It’s been just over a month since the conclusion of the drama-filled Beijing Olympics and we are jumping back into the world of figure skating for the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier, France.
Before the competition even started, we already saw some interesting changes. Last week, men’s singles skater Nathan Chen, the reigning and three-time world champion and new Olympic champion, announced his withdrawal from Worlds, citing a “nagging injury” that he doesn’t want to risk irritating. This marks the first time since 2016 that Chen won’t make an appearance at Worlds (not including the 2020 Worlds, which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Taking Chen’s place in the U.S. men’s singles lineup will be Camden Pulkinen, who placed 5th at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and 12th at the 2022 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.
With the gold medal favorite now out of the running, this opens up the podium to a variety of possibilities. The first two names that come to mind are obviously Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno, the silver and bronze medalists from Japan at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Kagiyama, the 18-year-old reigning world silver medalist, shone at the Olympics, earning personal best scores in both the short program and free skate. After Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu fell in the men’s singles short program and free skate, Kagiyama rose up as a shining contender for the gold medal as he became the first skater to land a quadruple loop jump in the Olympics. Earning the silver medal, Kagiyama cemented his status as a dominant skater in Beijing and will be a force to reckon with in Montpellier. Uno, 24, is a seasoned veteran of international competition. This year marks Uno’s sixth appearance at Worlds (not including the 2020 Worlds, which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), a competition in which his highest overall placement was second in 2017 and 2018. As Chen, Zhou, and Kagiyama have been rising through the ranks, Uno’s been finding his international placements falling. With both Chen and Hanyu absent from Worlds, this may be Uno’s chance to have the comeback performance he needs and snag a medal – maybe even the gold.
The U.S. men’s singles lineup has an interesting makeup this year. It is usually able to depend on Nathan Chen to be the anchor of the group, but without Chen the rest of the men are going to have to step up. Worlds 2022 is going to be a real test for 21-year-old Vincent Zhou. Zhou’s highest placement at a Worlds was third in 2019 and his last appearance at Worlds in 2021 was honestly a flop. Zhou placed 25th in the short program, failing to advance to the free skate by just one placement. Zhou had an opportunity to redeem himself at the 2022 Winter Olympics, and made headway on redemption after his performance in the team event, but he tested positive for COVID-19 before the men’s singles short program and had to withdraw. Now, with Chen out of Worlds, Zhou has a chance to step up and have the redemption skate he’s needed since Worlds 2021.
Ilia Malinin, the 17-year-old and self-proclaimed “Quad God,” is a promising face for U.S. Figure Skating. Malinin wowed crowds at the 2022 U.S. National Championships in his senior national debut, placing third after the short program and second after the free skate, earning the silver medal. This placement put Malinin in the running to snag the third men’s singles spot on the 2022 Olympic team, along with veteran Olympian Jason Brown. The spot ultimately went to Brown, with Malinin snagging the spot of first alternate. Malinin also placed a surprising fifth in Skate America in 2020 at just fifteen years old and placed first in both of his Junior Grand Prix assignments this season. This is going to be a defining moment for the beginning of Malinin’s career and it’s intriguing to think about how this could play out. With a vast arsenal of quadruple jumps, Malinin has a lot going for him at his young age. He usually scores in the low- to mid-200s, which is deliciously close to being competitive with the top skaters but just not there yet. However, if he’s able to pull out a final score closer to his final score at the 2022 Nationals, 302.48, he’s definitely going to be a medal contender.
Taking Chen’s place on the men’s shingles lineup is 21-year-old Camden Pulkinen in his first appearance at Worlds. Pulkinen doesn’t have a lot of international experience; he failed to make the top 10 in his two appearances at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and his highest placement in the Grand Prix Series was fourth at Skate Canada in 2019. This is a great opportunity for Pulkinen to make a name for himself on the international stage, but he’s going to have to fight for it.
We also need to keep 22-year-old Roman Sadovsky of Canada and 20-year-old Cha Jun-hwan of South Korea in our conversations about Worlds. Both are skaters that have historically been kind of mid, but show great promise and could pull out a breakout performance in Montpellier. Cha’s had quite a good season, placing fifth at the Olympics, first at Four Continents, third at the NHK Trophy, and fifth at the Gran Premio d’Italia. With the scores he’s been getting lately and his track record this season, he should be spoken of as a medal contender as well. Sadovsky is a bit of an odd pick for a promising figure, as he finished last in men’s singles at the Beijing Olympics after a program riddled with flaws. However, Sadovsky skated beautifully in the team event, helping Team Canada place fourth. Sadovsky has a sort of mixed history, placing well in some competitions and placing worse in others. Sadovsky is definitely capable of pulling out a breakout performance. He has the arsenal to do well, albeit most likely not gold. He just needs to find his groove and pull it all together.
Chen’s withdrawal also opens up questions about whether the U.S. men will be able to retain Team USA’s three-entry status for next year’s competition. The number of entries U.S. Figure Skating is allotted for each discipline in the 2023 World Championships is determined by the performance of U.S. skaters in their respective disciplines this year. Between Zhou’s unpredictability, Malinin’s youth, and Pulkinen’s lack of experience, Team USA may struggle to retain its three entries.
Another plot twist that’s been thrown into the mix is the ban on Russian figure skaters. In response to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the International Skating Union (ISU) has banned the Figure Skating Federation of Russia from international competition. This means that some of the top contenders for pairs, ice dance, and women’s singles won’t be competing, leaving space open for other skaters to vy for the medals. It particularly shakes things up for the women’s singles event, where the Russian ladies won two of the three medals in 2019, swept the podium in 2021, and were favorites to sweep the podium again this year.
We’ll be seeing effects of the ban on Russian figure skaters on an ongoing basis, not just at Worlds. Figure skating writer Philip Hersh tweeted that unless the ISU changes their rules for earning entries, the Russian Federation will only have one entry per discipline at the next Worlds. This is due to the fact that earning entries for Worlds is done by placement at the previous Worlds; since the Russian Federation isn’t skating, it won’t have placements. If the Russian Federation only has one entry per discipline at Worlds 2023, that entry will have to place in the top two to get 3 entries for Worlds 2024 and in the top 10 to get 2 entries for its discipline. Russian skaters excel in multiple disciplines, particularly women’s singles, in which the Russians were highly projected to sweep the podium at the 2022 Winter Olympics. However, a one-entry Worlds could still bring issues to the Russian Federation and would definitely shake things up for Worlds 2024.
This year’s World Figure Skating Championships are a competition you won’t want to miss. The entire competition is being streamed live on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock. TV coverage of the competitions will begin on March 24th with live coverage of the pairs free skate on USA from 2-4pm.
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