Figure Skating

In 1997, the U.S. Figure Skating Championships became the first sporting event to be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. It took 25 years, but the event has returned to Music City.

On Monday, the 2022 tournament got underway, and there's a lot to be decided over the next week. Competitions will be taking place through Sunday, plus it will then be known who will be representing Team USA in figure skating at the Winter Olympics set for next month in Beijing.

The championship-level competitions won't begin until Thursday, but there's still going to be action in Nashville over the next few days. That's because the junior competitions will be taking place and can give fans a glimpse at the future of the sport.

Here's the TV schedule for this year's U.S. Figure Skating Championships, followed by more on what will be in store for Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.

                

TV Schedule

Thursday, Jan. 6

Pairs Short, 5-7 p.m. ET, USA Network

Women's Short, 8:30-10:30 p.m. ET, USA Network

           

Friday, Jan. 7

Rhythm Dance, 4-6 p.m. ET, USA Network

Women's Free, 8-11 p.m. ET, NBC

             

Saturday, Jan. 8

Men's Short, 4-6 p.m. ET, NBC

Pairs Free and Free Dance, 7-10 p.m. ET, USA Network

            

Sunday, Jan. 9

Men's Free, 2-4 p.m. ET, NBC

              

Tuesday Preview, Predictions

The junior competition gets underway Tuesday with a trio of events. And each of them can be streamed live on Peacock Premium.

First, the junior pairs short program will be taking place at 1 p.m. ET. It will be followed by the junior men's short program at 3:30 p.m. ET. Then, the junior rhythm dance competition will conclude the day's action at 9:15 p.m. ET.

The junior men's and pairs competitions will wrap up with the free skate on Wednesday, while the junior women's short program and free skate won't happen until Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Among the competitors in Tuesday's junior men's short program will be Joseph Klein, who won the silver medal last year behind Eric Prober. Klein is a 17-year-old from Chicago who will likely be one of the favorites to win this year's junior men's competition.

Jacob Sanchez, a 15-year-old from Montgomery, N.Y., finished fourth in last year's men's junior competition and will be competing again this year. He could contend with Klein for the gold medal, assuming these two build off their performances from 2021.

The prediction here is that Klein will edge Sanchez for the gold, and he'll do so after getting off to a strong start in Tuesday's short program.

Klein won't be the only junior silver medalist looking to come back and win gold this time. In the pairs competition, Isabelle Martins and Ryan Bedard, who are both from Illinois, will be looking to finish in first place after coming up just short in 2021.

Catherine Rivers (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Timmy Chapman (Orlando, Fla.) finished fourth in last year's junior pairs competition, and they'll also be looking to perform even better this year. However, it's more likely Martins and Bedard will end up on top after their silver-medal showing last year.

The junior ice dance competition has the potential to be wide open, as none of the top four duos from 2021 will be competing this year.

It's going to be an action-packed week in Nashville, and Tuesday's junior competitions will only be the start. After the youngsters take the ice, there will be plenty more competitions to come between then and Sunday.

With the new year here, the buildup to the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics has commenced in earnest as well, with multiple sports holding championships over the next few weeks.

For fans of figure skating, the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which kick off Monday and continue through Sunday, are appointment television. This year held in Nashville, Tennessee, the competition will showcase beloved disciplines like rhythm dance, pairs short program, ladies' and men's short program, free skate and free dance.

The event crowns champions in the ladies', men's, pairs and ice dance disciplines at the championship and junior levels of U.S. Figure Skating. It is also the last remaining qualifier ahead of the Beijing Games.

Fan favorites Alysa Liu and Nathan Chen and pairs Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue and Madison Chock and Evan Bates will be some of the competitors to keep an eye on over the next week.

Let's break down how you can tune in before previewing the action.

                             

U.S. Figure Skating Championships 2022 Overview

Dates: Monday, Jan. 3-Sunday, Jan. 9

Location: Bridgestone Arena; Nashville, Tennessee

TV: USA Network, NBC

Live Stream: Peacock 

               

U.S. Figure Skating Championships TV Schedule

Thursday, 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT: Pairs Short Program (USA Network)

Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT: Women's Short Program (USA Network)

Friday, 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT: Ice Dance Rhythm Dance (USA Network)

Friday, 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT/MT): Women's Free Skate (NBC)

Saturday, 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT: Men's Short Program (NBC)

Saturday, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT: Ice Dance Free Dance and Pairs Free Skate (USA Network)

Sunday, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT: Men's Free Skate (NBC)

                   

     

In just a few short days, dreams will become reality as the 2022 Olympic Team is nominated at the #ToyotaUSChamps22.

Find out what it would mean to members of #TeamUSA to punch their ticket to #Beijing2022. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/H0hoQfbqUP

— U.S. Figure Skating (@USFigureSkating) December 31, 2021

Thursday marks the beginning of the U.S. Figure Skating championship weekend.

Junior Pairs Short Program, Junior Men Short Program and Junior Rhythm Dance are scheduled for Tuesday, while Junior Ladies Short Program Free Skates/Dance, Junior Men Free Skate, Junior Pairs Free Skate and Junior Free Dance take place Wednesday.

Though the junior sessions won't be broadcast on NBC or USA Network, spectators can attend. Bridgestone Arena requires all spectators over the age of five to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR or NAAT COVID-19 test taken within the three days prior to entering the building, and all spectators over the age of two must wear masks.

On Monday, there are no in-person or televised events, as the athletes will be practicing. U.S. Figure Skating has canceled athlete autograph sessions and limited access to the secondary practice rink in Bellevue to accredited individuals only to mitigate risk to the athletes.

Chen, Hubbell/Donohue and Chock/Bates are medal contenders in Beijing. Now 16, Liu became the youngest U.S. women's national champion at 13 and is preparing for her first Olympics.

Participating skaters with Olympic experience include Karen Chen, Vincent Zhou, Jason Brown and Alexa Knierim, who now competes in pairs with Brandon Frazier after competing in Pyeongchang with her husband, Chris.

The full U.S. Figure Skating Olympic team will be named by January 10.

American figure skater Tarah Kayne said she provided the U.S. Center for SafeSport with details of verbal and emotional abuse from Dalilah Sappenfield, who served as her coach during a pairs partnership with Danny O'Shea.

Christine Brennan of USA Today reported Friday the U.S. Center for SafeSport has barred Sappenfield from contacting 12 figure skaters and required her other coaching sessions be supervised by an adult while it investigates the allegations.

Kayne, who recently retired from the sport, told Brennan she cut her wrist after a conversation with Sappenfield in 2019 where the coach threatened to end her partnership with O'Shea "not because of my skill set, she said, but because of the kind of person I was." She also alleged the coach would use details from her personal life as part of the abuse:

She was constantly talking about sex, about who I was dating, about my sex life. It was completely inappropriate, but that's what Dalilah does. She uses gossip from other skaters in the rink against you. She knew I was struggling with my mental health, but instead of helping me, she chose to make fun of me. She even went to other skaters and told them about it, calling me names and asking the guys why anyone would want to date me.

Sappenfield provided a statement to USA Today in response to the allegations: "Thank you for reaching out to me. At this time I have no comment."

Kayne and O'Shea won the pairs' gold medal at the 2016 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and served as Team USA's alternate pairs tandem for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The 28-year-old Florida native told Brennan she originally planned to compete through next year's Olympics in Beijing, but her relationship with Sappenfield continued to deteriorate to the point where the coach wouldn't allow her to talk during training sessions, beginning in the summer of 2020:

She told me not to speak, that I should remain silent. This made me very tense and anxious so I would hold my hands down by my waist, cupped together, left hand over right, and I would take my right hand and dig my fingernails into my left wrist and would make myself bleed all the time. Then I would go to the bathroom to try to calm down before going back to the ice.

Kayne added the "awful experiences forced me out of the sport I love."

O'Shea, who changed coaches and is currently competing alongside Chelsea Liu, sent a statement to Brennan via text message:

I support Tarah in every way, as I did while we were partners for nine years. Tarah is a strong woman and I am proud of her for coming forward and hope that her strength is a beacon for others. Together we chose to leave a training environment that had become unhealthy for us. I stand by Tarah, and I support SafeSport and their ongoing investigations.

SafeSport confirmed its temporary measures against Sappenfield while it reviews the allegations but wouldn't provide any further details about the investigation.

"The Center does not comment on matters to protect the integrity of the process and the parties involved," spokesperson Dan Hill told USA Today.

Sappenfield has coached several national champions at every level of American figure skating and was voted the 2008 coach of the year by U.S. Figure Skating and the Professional Skaters Association.

The coaching restrictions against her were put in place Sept. 3 by SafeSport.

The last full day of competition at the 2021 ISU World Figure Skating Championships crowned champions in men's singles and ice dance events.

The men's event kicked off the day, with Nathan Chen from the United States moving up two spots in the free skate to take the gold medal for the third time in his career. The 21-year-old was in third place with a score of 98.85 after the short program Thursday.

There wasn't as much turnover in the pairs ice dancing, as Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov maintained their position atop the standings after the free dance to win gold for the Figure Skating Federation of Russia.

Skating a routine set to Philip Glass music, Chen soared up the leaderboard thanks to landing five quadruple jumps, with three of them coming in combinations. He also executed a triple axel and triple lutz to earn a high score of 222.03 for the program and a 320.88 combined score.

🏆 Nathan Chen skates a clean program to reclaim his World title in the Men's Free Skating at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships!

Final results: https://t.co/VIQO2st2ql#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/KDtcsZjWcO

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 27, 2021

By comparison, no one else even reached a score of 200 in the free skate.

"This is one I'm going to remember forever," Chen told reporters after his win. "It's amazing—the fact that we're able to be at this worlds after this unprecedented year... I'm very elated, I'm very happy. I tried to remind myself to enjoy being here. I don't know how many more worlds I'll be at. In doing that, I was able to be a lot more calm."

Chen has now won gold at each of the last three World Championships dating back to 2018. The event was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He's the first man to win three straight singles titles at the World Championships since Patrick Chan from 2011 to 2013 and the first American to do so since Scott Hamilton did it in four consecutive years from 1982 to 1984.

Japan did win silver and bronze thanks to the dazzling displays from Yuma Kagiyama and Yuzuru Hanyu.

Kagiyama, who was in second place after the short program, stayed in that position following his free-skate routine. The 17-year-old medaled in his first appearance at the World Championships with a combined score of 291.77.

What a debut for Japan's Yuma Kagiyama who will end up on the podium after his free skate 🇯🇵

More from #WorldFigure, live now: https://t.co/8UcbbmLloe pic.twitter.com/RbysPcoqLN

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) March 27, 2021

Things didn't go as well for Hanyu, though he still wound up on the medal podium. He previously won gold at the World Championships in 2014 and 2017, and was primed to capture a third after posting a high score of 106.98 in the short program.

Hanyu's routine was thrown off when his hand hit the ice after a quad loop and he stumbled attempting to land his triple axels. The stumbles caused him to receive a 182.20 score, fourth-highest in the free skate.

🥉 Yuzuru Hanyu fight until the end and takes home yet another medal from the ISU World Figure Skating Championships!

Final results: https://t.co/VIQO2st2ql#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/llnBxFey1r

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 27, 2021

Even though this wasn't the ending that Hanyu hoped for after starting the day atop the standings, he's still leaving Stockholm with his eighth medal at the World Championships since 2012.

Sinitsina and Katsalapov had a two-point advantage over American pair Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue following the rhythm dance Friday.

The Russian duo also posted the highest score of the free dance (133.02) to finish with a combined total of 221.17.

🏆 Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov are the new World Champions in the Ice Dance at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships!

Final results: https://t.co/Ha52PfZRC2#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/tzCkuwuq3f

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 27, 2021

This marks the second medal—first gold—for Sinitsina and Katsalapov at the World Championships. They won silver two years ago in their first appearance together at this event.

Hubbell and Donohue matched their best finish at the World Championships with a silver medal. The American pair maintained their second-place spot overall despite posting the third-highest score in the free dance.

Their performance was fluid throughout, but their levels didn't rise to the difficulty needed for them to really challenge Sinitsina and Katsalapov for the gold.

🥈 Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue skate to silver in the Ice Dance at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships!

Final results: https://t.co/Ha52PfIgKu#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/aCHIIxy1np

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 27, 2021

Coming into the free dance ranked fourth in the standings, Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier were the big movers Saturday. They had never finished higher than sixth in seven appearances at the World Championships coming into this year.

Gilles and Poirier posted a career-best score of 130.98 in the free dance, second-best among all teams in the field. That gave them a combined score of 214.35 to reach the podium as the bronze-medal winners.

🥉 An emotional performance and an emotional reaction to their World medal from Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier who take the bronze medal at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships!

Final results: https://t.co/Ha52PfZRC2#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/6kFuCSHAcv

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 27, 2021

This marks the fourth medal win for Gilles and Poirier as a duo. Their most recent was a silver medal at the 2020 Four Continents Championship in Seoul.

Saturday's events wrap up the competition schedule from the World Championships. Sunday will officially conclude this year's festivities with an exhibition gala featuring most of the skaters in all disciplines.

Anna Shcherbakova took home the gold medal in the women's singles event at the 2021 ISU World Figure Skating Championship on Friday. 

Representing the Figure Skating Federation of Russia, Shcherbakova had a combined score of 233.17 between the short program on Wednesday and her free skate on Friday. 

🏆 Anna Shcherbakova is the new World Champion in the Ladies at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships!

Final results: https://t.co/ytviZVp9FJ#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/XFd9FxJt2O

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 26, 2021

"Honestly I really don't know what to say now because after my performance I really tried to do my best and fight for every element," Shcherbakova told reporters after her win. "I'm not satisfied with my performance, but I'm so, so happy that I'm first. It was my goal. It was a real fight for me."

When you find out you're the new World Champion 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ELVjTQ9OLQ

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) March 26, 2021

Shcherbakova did have the advantage of going last, so she knew the score to beat before taking the ice. The competition for the top spot before her program was intense. 

Alexandra Trusova, who was in 12th place after the short program with a score of 64.82, finished with the highest score in the free skate (152.38). The 16-year-old did leave points on the ice by falling down twice, but she was able to land three of her five quad attempts to take home the bronze. 

🥉 What a comeback! Alexandra Trusova goes for five quads and a huge technical score to win the Free Skating and rise to win the bronze medal overall in the Ladies at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships!https://t.co/EHQ5QIBqGa#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/n2irlMuMmn

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 26, 2021

Sandwiched between Shcherbakova and Trusova was Elizaveta Tuktamysheva. The 24-year-old had the third-highest score in the short program (78.86) and free skate (141.60). 

Tuktamysheva's performance on Friday was highlighted by two triple axels. She appeared to be overwhelmed when her score came in, knowing that she was going to be on the medal podium. 

The reaction from the former World champ says it all 👏 pic.twitter.com/zoIDiOziaw

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) March 26, 2021

It's been a long road back to the podium for Tuktamysheva. She hasn't competed at the World Championships since winning gold in 2015. The Russian star was the first non-teen to compete in the women's singles event in eight years, per NBC Sports' Olympic Talk.

Each of the top three finishers in the women's singles represented the Figure Skating Federation of Russia. It's the first time the same country has won all three women's singles medals since the United States did it in 1991. 

The Figure Skating Federation of Russia had a very good Friday at the 2021 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Anna Shcherbakova capped off a memorable week by winning gold in the women's individual competition. She came into the day in the driver's seat after posting a score of 81.00 in the short program on Wednesday. 

After Elizaveta Tuktamysheva moved into the lead following her run with a combined score of 220.46, Shcherbakova only needed a score of 139.47 in her free skate to take home the title. 

The 16-year-old had no problem hitting that mark. She received a score of 152.17 for her routine for an easy win. 

Anna Shcherbakova wins her first World Championship 🥇 pic.twitter.com/ufFFpKLkCi

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) March 26, 2021

This marks Shcherbakova's first win in her first appearance at the World Championships. She previously won silver at the junior championships in 2019. 

Figure Skating⛸️ - Anna Shcherbakova wins the ladies' singles world title 2 days before her 17th birthday. She is the 3rd woman in last 5 editions to win this title before turning 17, after this happened only once in the 18 editions prior to this run. #WorldFigure #Stockholm2021

— Gracenote Olympic (@GracenoteGold) March 26, 2021

Rounding out the top three in the women's singles competition were Shcherbakova's fellow countrywomen, Tuktamysheva and Alexandra Trusova. Tuktamysheva, 24, is the veteran of the group. She previously won gold at the 2015 World Championships. 

In dramatic finish at #WorldFigure, Anna Shcherbakova is world champ on eve of 17th birthday 🥇

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva claims first world medal in six years; Alexandra Trusova wins bronze.#Stockholm2021

Full report 📝 https://t.co/szPjuj48S1 pic.twitter.com/KeWGjtSFeN

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) March 26, 2021

Before Shcherbakova capped off her masterful showing in Stockholm, Figure Skating Federation of Russian duo Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov are one step away from winning gold in ice dancing.

Sinitsina and Katsalapov received a score of 88.15 points for their rhythm dance.

1️⃣ Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov skate elegantly to take the first place after the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance!

Full results: https://t.co/Ha52PfZRC2#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/U5febKPppa

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 26, 2021

Chasing Sinitsina and Katsalapov for the top spot are two American teams. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue are in second place with an 86.05, followed by Madison Chock and Evan Bates in third place with 85.15 points. 

Chock and Bates did leave points on the ice during their routine. They both scored a level three on their twizzles. Chock only got to level three on the pattern steps, while Bates was at a level four. They remain very much in the mix for gold, so it wasn't a devastating blow. But those missed chances could come back to haunt them on Saturday. 

Sinitsina and Katsalapov are chasing their first gold medal at the World Championships. They won silver at the 2019 event behind the France powerhouse duo of Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron. 

Papadakis and Cizeron announced in January they wouldn't participate in the World Championships this year in order to prepare for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, China.

Hubbell and Donohue, who finished third at the 2019 World Championships, are still within shouting distance of the top spot heading into the free dance. 

2️⃣ Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue twizzel their way to second after the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance!

Full results: https://t.co/Ha52PfZRC2#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/nUo3Kyi6yy

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 26, 2021

Hubbell and Donohue's score on Friday is their best in the rhythm dance at the World Championships. Their previous high-water mark was 83.09 in 2019 en route to a bronze medal.  

“We are very proud of ourselves,” Hubbell told reporters. “We were pretty present today and we just really focused on each other coming back to the performance, so we are happy to give that strong performance at the worlds championship.”

The Americans do have their work cut out for them, both because of how cohesive Sinitsina and Katsalapov are dancing right now and the difficulty of trying to make up the points necessary to vault into the lead. 

There hasn't been a pair leading after the rhythm dance section at the World Figure Skating Championships that has failed to win gold since Chock and Bates in 2015. They came in second after Papadakis and Cizeron posted a score of 112.34 in the free dance to jump three spots. 

Saturday's free dance session will determine this year's ice dance champions. The men's singles final will also be decided tomorrow. 

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!

Final results: https://t.co/VRvi0nmoRc#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/wlEKChWBGP

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 25, 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!

Full results: https://t.co/DlINVJaRfi#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/xdxu0yw22y

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 25, 2021

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.

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.

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 

Pairs' Freestyle (1:10 p.m. - 5 p.m.), Peacock Premium 

Pairs' Freestyle (3 p.m. - 5 p.m.), NBC Sports Network

Men's Short Program (5 p.m. - 7 p.m.) NBC Sports Network*

       

Friday, March 26

Rhythm Dance (5:45 a.m. - 11 a.m.), Peacock Premium 

Women's Freestyle (1 p.m. - 5 p.m.), Peacock Premium 

Women's Freestyle (2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.), NBC Sports Network

Rhythm Dance (10:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.), NBC Sports Network*

        

Saturday, March 27

Men's Freestyle (6 a.m. - 10 a.m.), Peacock Premium 

Free Dance (12 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.), Peacock Premium 

Men's Freestyle (2 p.m. - 4 p.m.), NBC Sports Network*

Free Dance (4 p.m. - 6 p.m.), NBC Sports Network*

Women's Freestyle (8 p.m.), NBC*

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.