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MONTREAL — Ysabeau Levitt’s first world championship medal couldn’t have come at a better time, both for herself and for U.S. Figure Skating.
When she took to the ice Friday night, Levit needed a medal to give the U.S. women’s team a third spot at the 2025 World Championships in Boston.
And for Levit, who placed second in Wednesday’s short program, a medal would be the perfect way to restore his confidence, which has begun to waver recently.
“I had two goals for this World Championship: to get on the podium and secure the third place spot on the U.S. women’s team,” she said. “It was very satisfying.”
The world of figure skating: result | Broadcast schedule
There was no doubt that she finished second by a wide margin to Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, who became the first woman to win three consecutive world titles since American Peggy Fleming from 1966 to 1968.
Sakamoto, 23, is at the helm of the women’s singles, and her powerful jumping and enthusiastic personality make for a formidable combination. She went undefeated in international competition this season.
No matter how the free skate performances of the two skaters after Levitt ultimately affected her finish, the 2023 U.S. champion will be unable to finish in two tournaments after suffering major setbacks in the past two. He finished the season with a series of great runs.
“I’m very happy that we were able to finish the season this way,” Levit said. “I had a very tough season and was disappointed in myself. For most of the season I was confused about how I was skating. I never thought I would win a medal like this at the World Championships. , is everything to me right now.”
Levit’s incredibly happy bug-eyed look when the music stopped, as if he were amazed at his level of skating.
“I was shocked that I had done that,” she said. “I had a little bit of anxiety after the warm-up. I didn’t think I could do anything good in it and I was a little scared that I wouldn’t be able to do what I needed to do today. So, yeah, I was a little in disbelief after that. But I was really happy.”
Short program winner Roena Hendricks (Belgium) and third place Lee Hae-in (South Korea) both fell short, and 17-year-old Levit had a nearly nine-point lead over fellow South Korean Kim Chae-young. He took second place.
Sakamoto had a score of 222.96, Levit had a score of 212.16, and Kim had a score of 203.59.
Levitto methodically worked his way through his four minutes on the ice, skating nervously and carefully to the low-key soundtrack from the movie “White Crow.”
Both of her triple Lutz combinations ended up with slightly negative ratings in terms of execution. But she landed every jump and ticked them off as inconspicuously as items on a grocery list.
Another American athlete, reigning U.S. champion Amber Glenn, struggled in the free skate, which opened with a triple axel (similar to the national competition), so Levit limited the U.S. spot to 3rd place or below. I was able to get within the required total (13). To get the 3rd place. Glenn took 10th place.
“It wasn’t stress,” insisted Levit, who was fourth at last year’s world championships.
Philip Hirsch has covered figure skating at the past 12 Winter Olympics. NBCSports.com.
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