2026 World Figure Skating Championships Final: Amber Glenn Falls Off Podium After Free Skate

Amber Glenn fell short of a medal while Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto won her fourth gold at the 2026 World Championships.

Amber Glenn will look to medal at World Championships after falling short of the podium at the Olympics last month. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

A month after the Winter Olympics, the top figure skaters returned to the ice this week to compete at the 2026 World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechia.

The women’s free skate took place on Friday, and Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto claimed her fourth Worlds gold medal with a score of 238.28. This is the final competitive season for Sakamoto, who will go out on top after claiming another gold. Japan’s Mone Chiba came in a second with a score of 228.47 while Belgium’s Nina Pinzarrone finished third after earning a score of 215.20.

Team USA’s Amber Glenn came into the event in third after the short program. After falling short of a medal at the Milan Cortina Games, Glenn was a strong contender to earn her first World Championships medal. Despite nailing her triple axel early in her free skate, she stumbled in the middle of the routine and unfortunately finished off the podium in sixth with a score of 203.12. American Isabeau Levito also finished just off the podium, placing fourth with a 206.99 after an early error in her skate.

World Figure Skating Championships live blog: Catch up on all the programs that took place

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