard slopestyle and women's snowboard big air competitions. As NBC Sports noted, it was the first title in big air for the eight-time X Games victor.
She has seven X Games championships and two Olympic gold medals in slopestyle but turned heads in a loaded big-air field that also featured every 2018 Olympic medalist.
Anderson needs one more Winter X Games medal to tie Mark McMorris' all-time record of 20 and two more golds to tie Lindsey Jacobellis' record on the women's side.
She also became the first woman to compete in the Knuckle Huck contest. While she impressed and made history, she and the rest of the field fell short of victor and X Games rookie Dusty Henricksen.
Henricksen, 17, also won gold in the men's snowboard slopestyle and defeated a field that included Olympic champion Red Gerard.
Another notable Olympic champion thrived, as Chloe Kim won the women's snowboard superpipe for her fifth snowboard halfpipe title in Aspen. NBC Sports noted she is just one win shy of the women's record, which is held by Kelly Clark.
One of Kim's six and one of Clark's seven X Games halfpipe titles came in competition outside of Aspen.
.@ChloeKim age 20, now has 8 #XGames medals overall. She returned to competition this month after taking 21 months off to focus on her first year at Princeton University. pic.twitter.com/8BTEm2cHVP
Making Kim's performance all the more impressive is the fact that she took last year's event off because she was taking freshman classes at Princeton.
Speaking of making history, Eileen Gu won the women's ski superpipe and the women's ski slopestyle while also taking home bronze in the women's ski big air. Her three medals while representing China equaled the country's total in the 26-year history of the X Games, and she called the stretch "the best two days of my life."
Entering #XGames Aspen 2021, athletes representing China had earned 3 medals in the 26-year history of X Games. Eileen Gu’s three podium finishes in her rookie year at XG Aspen doubled that in a single weekend.
There was supposed to be something of a grand finale Sunday after so much thrilling competition with Shaun White's return to competitive snowboarding for the first time since the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics in the men's superpipe, but he withdrew after suffering a knee injury in practice.
That spoiled the anticipated showdown between White and Scotty James, although James managed just silver thanks to an impressive showing by gold-medalist Yuto Totsuka.
Winter X Games 2021: Aspen Dates, TV Schedule, Live Stream, Athletes, Event Info
Jan 27, 2021
Jamie Anderson, of the United States, jumps during the women's Big Air snowboard final at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
The Winter X Games have been held annually since 1995, with the event taking place at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colo., every year since 2002. That's not going to change this year, even though the coronavirus pandemic has heavily impacted the sports world.
There will be some changes, though. The 2021 iteration is going to be held without fans in attendance and will be "produced with comprehensive COVID-19 risk mitigation protocols in place for participants and staff," per the X Games site.
Still, this weekend will feature all the Winter X Games events that fans have come to enjoy every year, with men's and women's skiing and snowboarding competitions such as superpipe, slopestyle, big air and more. And there are a few notable athletes who will be competing in Aspen.
Here's everything you need to know about this year's Winter X Games, which get underway Friday.
The full schedule is available at the competition's official website. A list of all invited athletes can be found here.
Preview
One Winter X Games legend is going to miss out on this year's event, while another is making a return.
Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris, who has won nine career X Games gold medals and a pair of Olympic medals, won't be participating this year after testing positive for COVID-19, according to ESPN's Alyssa Roenigk.
Last year, the 27-year-old took the silver medal in the big air event in Aspen, then won gold in big air and silver in slopestyle at X Games Norway.
"I'm definitely going to miss competing at my favorite event," McMorris said in a statement to ESPN, per Roenigk. "I'm sending good vibes to all the riders and to the organizers who worked so hard to create a safe environment for everyone to compete under such difficult circumstances."
However, snowboarding fans will get to see the return of Shaun White, who last competed at an X Games event in 2017, when he placed 11th in the superpipe in Aspen. He has won 15 gold medals in his X Games career, with his last coming in the superpipe in 2013.
The 34-year-old has been posting updates from Aspen on his Instagram, as he shared that he pulled out of the Laax Open in Switzerland last week to stay in the U.S. and prepare for the Winter X Games. He last competed in a snowboarding event in the 2018 Winter Olympics, when he won gold in the men's halfpipe.
White will be one of eight snowboarders competing in the men's superpipe event this weekend. Taylor Gold, a 27-year-old from Steamboat Springs, Colo., won his first X Games gold medal in the event in Aspen last year and will be in the field again this weekend. He will be joined by last year's bronze medalist, Toby Miller, a 20-year-old from Truckee, Calif.
The women's snowboard slopestyle will be another to watch closely this weekend. Last year, Jamie Anderson won her sixth X Games gold medal, all of which have come in the same discipline. She has won 17 career X Games medals, the most by a woman in event history.
Last weekend, the 30-year-old from South Lake Tahoe, Calif. won the women's slopestyle event at the Laax Open, edging Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Kokomo Murase, both of whom will also be in the field this weekend.
Alex Ferreira, who is an Aspen native, will be looking to win the gold medal in the men's ski superpipe for the third consecutive year. His victories the past two years marked the first two gold medals of the 26-year-old's X Games career.
Another competitor to watch is snowboarder Chloe Kim from Long Beach, Calif. She's a five-time gold medalist, all of which came in the women's superpipe, including four in Aspen between 2015-19. The 20-year-old didn't compete in 2020, as she took a year off from competition while beginning her freshman year at Princeton University.
Last weekend, she won the women's halfpipe at the Laax Open, so it appears she's ready for her X Games return.
US Figure Skating Championships 2021: Sunday Results for Men's Free Skate
Jan 17, 2021
Nathan Chen competes during the men's short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Nathan Chen entered Sunday's free skate at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas with the smallest lead he's held in any of his last four U.S. Figure Skating Championship runs. But thanks to a 208.36 free skate that included five quad jumps, he was crowned the men's champion for the fifth consecutive time with a combined score of 322.28.
The 21-year-old is the first U.S. skater to win five titles in a row since Dick Button (1946-52), and he has now won 23 of his last 24 programs since the 2018 Winter Olympics. A third-place finish in the short program at the French Grand Prix in 2018 is his only loss.
Though he is used to his place atop the podium, Chen had to work to get there Sunday.
Men's Championship Leaderboard (Total Score)
1. Nathan Chen, 322.28
2. Vincent Zhou, 291.38
3. Jason Brown, 276.92
4. Yaroslav Paniot, 266.97
5. Maxim Naumov, 244.20
6. Jimmy Ma, 230.78
7. Tomoki Hiwatashi, 230.14
8. Camden Pulkinen, 220.10
9. Eric Sjoberg, 213.39
10. Dinh Tran, 210.79
11. Aleksei Krasnozhon, 206.76
12. Joseph Kang, 203.45
13. Joonsoo Kim, 197.12
14. Ryan Dunk, 192.66
15. Jordan Moeller, 191.33
16. Peter Liu, 171.18
17. Mitchell Friess, 163.07
Chen entered the final day of competition with a 6.13-point lead over Vincent Zhou, the smallest lead he's held in any of his four consecutive title runs. The tight lead wasn't due to a tough performance as Chen's short program consisted of a strenuous set of jumps—including a quadruple Lutz, a triple Axel and a quad flip-triple toe loop combo that netted him a 113.92 score.
Zhou landed a quad lutz-triple toe and quad salchow in his short program to inch closer to Chen and create the tight competition coming down to the free skate.
Refusing to back down, Chen aimed to complete five quads in his free skate, a feat he had not accomplished at the national level since 2018.
"You know me: I like to always challenge myself and one-up myself after every competition," Chen said before taking the ice on Sunday (h/t Philip Hersh of NBC Sports). "But it will be a game-time decision."
He was successful in his attempt, stumbling on his opening quad attempt but completing the rest with precision to land atop the leaderboard.
Zhou would need to be perfect in his free skate to get past his longtime rival, but a fall in the midst of his free skate on an under-rotated quad lutz cost him first place. He ended with a 183.59 free skate, good for a combined score of 291.38 in second place.
In his first competition since February 2020, Jason Brown secured a third-place finish with a free skate worth an even 176.00 for a combined score of 276.92. His short program nabbed him the greatest component score in the event despite not including a quad jump. His short program score of 100.92 put him 17.18 points ahead of the fourth-place skater, Yaroslav Paniot, heading into the free skate.
U.S. Figure Skating has yet to officially announce which male skaters will join Bradie Tennell and Karen Chen in representing the United States at the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm in March.
US Figure Skating Championships 2021: Sunday TV Schedule, Top Contenders
Jan 17, 2021
Nathan Chen reacts after finishing his routine during the men's short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Four-time champion Nathan Chen will try for his fifth straight win in the men's competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Sunday. If he takes the victory, he will become the first American man to win five titles in a row since Dick Button did it in 1950.
NBC will carry full coverage of the final day of competition, starting at 2:30 p.m. ET.
While Chen is the favorite to win the gold medal, his path to victory isn't as certain as in years past.
On Saturday, he took the top spot with 113.92 points after landing a quadruple Lutz, a triple Axel and quad flip-triple toe loop in the short program.
"I'm thrilled with the short program today," Chen told Barry Wilner and Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press (h/t Yahoo). He continued:
"I made a couple little bobbles on the landings and wish I had skated a little bit cleaner, but overall I'm really happy with the program.
"The season, this whole year, I mean last year and leading into this year, has just been crazy and everything is just so unexpected. The fact that we're all here, that we're all healthy, that we're able to do this is just incredible."
Challenging the two-time world gold medalist is longtime rival Vincent Zhou, who only trails by 6.13 points.
That gap is not impossible to close, but unless Chen makes a major mistake, he's a lock for the win.
Vincent Zhou
After coming in fourth and just missing a medal in last year's competition, Zhou is primed to challenge for first place.
His improved performance may be due to his change in coaches and being fully healthy after dealing with some injuries.
In the short program, the 20-year old Californian scored a career-best 107.79 points.
"A score like that didn't seem like an impossibility in my head. I knew that if I got the job done I was very capable of that," Zhou told Wilner and Wilson. He continued:
"At the beginning of this year at a small, local competition, in Colorado, I scored 103 with a clean program. That was way before Skate America, that was way before I put all this effort into developing the quality of everything: my landings, my spins, my choreography. So I know that with that much room to grow I could definitely score a couple points higher than 103.
"But the whole year was just about not being too hard about specifically points but rather just keeping my head down and working to get myself to the point where if I skated like I did in practice, if I got my job done, then that would be very possible."
Jason Brown
Last year, Jason Brown took home the silver medal in this competition, and he's in the mix for another medal this year.
After finishing with 100.92 points Saturday, he's hoping to close the gap on Zhou and Chen.
At 26, the 2015 U.S. national champion is older than most of his competitors and doesn't quite jump as well, but he's still a viable threat to win.
Yaroslav Paniot
Yaroslav Paniot has a lot of ground to cover after scoring just 83.74 during Saturday's short program.
Even with an outstanding performance Sunday, unless someone else misses the mark, the best he can hope for is fourth or fifth place.
While this will be another year that sees the 23-year old miss the podium, it will still be an improvement after he placed 10th last year.
Maxim Naumov
Maxim Naumov is basically neck and neck with Paniot after finishing with 83.53 points Saturday. Not bad for his first time skating in this competition. Look for the 2020 U.S. junior national champion to leave Sunday with a lot of confidence after doing so well.
Prediction: Chen takes the gold, Zhou takes silver and Brown takes bronze.
US Figure Skating Championships 2021: Final Results for Saturday Events
Jan 16, 2021
Nathan Chen reacts after finishing his routine during the men's short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The battle between Nathan Chen and Jason Brown to become the top men's figure skater in the United States continued Saturday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas as the duo stepped onto the ice for its short program.
However, the 2021 U.S. Figure Skating Championships featured another contender ready to crash the party: Vincent Zhou.
The skater out of SC of San Francisco posted a 107.79 in his first appearance in front of the judges this weekend, finishing the day in second place behind Chen (113.92 points), the defending champion. Brown (100.92) ended the day in third.
What looked like a two-man duel for the gold medal suddenly has turned into a three-way race to the top of the podium.
Here's how the action played out in the men's championship:
Chen finished first in the short program for the second straight year after posting a 114.13 in 2020. Brown finished behind him with 100.99 points. The two nearly replicated those scores Saturday, but a noticeably improved Zhou has amped up the pressure on both skaters.
After recording a 94.82 in his short program last year, Zhou scored a 107.92 in Las Vegas thanks to nearly flawless quad lutz and triple toe loop combo that earned him 20.30 points. Neither Brown nor Chen even attempted the move.
Instead, Chen's highest individual mark came on a quad flip and triple toe loop that earned him a 20.90 following a quad lutz the judges assigned a 15.64.
Brown's best move, a triple lutz and triple toe loop scored a 13.71.
Since winning gold in 2015, Brown has earned two bronze medals and one silver at the U.S. Championships, while Chen is looking to capture his fifth consecutive gold medal.
If the pairing of Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier didn't have the sport on notice before, it certainly does now. The duo is two-of-two with gold medals at both nationals and 2020 Skate America.
What was already a runaway after the short program became even more of a rout Saturday when they scored a 150.64 in their free skate—16 points higher than any of their competitors. That gave them a nearly 28-point advantage over second-place finishers Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson.
The battle for silver proved much more compelling as second and fourth place were decided by just eight points. Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc finished second in free skate, but it wasn't enough to earn anything higher than bronze.
That made it all a rather drama-free evening for Knierim and Frazier, who twice scored more than 10 points on individual elements. A Group 5 axel lasso lift earned a 10.36 from the judges, while a Group 5 Reverse Lasso Lift gave the pairing a 10.08.
It was more than enough to walk away with a well-deserved gold medal.
Championship Ice Dance
(Free Dance scores in parentheses)
1. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, 224.56 (134.90)
2. Madison Chock and Evan Bates, 222.93 (132.83)
3. Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker, 212.55 (127.27)
4. Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, 192.39 (112.29)
5. Molly Cesanek and Yehor Yehorov, 177.40 (106.29)
6. Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov, 162.86 (96.99)
7. Eva Pate and Logan Bye, 154.93 (90.56)
8. Livvy Shilling and Alexander Petrov, 131.10 (77.29)
9. Hilary Asher and Ryan O'Donnell, 122.68 (71.30)
10. Breelie Taylor and Tyler Vollmer, 100.76 (61.36)
Friday night saw the pairing of Madison Chock and Evan Bates set a U.S. Championships record with a score of 90.10 to barely move into first place after the rhythm dance. Less than a full point separated Chock and Bates from Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue.
Saturday saw a reversal of fortunes as Hubbell and Donohue scored less than two points higher than Chock and Bates to take home the gold in another epic showdown.
Regardless of the outcome, the two pairings have proved themselves as the top duos in the nation for multiple years running.
After Hubbell and Donohue won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019—with Chock and Bates behind them on the podium each year—Chock and Bates took over the top spot last season with Hubbell and Donohue finishing second. The 2021 competition saw them flip spots once again.
Meanwhile, Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker claimed the bronze medal at nationals for the third consecutive year after putting together a strong free dance featuring a curve lift combo the judges scored 14.44.
As impressive as they were, it remains clear who runs the sport, and the pairing of Hubbell and Donohue doesn't seem ready to pass off the mantle anytime soon.
US Figure Skating Championships 2021: Saturday TV Schedule, Top Contenders
Erik Beaston
Jan 16, 2021
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier perform during the pairs short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier dominated the pairs short program Thursday, and on Saturday, they will look to put an exclamation point on their nationals performance in the pairs free program.
Their return to the ice is just one part of a jam-packed Saturday that also features the first appearance of four-time U.S. champion Nathan Chen.
The celebrated male skater will take to the ice eager to make history as the first five-time champion since Dick Button won seven from 1946-52.
Free Dance (10:30 p.m. - 12 a.m.*, NBC Sports; Skate order currently unavailable)
*Men's short and free programs are subject to change pending NFL schedule changes.
Knierim and Frazier Control Pairs Competition
Knierim and Frazier control the pack following an impressive pairs short program in which they scored six full points higher than their closest competition, Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson.
Both skaters are products of previous championship-winning pairs. When defending titleholder Knierim's husband Chris retired, she knew exactly who she wanted to pair with moving forward.
"I just needed to see if he liked me and liked our skating, and if he would even be comfortable coming into an environment by himself with a whole new team. To me it wasn't a tryout. To me it was the beginning of our partnership," she told NBC Sports' Olympic Talk.
The success in Thursday's free program has them in the proverbial driver's seat for one of two spots at the world championships.
That competition takes place March 22-28.
They skate eighth Saturday.
Adequate Competition for Nathan Chen
The eyes of the figure skating world are on Nathan Chen and his quest for a fifth national championship this year, but do not count out Jason Brown and Vincent Zhou, both of whom are more than capable of defeating the favorite and emerging with a title of their own.
At the 2020 nationals, Brown's "total program component scores (PCS) were just a shade lower than Chen's," according to Team USA's official website.
This will be Brown's first live competition since February, and though he detailed his struggles with the monotony of everyday practice without competing over the last 11 months for NBC Sports, he is focused on earning a win and, ultimately, a spot on the 2022 Olympic team.
"I work on both (toe loop and salchow), trying to push forward and have that (competitive) mentality. I'm eyeing the 2021-2022 Olympic season, as far as that end game," he told Team USA.
SkateAmerica silver medalist Zhou is a technician on the ice with a flair for the artistic and quadruple jumps.
He is more than capable of overtaking Chen and Brown if either make even the slightest slip-up.
