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2018 World Figure Skating Championships
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2018 World Figure Skating Championships
Type:ISU Championship
Date:19–25 March 2018
Season:2017–18
Location:Milan, Italy
Venue:Mediolanum Forum
Champions
Men's singles:
United States Nathan Chen
Ladies' singles:
Canada Kaetlyn Osmond
Pairs:
Germany Aliona Savchenko / Bruno Massot
Ice dance:
France Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron
Navigation
Previous:
2017 World Championships
Next:
2019 World Championships

The 2018 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Milan, Italy from 19–25 March 2018,[1] at the Mediolanum Forum.[2]

Records

[edit]
See also: List of highest historical scores in figure skating

The following new ISU best scores were set during this competition:

Event Component Skater(s) Score Date Ref
Pairs Free skating Germany Aliona Savchenko / Bruno Massot 162.86 22 March 2018 [3]
Total score 245.84 [4]
Ice dance Short dance France Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron 83.73 23 March 2018 [5]
Free dance 123.47 24 March 2018 [6]
Total score 207.20 [7]

Qualification

[edit]

Age and minimum TES requirements

[edit]

Skaters are eligible for the 2018 World Championships if they turned 15 years of age before 1 July 2017 and have met the minimum technical elements score requirements. The ISU accepts scores if they were obtained at senior-level ISU-recognized international competitions at least 21 days before the first official practice day of the championships.[8]

Minimum technical scores (TES)[8]
Discipline SP / SD FS / FD
Men 34 64
Ladies 27 47
Pairs 25 43
Ice dance 29 39
Must be achieved at an ISU-recognized international event
in the ongoing or preceding season.
SP and FS scores may be attained at different events.

Number of entries per discipline

[edit]

Based on the results of the 2017 World Championships, each ISU member nation can field one to three entries per discipline.

Spots Men Ladies Pairs Dance
3  Japan
 United States 		 Russia
 Canada
 United States 		 China
 Russia
 Canada 		 Canada
 United States
2  China
 Spain
 Canada
 Russia
 Israel 		 Japan
 Italy
 Kazakhstan
 South Korea 		 Germany
 France
 Italy
 United States 		 France
 Russia
 Italy
If not listed above, one entry is allowed.

Schedule

[edit]
Day Date Start Finish Discipline Event
Day 1 March 21 10:45 16:36 Ladies Short program
17:30 18:00 Opening ceremony
18:20 23:00 Pairs Short program
Day 2 March 22 10:05 15:43 Men Short program
18:55 21:54 Pairs Free skating
Pairs Victory ceremony
Day 3 March 23 11:00 15:57 Dance Short dance
18:35 22:25 Ladies Free skating
Ladies Victory ceremony
Day 4 March 24 10:00 14:04 Men Free skating
Men Victory ceremony
15:20 18:36 Dance Free dance
Dance Victory ceremony
Day 5 March 25 14:30 17:00 Exhibition gala

Note: times are local times (UTC+1 from March 21 through March 24 and UTC+2 on March 25).

Entries

[edit]

Member nations began announcing their selections in December 2017. The International Skating Union published the full list of entries on 28 February 2018. None of the previous year's defending champions competed.

Country Men[9] Ladies[10] Pairs[11] Ice dance[12]
 Armenia Slavik Hayrapetyan Tina Garabedian / Simon Proulx-Sénécal
 Australia Brendan Kerry Kailani Craine Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya / Harley Windsor Chantelle Kerry / Andrew Dodds
 Austria Alisa Stomakhina Miriam Ziegler / Severin Kiefer
 Azerbaijan Larry Loupolover
 Belarus Viktoria Kavaliova / Yurii Bieliaiev
 Belgium Loena Hendrickx
 Brazil Isadora Williams
 Bulgaria Teodora Markova / Simon Daze
 Canada[13][14][15] Keegan Messing
Nam Nguyen 		Larkyn Austman
Gabrielle Daleman
Kaetlyn Osmond 		Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro
Camille Ruest / Andrew Wolfe
Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 		Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier
Carolane Soucisse / Shane Firus
Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje
 China Jin Boyang Li Xiangning Peng Cheng / Jin Yang
Yu Xiaoyu / Zhang Hao 		Wang Shiyue / Liu Xinyu
 Chinese Taipei Chih-I Tsao Amy Lin
 Croatia Nicholas Vrdoljak Lana Petranović / Antonio Souza-Kordeiru
 Czech Republic Michal Březina Eliška Březinová Anna Dušková / Martin Bidař Cortney Mansour / Michal Češka
 Estonia Gerli Liinamäe
 Finland Valtter Virtanen Viveca Lindfors Cecilia Törn / Jussiville Partanen
 France Romain Ponsart Laurine Lecavelier Lola Esbrat / Andrei Novoselov
Vanessa James / Morgan Ciprès 		Marie-Jade Lauriault / Romain Le Gac
Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron
 Georgia Morisi Kvitelashvili
 Germany Paul Fentz Nicole Schott Annika Hocke / Ruben Blommaert
Aliona Savchenko / Bruno Massot 		Kavita Lorenz / Joti Polizoakis
 Great Britain[16] Phillip Harris Natasha McKay Zoe Jones / Christopher Boyadji Lilah Fear / Lewis Gibson
 Hungary Ivett Tóth Elizaveta Kashitsyna / Márk Magyar Anna Yanovskaya / Ádám Lukács
 Israel Oleksii Bychenko
Daniel Samohin 		Paige Conners / Evgeni Krasnopolski Adel Tankova / Ronald Zilberberg
 Italy Matteo Rizzo Carolina Kostner
Elisabetta Leccardi 		Nicole Della Monica / Matteo Guarise
Valentina Marchei / Ondřej Hotárek 		Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte
Charlène Guignard / Marco Fabbri
 Japan[17] Keiji Tanaka
Kazuki Tomono
Shoma Uno 		Wakaba Higuchi
Satoko Miyahara 		Miu Suzaki / Ryuichi Kihara Kana Muramoto / Chris Reed
 Kazakhstan Abzal Rakimgaliev Elizabet Tursynbayeva
 Latvia Deniss Vasiļjevs Angelīna Kučvaļska
 Lithuania Elžbieta Kropa Allison Reed / Saulius Ambrulevičius
 Malaysia Julian Yee
 Mexico Donovan Carrillo
 North Korea Ryom Tae-ok / Kim Ju-sik
 Norway Anne Line Gjersem
 Poland Ihor Reznichenko Natalia Kaliszek / Maksym Spodyriev
 South Korea Kim Jin-seo Choi Da-bin
Kim Ha-nul 		Kim Kyu-eun / Alex Kangchan Kam Yura Min / Alexander Gamelin
 Russia Dmitri Aliev
Mikhail Kolyada 		Stanislava Konstantinova
Maria Sotskova
Alina Zagitova 		Kristina Astakhova / Alexei Rogonov
Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov
Natalya Zabiyako / Alexander Enbert 		Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin
Tiffany Zahorski / Jonathan Guerreiro
 Serbia Antonina Dubinina
 Slovakia Nicole Rajičová Lucie Myslivečková / Lukáš Csölley
 Slovenia Daša Grm
 Spain[18] Javier Raya Laura Barquero / Aritz Maestu Olivia Smart / Adriàn Díaz
 Sweden Alexander Majorov Anita Östlund
 Switzerland Stéphane Walker Alexia Paganini Ioulia Chtchetinina / Mikhail Akulov
 Turkey Burak Demirboğa Alisa Agafonova / Alper Uçar
 Ukraine Ivan Pavlov Oleksandra Nazarova / Maxim Nikitin
 United States[19] Max Aaron
Nathan Chen
Vincent Zhou 		Mariah Bell
Mirai Nagasu
Bradie Tennell 		Alexa Scimeca Knierim / Chris Knierim
Deanna Stellato / Nathan Bartholomay 		Madison Chock / Evan Bates
Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc Baker
Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue
 Uzbekistan Misha Ge

Changes to preliminary assignments

[edit]
Announced Country Discipline Initial Replacement Reason for WD/
Other notes
 Canada Men Patrick Chan Nam Nguyen[9] Chan retired after the Olympics.[14]
16 February  Canada Pairs Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford Camille Ruest / Andrew Wolfe[11] Duhamel/Radford retired after the Olympics.[15] Ilyushechkina/ Moscovitch were the first alternates but declined.[13]
20 February  Canada Ice dance Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir[20] Carolane Soucisse / Shane Firus[12]
20 February  Spain Men Javier Fernández None[11]
25 February  Russia Pairs Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov Kristina Astakhova / Alexei Rogonov[11] Stolbova's leg injury.[21]
28 February  Russia Ice dance Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev Tiffany Zahorski / Jonathan Guerreiro Fatigue[citation needed]
 Great Britain Ice dance Penny Coomes / Nicholas Buckland Lilah Fear / Lewis Gibson Coomes' knee injury rehabilitation.[22]
2 March  United States Men Adam Rippon Max Aaron[23] Jason Brown and Ross Miner declined invitations.[23]
2 March  United States Ice dance Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc Baker[23]
7 March  Japan Men Yuzuru Hanyu Kazuki Tomono[9] Pain in Hanyu's right ankle.[24] Takahito Mura declined and retired.[25]
7 March  Philippines Ladies Alisson Perticheto None[10]
9 March  China Pairs Sui Wenjing / Han Cong None[11] Stress fracture in Sui's foot.[26]
13 March  Russia Ladies Evgenia Medvedeva Stanislava Konstantinova Stress fracture in right foot.[27]
13 March  Ukraine Ladies Anna Khnychenkova None[10]
16 March  United States Ladies Karen Chen Mariah Bell Ashley Wagner declined an invitation.[28]
16 March  United States Pairs Tarah Kayne / Daniel O'Shea Deanna Stellato / Nathan Bartholomay[28]
16 March  Azerbaijan Pairs Sofiya Karagodina / Semyon Stepanov None
16 March  Kazakhstan Men Denis Ten Abzal Rakimgaliev[9]

Results

[edit]

Men

[edit]
Rank Name Nation Total points SP FS
1 Nathan Chen  United States 321.40 1 101.94 1 219.46
2 Shoma Uno  Japan 273.77 5 94.26 2 179.51
3 Mikhail Kolyada  Russia 272.32 2 100.08 4 172.24
4 Alexei Bychenko  Israel 258.28 7 90.99 7 167.29
5 Kazuki Tomono  Japan 256.11 11 82.61 3 173.50
6 Deniss Vasiļjevs  Latvia 254.86 9 84.25 5 170.61
7 Dmitri Aliev  Russia 252.30 13 82.15 6 170.15
8 Keegan Messing  Canada 252.30 6 93.00 11 159.30
9 Misha Ge  Uzbekistan 249.57 8 86.01 9 163.56
10 Michal Březina  Czech Republic 243.99 17 78.01 8 165.98
11 Max Aaron  United States 241.49 15 79.78 10 161.71
12 Alexander Majorov  Sweden 237.79 10 82.71 13 155.08
13 Keiji Tanaka  Japan 236.66 14 80.17 12 156.49
14 Vincent Zhou  United States 235.24 3 96.78 19 138.46
15 Paul Fentz  Germany 230.92 12 82.49 16 148.43
16 Romain Ponsart  France 229.20 16 79.55 14 149.65
17 Matteo Rizzo  Italy 225.44 18 77.43 17 148.01
18 Brendan Kerry  Australia 223.85 19 74.99 15 148.86
19 Jin Boyang  China 223.41 4 95.85 23 127.56
20 Daniel Samohin  Israel 214.01 20 72.78 18 141.23
21 Julian Zhi Jie Yee  Malaysia 209.03 21 72.43 20 136.60
22 Donovan Carrillo  Mexico 200.76 24 68.13 21 132.63
23 Slavik Hayrapetyan  Armenia 199.72 23 68.18 22 131.54
24 Phillip Harris  Great Britain 187.69 22 68.59 24 119.10
Did not advance to free skating
25 Nam Nguyen  Canada 67.79 25 67.79 N/a
26 Morisi Kvitelashvili  Georgia 67.01 26 67.01 N/a
27 Stéphane Walker  Switzerland 65.79 27 65.79 N/a
28 Burak Demirboğa  Turkey 65.43 28 65.43 N/a
29 Ivan Pavlov  Ukraine 64.18 29 64.18 N/a
30 Chih-I Tsao  Chinese Taipei 64.06 30 64.06 N/a
31 Larry Loupolover  Azerbaijan 61.82 31 61.82 N/a
32 Abzal Rakimgaliev  Kazakhstan 61.19 32 61.19 N/a
33 Kim Jin-seo  South Korea 60.72 33 60.72 N/a
34 Nicholas Vrdoljak  Croatia 59.74 34 59.74 N/a
35 Valtter Virtanen  Finland 55.49 35 55.49 N/a
36 Ihor Reznichenko  Poland 51.70 36 51.70 N/a
37 Javier Raya  Spain 50.00 37 50.00 N/a

Ladies

[edit]
Rank Name Nation Total points SP FS
1 Kaetlyn Osmond  Canada 223.23 4 72.73 1 150.50
2 Wakaba Higuchi  Japan 210.90 8 65.89 2 145.01
3 Satoko Miyahara  Japan 210.08 3 74.36 3 135.72
4 Carolina Kostner  Italy 208.88 1 80.27 5 128.61
5 Alina Zagitova  Russia 207.72 2 79.51 7 128.21
6 Bradie Tennell  United States 199.89 7 68.76 4 131.13
7 Gabrielle Daleman  Canada 196.72 6 71.61 8 125.11
8 Maria Sotskova  Russia 196.61 5 71.80 9 124.81
9 Loena Hendrickx  Belgium 192.31 10 64.07 6 128.24
10 Mirai Nagasu  United States 187.52 9 65.21 11 122.31
11 Elizabet Tursynbayeva  Kazakhstan 186.85 11 62.38 10 124.47
12 Mariah Bell  United States 174.40 17 59.15 12 115.25
13 Nicole Schott  Germany 174.13 12 61.84 14 112.29
14 Laurine Lecavelier  France 173.23 15 59.79 13 113.44
15 Kim Ha-nul  South Korea 170.68 14 60.14 15 110.54
16 Viveca Lindfors  Finland 166.23 13 60.18 16 106.05
17 Kailani Craine  Australia 154.41 20 56.90 18 97.51
18 Eliška Březinová  Czech Republic 153.14 18 58.37 19 94.77
19 Stanislava Konstantinova  Russia 153.03 16 59.19 20 93.84
20 Alexia Paganini  Switzerland 149.66 19 57.86 22 91.80
21 Elisabetta Leccardi  Italy 149.17 23 51.13 17 98.04
22 Daša Grm  Slovenia 144.51 22 52.43 21 92.08
23 Ivett Tóth  Hungary 136.87 24 50.63 23 86.24
WD Choi Da-bin  South Korea 55.30 21 55.30 N/a
Did not advance to free skating
25 Larkyn Austman  Canada 50.17 25 50.17 N/a
26 Li Xiangning  China 50.06 26 50.06 N/a
27 Nicole Rajičová  Slovakia 49.87 27 49.87 N/a
28 Amy Lin  Chinese Taipei 49.31 28 49.31 N/a
29 Anita Östlund  Sweden 48.99 29 48.99 N/a
30 Alisa Stomakhina  Austria 48.71 30 48.71 N/a
31 Elžbieta Kropa  Lithuania 46.53 31 46.53 N/a
32 Natasha McKay  Great Britain 45.89 32 45.89 N/a
33 Anne Line Gjersem  Norway 45.25 33 45.25 N/a
34 Gerli Liinamäe  Estonia 45.14 34 45.14 N/a
35 Isadora Williams  Brazil 42.16 35 42.16 N/a
36 Antonina Dubinina  Serbia 41.40 36 41.40 N/a
37 Angelīna Kučvaļska  Latvia 35.78 37 35.78 N/a

Pairs

[edit]
Rank Name Nation Total points SP FS
1 Aliona Savchenko / Bruno Massot  Germany 245.84 1 82.98 1 162.86
2 Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov  Russia 225.53 2 81.29 2 144.24
3 Vanessa James / Morgan Ciprès  France 218.36 3 75.32 3 143.04
4 Natalya Zabiyako / Alexander Enbert  Russia 207.88 4 74.38 6 133.50
5 Nicole Della Monica / Matteo Guarise  Italy 206.06 5 72.53 5 133.53
6 Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro  Canada 204.33 10 70.49 4 133.84
7 Yu Xiaoyu / Zhang Hao  China 203.36 9 71.31 7 132.05
8 Kristina Astakhova / Alexei Rogonov  Russia 202.16 7 71.62 9 130.54
9 Peng Cheng / Jin Yang  China 202.07 6 71.98 10 130.09
10 Valentina Marchei / Ondřej Hotárek  Italy 202.02 8 71.37 8 130.65
11 Anna Dušková / Martin Bidař  Czech Republic 189.60 13 66.29 11 123.31
12 Ryom Tae-ok / Kim Ju-sik  North Korea 188.77 12 66.32 12 122.45
13 Annika Hocke / Ruben Blommaert  Germany 184.83 16 63.26 13 121.57
14 Miriam Ziegler / Severin Kiefer  Austria 184.30 14 65.21 14 119.09
15 Alexa Scimeca Knierim / Chris Knierim  United States 182.04 11 69.55 15 112.49
16 Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya / Harley Windsor  Australia 177.46 15 65.02 16 112.44
Did not advance to free skating
17 Deanna Stellato / Nathan Bartholomay  United States 61.48 17 61.48 N/a
18 Camille Ruest / Andrew Wolfe  Canada 59.98 18 59.98 N/a
19 Paige Conners / Evgeni Krasnopolski  Israel 58.44 19 58.44 N/a
20 Laura Barquero / Aritz Maestu  Spain 58.36 20 58.36 N/a
21 Lana Petranović / Antonio Souza-Kordeiru  Croatia 57.25 21 57.25 N/a
22 Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau  Canada 55.68 22 55.68 N/a
23 Ioulia Chtchetinina / Mikhail Akulov  Switzerland 53.62 23 53.62 N/a
24 Miu Suzaki / Ryuichi Kihara  Japan 53.33 24 53.33 N/a
25 Lola Esbrat / Andrei Novoselov  France 51.94 25 51.94 N/a
26 Kyu-eun Kim / Alex Kangchan Kam  South Korea 42.85 26 42.85 N/a
27 Zoe Jones / Christopher Boyadji  Great Britain 42.02 27 42.02 N/a
28 Elizaveta Kashitsyna / Márk Magyar  Hungary 36.33 28 36.33 N/a

Ice dance

[edit]
Rank Name Nation Total points SD FD
1 Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron  France 207.20 1 83.73 1 123.47
2 Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue  United States 196.64 2 80.42 2 116.22
3 Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje  Canada 192.35 3 78.31 4 114.04
4 Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte  Italy 192.08 4 77.46 3 114.62
5 Madison Chock / Evan Bates  United States 187.28 5 75.66 5 111.62
6 Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier  Canada 186.10 6 74.51 6 111.59
7 Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin  Russia 184.01 7 74.50 7 109.51
8 Tiffany Zahorski / Jonathan Guerreiro  Russia 180.42 8 72.45 8 107.97
9 Charlène Guignard / Marco Fabbri  Italy 178.44 9 71.15 9 107.29
10 Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc Baker  United States 165.28 15 63.48 10 101.80
11 Kana Muramoto / Chris Reed  Japan 164.38 10 65.65 11 98.73
12 Olivia Smart / Adriàn Díaz  Spain 162.05 12 63.73 12 98.32
13 Marie-Jade Lauriault / Romain Le Gac  France 159.64 14 63.50 13 96.14
14 Carolane Soucisse / Shane Firus  Canada 159.46 11 64.02 14 95.44
15 Oleksandra Nazarova / Maxim Nikitin  Ukraine 158.40 16 63.35 15 95.05
16 Kavita Lorenz / Joti Polizoakis  Germany 157.02 17 62.08 16 94.94
17 Natalia Kaliszek / Maksym Spodyriev  Poland 151.46 13 63.70 19 87.76
18 Wang Shiyue / Liu Xinyu  China 150.75 19 61.18 17 89.57
19 Alisa Agafonova / Alper Uçar  Turkey 149.05 20 60.38 18 88.67
20 Allison Reed / Saulius Ambrulevičius  Lithuania 148.30 18 61.33 20 86.97
Did not advance to free dance
21 Yura Min / Alexander Gamelin  South Korea 58.82 21 58.82 N/a
22 Tina Garabedian / Simon Proulx-Sénécal  Armenia 58.64 22 58.64 N/a
23 Cecilia Törn / Jussiville Partanen  Finland 57.96 23 57.96 N/a
24 Lilah Fear / Lewis Gibson  Great Britain 57.56 24 57.56 N/a
25 Lucie Myslivečková / Lukáš Csölley  Slovakia 55.54 25 55.54 N/a
26 Cortney Mansour / Michal Češka  Czech Republic 55.27 26 55.27 N/a
27 Anna Yanovskaya / Ádám Lukács  Hungary 54.11 27 54.11 N/a
28 Viktoria Kavaliova / Yurii Bieliaiev  Belarus 50.40 28 50.40 N/a
29 Teodora Markova / Simon Daze  Bulgaria 47.57 29 47.57 N/a
30 Chantelle Kerry / Andrew Dodds  Australia 46.05 30 46.05 N/a
31 Adel Tankova / Ronald Zilberberg  Israel 43.50 31 43.50 N/a

Medals summary

[edit]

Medalists

[edit]

Medals for overall placement:

Discipline Gold Silver Bronze
Men United States Nathan Chen Japan Shoma Uno Russia Mikhail Kolyada
Ladies Canada Kaetlyn Osmond Japan Wakaba Higuchi Japan Satoko Miyahara
Pairs Germany Aliona Savchenko / Bruno Massot Russia Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov France Vanessa James / Morgan Ciprès
Ice dance France Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron United States Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue Canada Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje

Small medals for placement in the short segment:

Discipline Gold Silver Bronze
Men United States Nathan Chen Russia Mikhail Kolyada United States Vincent Zhou
Ladies Italy Carolina Kostner Russia Alina Zagitova Japan Satoko Miyahara
Pairs Germany Aliona Savchenko / Bruno Massot Russia Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov France Vanessa James / Morgan Ciprès
Ice dance France Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron United States Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue Canada Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje

Small medals for placement in the free segment:

Discipline Gold Silver Bronze
Men United States Nathan Chen Japan Shoma Uno Japan Kazuki Tomono
Ladies Canada Kaetlyn Osmond Japan Wakaba Higuchi Japan Satoko Miyahara
Pairs Germany Aliona Savchenko / Bruno Massot Russia Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov France Vanessa James / Morgan Ciprès
Ice dance France Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron United States Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue Italy Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte

By country

[edit]

Table of medals for overall placement:

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States (USA)1102
2 Canada (CAN)1012
 France (FRA)1012
4 Germany (GER)1001
5 Japan (JPN)0213
6 Russia (RUS)0112
Totals (6 entries)44412

References

[edit]
[edit]

Grokipedia

2018 World Figure Skating Championships

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
The 2018 World Figure Skating Championships was an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the International Skating Union (ISU), held from March 19 to 25, 2018, at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan, Italy.[1] As the culminating event of the 2017–18 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating season and the 108th edition of the annual championships, it featured competitions in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing, with approximately 190 athletes from 40 countries vying for medals and qualification spots for the 2019 ISU Grand Prix season.[1][2] The event, coming shortly after the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, showcased many recent Olympic medalists seeking to build on their momentum, including defending champions and rising stars performing under the ISU Judging System, which emphasizes technical elements and program components.[3] In the men's singles, 18-year-old Nathan Chen of the United States claimed gold with a total score of 321.02 points, highlighted by five quadruple jumps in his free skate. Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada won the ladies' singles title, delivering a flawless free skate to score 230.15 points overall and secure her first world championship. The pairs gold went to Germany's Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot, who set a new world record of 163.48 points in the free skate en route to a combined 246.46, marking Savchenko's fifth world title across two decades. In ice dancing, Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada defended their world title with a world-record free dance score of 118.10 points, totaling 200.61 and extending their record as the most decorated ice dance team in history. The championships also saw strong performances from the host nation, with Italy's Carolina Kostner earning bronze in ladies' singles at age 30, underscoring the event's blend of veteran excellence and youthful innovation.

Event information

Host city and venue

The 2018 World Figure Skating Championships were hosted by Milan, Italy, marking the city's first time staging the event since 1951. The International Skating Union (ISU) awarded the hosting rights to Milan following a bidding process, with the announcement made in June 2015 as part of a series of event allocations for future championships.[4] The competition took place at the Mediolanum Forum, a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Assago, approximately 10 kilometers south of Milan's city center. Opened in 1990, the venue was renovated in 2014 to increase its capacity from 11,500 to 12,700 spectators and underwent further updates in 2017, including improved seating arrangements and enhanced facilities to meet modern event standards. For the championships, a temporary ice rink measuring the ISU-standard dimensions of 60 meters by 30 meters was installed to accommodate all disciplines. The arena's flexible layout allowed for spectator seating around the rink, with additional space for media, officials, and practice areas.[5][1] Accessibility to the Mediolanum Forum was facilitated by efficient public transportation options, including direct service from Milan's Metropolitana Line 2 (green line) via the Assago Milanofiori Forum station, which connects to the city center in about 20 minutes. Bus lines and ample parking were also available for attendees arriving by car, ensuring smooth logistics for the international crowd.[6][7]

Dates and format

The 2018 World Figure Skating Championships took place from March 19 to 25, 2018.[1] The event featured competitions in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Each discipline consisted of two segments: a short program (or rhythm dance for ice dancing) and a free skating (or free dance for ice dancing). Compulsory figures, which required skaters to trace specific patterns on the ice, had been eliminated from international competitions by the International Skating Union (ISU) starting in 1990.[8] Scores in each segment were determined under ISU rules using the International Judging System, where the total segment score comprised the technical element score (TES) for executed jumps, spins, and other elements, plus the program component score (PCS) evaluating factors such as skating skills, transitions, and interpretation, minus any deductions. The top 24 placements from the short program advanced to the free skating in men's and ladies' singles, while all entrants competed in both segments for pairs and ice dancing; technical panel decisions on element identification followed a majority rule among the controller and specialists.[9] The championships concluded with an exhibition gala on March 25, featuring performances by medalists, top finishers, and invited skaters in non-competitive programs set to music of their choice.

Qualification

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships, skaters were required to have reached the age of 15 by July 1, 2017, with no upper age limit specified for senior-level competition. This age threshold ensured participants were at the senior level as defined by International Skating Union (ISU) regulations. Competitors were required to represent an ISU member nation and possess citizenship or a valid residence permit in that country, allowing them to compete under that federation's flag. Additionally, all entrants needed ISU clearance, meaning no outstanding doping violations or disciplinary sanctions that would prohibit participation under the ISU's anti-doping and ethical codes. Skaters and teams had to achieve minimum total technical elements scores (TES) in both segments of their programs during the 2017–18 season or at the 2017 World Championships, obtained at senior-level ISU-recognized international competitions. These thresholds were: men—short program 34.00 points and free skate 64.00 points; ladies—short program 27.00 points and free skate 47.00 points; pairs—short program 25.00 points and free skate 43.00 points; ice dance—short (rhythm) dance 29.00 points and free dance 39.00 points. Scores needed to be attained at least 21 days before the event's first official practice day, with exceptions permitting the host nation (Italy) to enter one competitor per discipline without meeting these requirements if necessary to fill quotas.[10]

Entry quotas

The entry quotas for the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships were governed by the International Skating Union (ISU) Special Regulations and Technical Rules Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance, Rule 379, which allocated spots to ISU member nations based on their performances at the 2017 World Championships.[11] Each nation could enter a maximum of three competitors or teams per discipline (men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance), but the actual quota depended on prior results: nations with at least one entrant placing in the top 10 of the relevant discipline at the 2017 event received three entries, while those with placements between 11th and 24th (but none higher) were limited to two entries; nations without any top-24 finishers defaulted to one entry. As the host nation, Italy was guaranteed three entries per discipline regardless of its 2017 results, provided the entrants satisfied the ISU's minimum total elements score (TES) thresholds outlined in Rule 378. This system ensured broad international participation while prioritizing strong-performing federations, with additional consideration given to outcomes from the 2017–18 ISU Grand Prix Final for nations seeking to upgrade from one or two entries to three. Skaters filling these quotas were selected via national championships or other qualifying events like the ISU Challenger Series, but the overall limits per nation remained fixed to maintain competitive balance. The quotas resulted in a total of 37 entries in men's singles, 37 in ladies' singles, 28 in pair skating, and 31 in ice dance, representing 40 ISU member nations across all disciplines.

Schedule

Daily timeline

The 2018 World Figure Skating Championships commenced on March 19 with official practice sessions for all disciplines, held at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan, Italy, and allocated by random draw to ensure fair access to the ice.[1] These sessions continued on March 20, allowing skaters to acclimate to the venue ahead of the competitive segments.[3] Competition began on March 21 with the ladies' short program in the morning, followed by the opening ceremony later that afternoon and the pairs' short program in the evening.[1][12] On March 22, official practices preceded the men's short program in the morning and the pairs' free skate in the evening.[1] The schedule proceeded on March 23 with practices before the ice dance short dance in the morning and the ladies' free skate in the evening.[1] March 24 featured official practices leading into the men's free skate in the morning and the ice dance free dance in the afternoon, marking the conclusion of the competitive events.[1][3] Post-competition activities on March 23 and 24 included exhibition practices and gala preparations for eligible skaters.[1] The event wrapped up on March 25 with the exhibition gala, showcasing non-competitive performances by top finishers and invited participants.[1] A closing banquet followed the gala.[12]

Segment structure

The segment structure of the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships followed the International Skating Union (ISU) regulations for the 2017-2018 season, dividing competitions into short programs or short dances and free skates or free dances across the four disciplines.[9] Each segment required skaters to perform a set number of prescribed elements within specified time limits, evaluated under the ISU Judging System for technical merit and program components.[9] In men's and ladies' singles, the short program lasted 2 minutes and 40 seconds, with a tolerance of plus or minus 10 seconds.[13] Skaters were required to execute seven elements: three jumps (including one combination or sequence, with the double or triple Axel counting as one if performed), three spins (one flying spin, one combination spin, and one spin with change of foot or flying change of foot), and one step sequence fully utilizing the ice surface.[9] For pair skating, the short program also lasted 2 minutes and 40 seconds plus or minus 10 seconds, featuring six elements: one lift from a designated group, one throw jump, one solo jump, one death spiral or pair spin, one pair spin, and one step sequence.[13] In ice dancing, the short dance had a duration of 2 minutes and 50 seconds plus or minus 10 seconds; it included rhythms from the Latin style (cha cha, rhumba, and/or samba), a not-touching midline footwork sequence or step sequence, and synchronized twizzles, along with one lift or additional not-touching midline element.[9] The free skate in men's singles and pair skating extended to 4 minutes and 30 seconds plus or minus 10 seconds, allowing for a broader array of elements including up to four jumps (with combinations permitted), up to three lifts in pairs, up to three throws in pairs, up to three spins, up to two step sequences in singles or one in pairs, and a choreographic sequence.[14] Ladies' singles free skate was shorter at 4 minutes plus or minus 10 seconds, with similar element structures scaled to three jumps, three spins, one step sequence, and a choreographic sequence.[9] The ice dance free dance lasted 4 minutes plus or minus 10 seconds and required five elements: one lift, one spin, one not-touching midline footwork sequence or step sequence, synchronized twizzles, and a choreographic dance element, emphasizing lifts, twizzles, and creative choreography without the pattern dance constraint. Judging panels consisted of nine judges selected randomly from a larger pool, with scores calculated anonymously using a trimmed average (discarding the highest and lowest marks from each component) to determine final placements.[9] Ties were resolved by majority rankings across technical elements and program components.[9] ISU guidelines permitted vocal music with lyrics in short programs and free skates for singles and pairs starting with the 2018 season, a change approved after the 2014 Sochi Olympics to broaden artistic expression, while ice dance had long allowed vocals.[15] Costumes adhered to ISU standards, requiring modest, non-excessive attire that did not hinder performance or incorporate prohibited elements like feathers or excessive decorations that could damage the ice.[9]

Participants

Entries by discipline

The 2018 World Figure Skating Championships featured entries across four disciplines, with nations allocated spots based on prior results and host privileges. A total of 37 men from 30 countries were entered in men's singles.[16] Prominent entries included three from the United States (Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou, Max Aaron), three from Japan (Shoma Uno, Kazuki Tomono, Keiji Tanaka), two from Canada (Keegan Messing, Nam Nguyen), two from Israel (Alexei Bychenko, Daniel Samohin), and two from Russia (Mikhail Kolyada, Dmitri Aliev), alongside single entries from nations such as China (Boyang Jin), Czech Republic (Michal Brezina), and host nation Italy (Matteo Rizzo).[16] In ladies' singles, 37 skaters from 24 countries competed, with three entries each from Canada (Kaetlyn Osmond, Gabrielle Daleman, Larkyn Austman), Russia (Alina Zagitova, Maria Sotskova, Stanislava Konstantinova), and the United States (Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu, Mariah Bell).[17] Japan fielded two (Wakaba Higuchi, Satoko Miyahara), as did host Italy (Carolina Kostner, Elisabetta Leccardi) and South Korea (Dabin Choi, Hanul Kim), while other countries like Kazakhstan (Elizabet Tursynbaeva) and Switzerland (Alexia Paganini) each had one.[17] Pair skating saw 28 teams from 19 countries, including three each from Canada (Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro, Julianne Séguin/Charlie Bilodeau, Camille Ruest/Andrew Wolfe) and Russia (Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov, Natalia Zabiiako/Alexander Enbert, Kristina Astakhova/Alexei Rogonov).[18] China had two (Yu Xiaoyu/Zhang Hao, Peng Cheng/Jin Yang), as did France (Vanessa James/Morgan Ciprès, Lola Esbrat/Andrei Novoselov), Germany (Aliona Savchenko/Bruno Massot, Annika Hocke/Ruben Blommaert), host Italy (Nicole Della Monica/Matteo Guarise, Valentina Marchei/Ondřej Hotárek), and the United States (Alexa Scimeca Knierim/Chris Knierim, Deanna Stellato/Nathan Bartholomay).[18] Single teams represented nations such as Japan (Miu Suzaki/Ryuichi Kihara).[18] For ice dancing, 31 teams from 22 countries were entered, with three each from Canada (Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje, Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier, Carolane Soucisse/Shane Firus), the United States (Madison Chock/Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue, Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker), and host Italy (Charlène Guignard/Marco Fabbri, Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte, Martina Rosati/Oliviero Baggio).[19] France had two (Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron, Marie-Jade Lauriault/Romain Le Gac), Russia two (Tiffani Zagorski/Jonathan Guerreiro, Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin), and single teams from countries including Poland (Natalia Kaliszek/Maksym Spodyriev).[19]

Assignment changes

Several notable pre-event withdrawals occurred leading up to the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships, primarily due to injuries sustained during the recent Winter Olympics and post-Olympic retirement decisions. In the men's singles event, two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan withdrew on March 7, 2018, citing pain in his right ankle from an injury during the Olympic free skate.[20] Hanyu stated that medical examinations confirmed he was unable to compete, and he prioritized rehabilitation for the following season.[21] Kazuki Tomono, the first alternate from the Japanese national championships, replaced him on the team. Canadian three-time world champion Patrick Chan also did not participate, having announced his retirement from competitive skating shortly after the Olympics on April 18, 2018, though the decision was made earlier, effectively withdrawing him from Worlds.[22] Nam Nguyen, the second-place finisher at the 2018 Canadian Championships, was selected as his replacement to maintain Canada's three-man entry.[23] In ladies' singles, Olympic silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia withdrew on March 13, 2018, due to a recurrence of a stress fracture in her right foot that had sidelined her earlier in the season.[24] The Russian Figure Skating Federation confirmed the injury prevented her participation, and she was replaced by fourth-place finisher Stanislava Konstantinova from the Russian Championships.[25] Two-time world champion pairs team Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada withdrew on February 16, 2018, choosing to rest and recover after their Olympic performances rather than continue immediately into Worlds.[26] Canada maintained its three-pair entry with Julianne Séguin/Charlie Bilodeau, Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro, and Camille Ruest/Andrew Wolfe.[27][18] No significant on-site withdrawals or medical changes occurred during the competition itself, with all scheduled skaters completing their programs. These assignment changes did not alter national entry quotas, as the International Skating Union rules allowed alternates to fill spots without reducing limits unless all reserves declined.

Results

Men's singles

The men's singles competition at the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships took place on March 22 (short program) and March 24 (free skating) at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan, Italy.[28] Reigning Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan withdrew from the event on March 7 due to lingering right ankle pain from the PyeongChang Olympics, leaving the field open for other top contenders. A total of 30 skaters from 22 ISU member nations competed, with the top 24 advancing to the free skating based on short program results.[29] In the short program, Nathan Chen of the United States topped the standings with 101.94 points, delivering a clean performance to "Come Through" by Jacob Gurevitsch that included a quadruple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, a quadruple flip, and strong program components scores averaging 8.96.[30] Mikhail Kolyada of Russia placed second with 100.08 points for his routine to music from the movie Anna Karenina, featuring a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop and a quadruple Salchow.[30] Vincent Zhou, also of the United States, earned third place with 96.78 points, highlighted by a quadruple Salchow and solid spins.[30] Boyang Jin of China followed in fourth at 95.85 points, while Shoma Uno of Japan rounded out the top five with 94.26 points despite a slight edge on the quadruple toe loop.[30]
PlacementSkaterNationScore
1Nathan ChenUSA101.94
2Mikhail KolyadaRUS100.08
3Vincent ZhouUSA96.78
4Boyang JinCHN95.85
5Shoma UnoJPN94.26
6Keegan MessingCAN93.00
7Alexei BychenkoISR90.99
8Misha GeUZB86.01
9Deniss VasiljevsLAT84.25
10Alexander MajorovSWE82.71
11Kazuki TomonoJPN82.61
12Paul FentzGER82.49
The short program saw several skaters attempt multiple quads, with Chen's technical element score of 59.14 underscoring his edge in difficulty.[31] In the free skating, Chen extended his lead by winning the segment with 219.46 points for his program to "Nemesis" by Lindsey Stirling, landing six quadruple jumps—including a quadruple Lutz-triple toe loop, quadruple flip, quadruple Salchow, and two quadruple toe loops (one in combination)—despite a slight step-out on the Salchow.[32][33] Shoma Uno secured second in the free skate with 179.51 points, recovering from his fifth-place short program finish through a strong showing with two quads and high program components averaging 8.82.[32] Kazuki Tomono of Japan placed third in the segment at 173.50 points, boosted by a clean quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop and effective footwork.[32] Notable underperformances included Vincent Zhou, who dropped to 13th in the free skate after falls on two quads, and Boyang Jin, who finished 18th due to multiple errors.[32] No withdrawals occurred between segments.[32]
PlacementSkaterNationScore
1Nathan ChenUSA219.46
2Shoma UnoJPN179.51
3Kazuki TomonoJPN173.50
4Mikhail KolyadaRUS172.24
5Deniss VasiljevsLAT170.61
6Dmitri AlievRUS170.15
7Alexei BychenkoISR167.29
8Michal BrezinaCZE165.98
9Misha GeUZB163.56
10Max AaronUSA161.71
Chen's free skate technical score of 124.47 highlighted his quad-heavy layout, which included three combinations and set a new personal best for the segment. Program components across the field emphasized artistry and skating skills, with Uno excelling in interpretation (9.25 average) and Kolyada in transitions (8.96 average). Nathan Chen claimed the gold medal with a total score of 321.40 points, marking the first world title for an American man since 2009 and the largest margin of victory (47.63 points) in championships history.[29][34] Shoma Uno earned silver with 273.77 points, while Mikhail Kolyada took bronze at 272.32 points after holding steady from his short program position.[29] Alexei Bychenko of Israel finished fourth overall with 258.28 points, the highest placement for an Israeli skater in the event's history.[29]
PlacementSkaterNationTotal ScoreSP PlaceFS Place
1Nathan ChenUSA321.4011
2Shoma UnoJPN273.7752
3Mikhail KolyadaRUS272.3224
4Alexei BychenkoISR258.2877
5Kazuki TomonoJPN256.11113
6Deniss VasiljevsLAT254.8695
7Dmitri AlievRUS252.30136
8Keegan MessingCAN252.30611
9Misha GeUZB249.5789
10Michal BrezinaCZE243.99178

Ladies' singles

The ladies' singles competition at the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships took place on March 22 (short program) and March 23 (free skating) at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan, Italy. A total of 24 skaters qualified for the event, with the short program determining the starting order and qualification for the free skating. The segment featured a mix of Olympic medalists and rising talents, highlighted by strong performances from veterans and unexpected comebacks.[35] In the short program, Italy's Carolina Kostner delivered a graceful and technically precise routine to "La vita è un sogno" by Giacomo Puccini, earning 80.27 points for first place with high program component scores reflecting her artistry.[36] Olympic gold medalist Alina Zagitova of Russia followed closely in second with 79.51 points, executing clean jumps including a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, though her program components were slightly lower due to a more youthful interpretation.[36] Japan's Satoko Miyahara secured third at 74.36 points with consistent jumps and strong spins, while Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond placed fourth at 72.73 despite a minor edge call on her triple lutz.[36] Lower placements included a surprising eighth for Japan's Wakaba Higuchi (65.89 points) after a fall on her triple flip. The full short program results for the top 24 skaters are summarized below:
RankSkaterNationScore (TSS)TESPCS
1Carolina KostnerITA80.2741.3038.97
2Alina ZagitovaRUS79.5142.5137.00
3Satoko MiyaharaJPN74.3637.7936.57
4Kaetlyn OsmondCAN72.7336.5336.20
5Maria SotskovaRUS71.8037.8833.92
6Gabrielle DalemanCAN71.6137.3534.26
7Bradie TennellUSA68.7637.5331.23
8Wakaba HiguchiJPN65.8934.6932.20
9Mirai NagasuUSA65.2132.7632.45
10Loena HendrickxBEL64.0735.4128.66
11Elizabet TursynbaevaKAZ62.3832.2430.14
12Nicole SchottGER61.8433.4128.43
13Viveca LindforsFIN60.1834.6125.57
14Hanul KimKOR60.1435.6224.52
15Laurine LecavelierFRA59.7931.5228.27
16Stanislava KonstantinovaRUS59.1929.1931.00
17Mariah BellUSA59.1528.6130.54
18Eliska BrezinovaCZE58.3732.5525.82
19Alexia PaganiniSUI57.8631.3526.51
20Kailani CraineAUS56.9030.4126.49
21Dabin ChoiKOR55.3026.9728.33
22Dasa GrmSLO52.4328.6523.78
23Elisabetta LeccardiITA51.1328.5322.60
24Ivett TothHUN50.6323.7126.92
The free skating saw dramatic shifts, with Osmond delivering a flawless performance to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, landing seven triple jumps including a triple lutz-triple toe and triple flip-triple toe combinations, to score 150.50 points and take the segment lead—her highest free skate score of the season.[37][38] Higuchi followed in second with 145.01 points, executing clean jumps to a medley including "Moonlight Sonata," marking a strong recovery from her short program error.[37] Miyahara held steady for third at 135.72 points with precise elements to Ravel's Boléro.[37] Kostner, despite her short program lead, placed fifth in the free with 128.61 points due to underrotated jumps, while Zagitova dropped to seventh (128.21 points) after multiple errors, including a fall on her triple lutz and downgraded jumps, in a routine to Don Quixote.[37] The free skating results for the top 24 are as follows:
Rank (FS)SkaterNationScore (TSS)TESPCSOverall Rank
1Kaetlyn OsmondCAN150.5075.3575.151
2Wakaba HiguchiJPN145.0174.7270.292
3Satoko MiyaharaJPN135.7264.2072.523
4Bradie TennellUSA131.1365.8365.306
5Carolina KostnerITA128.6154.7174.904
6Loena HendrickxBEL128.2465.2562.999
7Alina ZagitovaRUS128.2162.3469.875
8Gabrielle DalemanCAN125.1157.1267.997
9Maria SotskovaRUS124.8158.0367.788
10Elizabet TursynbaevaKAZ124.4761.1663.3111
11Mirai NagasuUSA122.3157.3364.9810
12Mariah BellUSA115.2557.7757.4817
13Laurine LecavelierFRA113.4456.9856.4615
14Nicole SchottGER112.2953.5459.7512
15Hanul KimKOR110.5454.4256.1214
16Viveca LindforsFIN106.0553.4854.5713
17Elisabetta LeccardiITA98.0449.4148.6323
18Kailani CraineAUS97.5146.2451.2720
19Eliska BrezinovaCZE94.7745.0150.7618
20Stanislava KonstantinovaRUS93.8443.3954.4516
21Dasa GrmSLO92.0841.0151.0722
22Alexia PaganiniSUI91.8045.5648.2419
23Ivett TothHUN86.2439.1148.1324
Osmond's victory marked the first Canadian women's world title since Karen Magnussen in 1973, coming just weeks after her Olympic bronze, and she celebrated emotionally on the podium, reflecting the pressure of the post-Olympic season.[39][38] The final standings saw a Japanese sweep of silver and bronze, with Higuchi's career-best total underscoring her technical growth and Miyahara's consistency.[35] The top 10 overall results are presented below:
RankSkaterNationSP RankFS RankTotal Score
1Kaetlyn OsmondCAN41223.23
2Wakaba HiguchiJPN82210.90
3Satoko MiyaharaJPN33210.08
4Carolina KostnerITA15208.88
5Alina ZagitovaRUS27207.72
6Bradie TennellUSA74199.89
7Gabrielle DalemanCAN68196.72
8Maria SotskovaRUS59196.61
9Loena HendrickxBEL106192.31
10Mirai NagasuUSA911187.52

Pair skating

The pair skating event at the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships was held on March 21 and 22 at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan, Italy. Twenty-four teams competed in the short program, with the top 16 advancing to the free skate. The competition showcased high-level technical difficulty, including synchronized jumps, throw jumps, lifts, death spirals, and pair spins, with several teams incorporating triple twists and attempting more ambitious elements like quadruple twists.[40]

Short Program

In the short program, Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany led with a score of 82.98 points for their routine to "Falling in Love Is Hard," featuring a triple twist, side-by-side triple Salchows, and a throw triple flip, all receiving level 4 for components. Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia placed second with 81.29 points, executing a strong triple twist and throw triple loop despite minor issues. Vanessa James and Morgan Ciprès of France earned third place at 75.32 points with their lyrical program to "Your Song," highlighted by a precise throw triple Salchow and death spiral.[41][42] The top 16 from the short program were:
RankSkatersCountryScore
1Aljona Savchenko / Bruno MassotGER82.98
2Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir MorozovRUS81.29
3Vanessa James / Morgan CiprèsFRA75.32
4Natalia Zabiiako / Alexander EnbertRUS74.38
5Nicole Della Monica / Matteo GuariseITA72.53
6Cheng Peng / Yang JinCHN71.98
7Kristina Astakhova / Alexei RogonovRUS71.62
8Valentina Marchei / Ondrej HotarekITA71.37
9Xiaoyu Yu / Hao ZhangCHN71.31
10Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael MarinaroCAN70.49
11Alexa Scimeca Knierim / Chris KnierimUSA69.55
12Tae Ok Ryom / Ju Sik KimPRK66.32
13Anna Dušková / Martin BidařCZE66.29
14Miriam Ziegler / Severin KieferAUT65.21
15Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya / Harley WindsorAUS65.02
16Annika Hocke / Ruben BlommaertGER63.26

Free Skate

The free skate saw Savchenko and Massot maintain their lead with 162.86 points for a flawless and emotional performance to "La La Land" music, including a throw quadruple Salchow, quadruple twist, and intricate lifts, setting new world records in both the free skate and total score. Tarasova and Morozov secured second in the segment with 144.24 points, featuring powerful lifts and a death spiral but affected by a fall on a side-by-side triple Salchow. James and Ciprès placed third at 143.04 points to "The Sound of Silence," recovering from a hard fall on their throw triple Salchow with strong spins and a dramatic lift sequence. Other notable performances included Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro of Canada, who rose to fourth in the free skate with 133.84 points, executing clean throws and a pair combo spin.[43][44]

Final Standings

Savchenko and Massot won the gold medal with a total score of 245.84 points, marking Germany's first world pairs title since 2007 and Savchenko's fifth world championship overall. Tarasova and Morozov took silver at 225.53 points, while James and Ciprès earned bronze with 218.36 points, France's first pairs world medal since 2000. The competition highlighted the depth of the field, with several teams performing advanced elements like throw triples and level 4 lifts amid challenging ice conditions.[45] The top 10 final placements were:
RankSkatersCountryTotal ScoreSPFS
1Aljona Savchenko / Bruno MassotGER245.8411
2Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir MorozovRUS225.5322
3Vanessa James / Morgan CiprèsFRA218.3633
4Natalia Zabiiako / Alexander EnbertRUS207.8846
5Nicole Della Monica / Matteo GuariseITA206.0655
6Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael MarinaroCAN204.33104
7Xiaoyu Yu / Hao ZhangCHN203.3697
8Kristina Astakhova / Alexei RogonovRUS202.1679
9Cheng Peng / Yang JinCHN202.07610
10Valentina Marchei / Ondrej HotarekITA202.0288

Ice dancing

The ice dancing event at the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships featured 25 competing pairs from 20 countries, held at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan, Italy.[46] The competition consisted of a short dance on March 23 and a free dance on March 24, with the short dance requiring a pattern dance section of the Finnstep, a not-touching midline step sequence, synchronized twizzles, and one lift group, all set to quickstep rhythm music. France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron dominated both segments, securing their second world title with innovative choreography emphasizing emotional depth and precise synchronization.[47][48] In the short dance, Papadakis and Cizeron earned first place with a score of 83.73 points, highlighted by their flawless Finnstep execution and complex twizzle sequence that garnered high technical element scores.[47] The top 20 results were as follows:
PlacePairNationScore
1Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume CizeronFRA83.73
2Madison Hubbell / Zachary DonohueUSA80.42
3Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew PojeCAN78.31
4Anna Cappellini / Luca LanotteITA77.46
5Madison Chock / Evan BatesUSA75.66
6Piper Gilles / Paul PoirierCAN74.51
7Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan BukinRUS74.50
8Tiffany Zagorski / Jonathan GuerreiroRUS72.45
9Charlene Guignard / Marco FabbriITA71.15
10Kana Muramoto / Chris ReedJPN65.65
11Carolane Soucisse / Shane FirusCAN64.02
12Olivia Smart / Adrián DíazESP63.73
13Natalia Kamińska / Maksym SpodyrievPOL63.70
14Marie-Jade Lauriault / Romain Le GacFRA63.50
15Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc BakerUSA63.48
16Alexandra Nazarova / Maxim NikitinUKR63.35
17Kavita Lorenz / Joti PolizoakisGER62.08
18Allison Reed / Saulius AmbrulevičiusLTU61.33
19Wang Shiyue / Liu XinyuCHN61.18
20Alisa Agafonova / Alper ÜçarTUR60.38
The free dance saw continued excellence from the leaders, with Papadakis and Cizeron again topping the segment at 123.47 points, featuring rotational lifts and a dramatic narrative to "Cinderella" that showcased their interpretive skills.[48] The free dance placements for the top 20 were:
PlacePairNationScore
1Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume CizeronFRA123.47
2Madison Hubbell / Zachary DonohueUSA116.22
3Anna Cappellini / Luca LanotteITA114.62
4Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew PojeCAN114.04
5Madison Chock / Evan BatesUSA111.62
6Piper Gilles / Paul PoirierCAN111.59
7Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan BukinRUS109.51
8Tiffany Zagorski / Jonathan GuerreiroRUS107.97
9Charlene Guignard / Marco FabbriITA107.29
10Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc BakerUSA101.80
11Kana Muramoto / Chris ReedJPN98.73
12Olivia Smart / Adrián DíazESP98.32
13Marie-Jade Lauriault / Romain Le GacFRA96.14
14Carolane Soucisse / Shane FirusCAN95.44
15Alexandra Nazarova / Maxim NikitinUKR95.05
16Kavita Lorenz / Joti PolizoakisGER94.94
17Wang Shiyue / Liu XinyuCHN89.57
18Alisa Agafonova / Alper ÜçarTUR88.67
19Natalia Kamińska / Maksym SpodyrievPOL87.76
20Allison Reed / Saulius AmbrulevičiusLTU86.97
The final standings reflected a tight battle for the medals, with Papadakis and Cizeron clinching gold on a total of 207.20 points, just ahead of the American duo Hubbell and Donohue in silver at 196.64; Weaver and Poje edged out Cappellini and Lanotte for bronze by 0.27 points.[46] The top 20 overall results, including segment scores, were:
PlacePairNationTotalShort DanceFree Dance
1Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume CizeronFRA207.2083.73123.47
2Madison Hubbell / Zachary DonohueUSA196.6480.42116.22
3Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew PojeCAN192.3578.31114.04
4Anna Cappellini / Luca LanotteITA192.0877.46114.62
5Madison Chock / Evan BatesUSA187.2875.66111.62
6Piper Gilles / Paul PoirierCAN186.1074.51111.59
7Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan BukinRUS184.0174.50109.51
8Tiffany Zagorski / Jonathan GuerreiroRUS180.4272.45107.97
9Charlene Guignard / Marco FabbriITA178.4471.15107.29
10Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc BakerUSA165.2863.48101.80
11Kana Muramoto / Chris ReedJPN164.3865.6598.73
12Olivia Smart / Adrián DíazESP162.0563.7398.32
13Marie-Jade Lauriault / Romain Le GacFRA159.6463.5096.14
14Carolane Soucisse / Shane FirusCAN159.4664.0295.44
15Alexandra Nazarova / Maxim NikitinUKR158.4063.3595.05
16Kavita Lorenz / Joti PolizoakisGER157.0262.0894.94
17Natalia Kamińska / Maksym SpodyrievPOL151.4663.7087.76
18Wang Shiyue / Liu XinyuCHN150.7561.1889.57
19Alisa Agafonova / Alper ÜçarTUR149.0560.3888.67
20Allison Reed / Saulius AmbrulevičiusLTU148.3061.3386.97
Key moments included the Finnstep pattern dance, which tested couples' timing and quickstep style, and intricate twizzle sequences that rewarded synchronization and difficulty levels. Innovative choreography was evident in programs like Hubbell and Donohue's tango-infused free dance, emphasizing passion and intricate partnering.[48]

Records and highlights

World records set

During the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships, several ISU-recognized world records were established in the pairs and ice dance disciplines, all ratified by the ISU Technical Panel following the event. These achievements highlighted the technical and artistic advancements in the sport, with scores surpassing previous benchmarks set earlier in the season at the 2018 Winter Olympics. In pairs skating, Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany broke three world records across the segments. Their short program performance to music by Caro Emerald earned 82.98 points, eclipsing the previous record of 82.39 set by Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[41][49] In the free skate to "La Terre vue du ciel" by Armand Amar, they scored 162.86 points, surpassing their own prior mark of 159.31 from the Olympics.[43][50] This culminated in a total score of 245.84 points, breaking the previous combined record of 235.90, also held by Savchenko and Massot from the Olympics.[51][52]
DisciplineSegmentSkatersScorePrevious Record (Skaters, Event)
Pairs skatingShort programSavchenko / Massot (GER)82.9882.39 (Sui / Han, 2018 Olympics)
Pairs skatingFree skateSavchenko / Massot (GER)162.86159.31 (Savchenko / Massot, 2018 Olympics)
Pairs skatingTotalSavchenko / Massot (GER)245.84235.90 (Savchenko / Massot, 2018 Olympics)
In ice dance, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France also set two world records. Their short dance to Latin rhythms including "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran scored 83.73 points, topping the previous record of 83.67 achieved by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[47][53] In the free dance to "Notre-Dame de Paris," they earned 123.47 points, exceeding their own Olympic mark of 123.35. The resulting total of 207.20 points established a new overall record, surpassing Virtue and Moir's 206.07 from the Olympics.[54][55]
DisciplineSegmentSkatersScorePrevious Record (Skaters, Event)
Ice danceShort dancePapadakis / Cizeron (FRA)83.7383.67 (Virtue / Moir, 2018 Olympics)
Ice danceFree dancePapadakis / Cizeron (FRA)123.47123.35 (Papadakis / Cizeron, 2018 Olympics)
Ice danceTotalPapadakis / Cizeron (FRA)207.20206.07 (Virtue / Moir, 2018 Olympics)
These records underscored the competitive intensity of the championships, where the top pairs and dance teams pushed the boundaries of scoring under the International Judging System.[56][55]

Notable performances

In the men's singles event, Nathan Chen of the United States claimed his first world title, rebounding from a disappointing 17th-place finish in the short program at the 2018 Winter Olympics to deliver a dominant free skate featuring six quadruple jumps, including two Lutzes.[34] This performance not only secured the gold medal with a total score of 321.40 points but also highlighted Chen's technical prowess and mental resilience following his Olympic struggles.[57] Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada captured the ladies' singles gold in an emotional victory, marking the first world title for a Canadian woman in 45 years and capping her remarkable comeback from a severe fibula fracture in 2014 that required surgery and nearly ended her career.[58] Osmond's flawless free skate to "Swan Lake," performed just weeks after earning Olympic team gold and individual bronze, underscored her perseverance and artistry, drawing widespread praise for its emotional depth.[59] In pair skating, Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany achieved a record-breaking free skate score of 162.86 points, securing their first world title and redeeming Savchenko's long pursuit of major gold after two prior Olympic bronzes.[42] Their Olympic gold earlier that year in PyeongChang added to the triumph, with the Milan performance featuring flawless lifts and throws that elevated them to historic heights in the discipline.[53] Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France delivered near-perfect programs to win their second world ice dance title, setting new world records in both the short dance (83.73 points) and free dance (123.47 points) for a combined 207.20.[60] Fresh from an Olympic silver marred by a wardrobe malfunction that exposed Papadakis during their short dance, the duo's flawless execution in Milan symbolized their recovery and unmatched musicality.[55] The event proceeded without major on-ice controversies, though it occurred amid heightened scrutiny of judging practices following Olympic-era concerns over bias, including the suspension of two Chinese judges earlier in 2018 for preferential marking in pairs events.[61] Reigning Olympic men's champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan was notably absent due to an ankle injury sustained during the Olympic free skate, while Olympic ladies' champion Alina Zagitova of Russia competed but placed fifth overall after a challenging free program.[21][37] The exhibition gala concluded the championships on a celebratory note, with skaters performing self-selected programs that showcased creativity and crowd-pleasing elements, including Chen's dynamic routine to "No Good" by Kaleo and Osmond's graceful interpretation of "Black Swan," drawing enthusiastic applause from the Milan audience.[62]

Medals

Medalists

The 2018 World Figure Skating Championships featured medal awards in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Medals were presented during ceremonies held immediately following the conclusion of each discipline's free skating or free dance segment, on the respective final days of competition.[1]

Men's singles

RankSkaterCountryTotal score
GoldNathan ChenUSA321.40[29]
SilverShoma UnoJPN273.77[29]
BronzeMikhail KolyadaRUS272.32[29]

Ladies' singles

RankSkaterCountryTotal score
GoldKaetlyn OsmondCAN223.23[63]
SilverWakaba HiguchiJPN210.90[63]
BronzeSatoko MiyaharaJPN210.08[63]

Pair skating

RankSkatersCountryTotal score
GoldAljona Savchenko / Bruno MassotGER245.84[64]
SilverEvgenia Tarasova / Vladimir MorozovRUS225.53[64]
BronzeVanessa James / Morgan CiprèsFRA218.36[64]

Ice dance

RankSkatersCountryTotal score
GoldGabriella Papadakis / Guillaume CizeronFRA207.20[65]
SilverMadison Hubbell / Zachary DonohueUSA196.64[65]
BronzeKaitlyn Weaver / Andrew PojeCAN192.35[65]

By country

The 2018 World Figure Skating Championships resulted in medals being awarded to athletes from seven nations across the four disciplines, with the United States leading the medal count due to victories in men's singles and a strong placement in ice dance.[29][65] Canada secured two medals, including gold in ladies' singles, reflecting the nation's robust post-Olympic momentum after earning multiple [figure skating](/page/figure skating) medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.[63] France also claimed two medals, highlighted by gold in ice dance and bronze in pair skating.[65][64] Japan achieved the highest total with three medals, all from the men's and ladies' singles events, underscoring the country's depth in individual skating.[29][63] Russia earned two medals in pairs and men's singles, while Germany took the sole gold in pairs.[64][29]
NationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
United States1102
Canada1012
France1012
Germany1001
Japan0213
Russia0112
The medal table above aggregates results from official International Skating Union records for the event held in Milan, Italy.

References

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  32. ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018 - Men
  33. Nathan Chen lands six quads, wins world figure skating title - ESPN
  34. Nathan Chen completes six quads to capture world figure skating title
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  44. Worlds 2018, day two: Pure perfection by Aljona and Bruno
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  46. ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018 - Ice Dance
  47. ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018 - Ice Dance
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  49. PyeongChang 2018 Figure skating Pair Skating Results
  50. Aliona Savchenko, Bruno Massot use record-setting free skate to ...
  51. Aljona SAVCHENKO / Bruno MASSOT - isuresults.com
  52. Aliona Savchenko, Bruno Massot claim world title in pairs skating
  53. Virtue and Moir strike double gold, Savchenko and Massot hit new ...
  54. Gabriella PAPADAKIS / Guillaume CIZERON - isuresults.com
  55. Papadakis and Cizeron win third world title - Golden Skate
  56. Savchenko and Massot take first World title - Golden Skate
  57. Nathan Chen Captures Third Straight World Title | U.S. Figure Skating
  58. Osmond wins Canada's first women's world figure skating title in 45 ...
  59. Battling back from injury, Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond captures ...
  60. Papadakis and Cizeron reach highest peak, set records at figure ...
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  62. ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018: Day 5 Exhibition Gala
  63. ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018 - Ladies
  64. ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018 - Pairs
  65. ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018 - Ice Dance
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