U.S. holds on to win World Team Trophy, Japan 2nd

The United States held on to its overnight lead and lifted the season-ending World Team Trophy in figure skating on Saturday as Japan finished second and Italy third.

Women’s world champion Alysa Liu and her American compatriot, Amber Glenn, both produced flawless performances for a one-two finish in their free skate at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, where Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara topped the pairs’ free skate earlier to give the host a glimmer of hope of a turnaround.

Alysa Liu of the United States performs during the women’s free skate at the World Team Trophy at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in the Japanese capital on April 19, 2025. (Kyodo)

The United States scored 126 points during the three-day competition, winning the biennial trophy for the second straight time and the sixth time overall. Japan registered 110 and bettered the third-place finishes from the past two occasions, while Italy scored 86 to take the last spot on the podium.

After missing out on her fourth straight world championship in March, Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto finished third with 145.00 points, behind Liu and Glenn, who 150.97 and 148.93, respectively.

Sakamoto made no significant errors during her intense four-minute performance on the rink and had her knees on the ice after fulfilling her duty as Japan’s captain.

“Everyone on the team was physically in a tough condition, and I’m happy we’ve all come away without injuries,” she said. “I powered through it with determination. I’d have faltered without cheers from everyone here.”

Another Japanese, Mone Chiba, fell with her triple loop but kept battling to come fifth on 138.52.

“It wasn’t a perfect performance, but I was able to skate feeling most relaxed this season,” she said. “We wanted to win, but everyone contributed to get a good overall result.”

Japan’s Riku Miura (L) and Ryuichi Kihara perform during the pairs’ free skate at the World Team Trophy at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in the Japanese capital on April 19, 2025. (Kyodo)

Pairs world champions Miura and Kihara followed up their best-ever score in the short program on Friday with another in the free skate thanks to a passionate flamenco routine marred only by one jumping mistake.

Ice show appearances on the back of their worlds triumph in March meant the pair had only a few days of practice coming into this tournament, but they executed lifts and spins with no trouble, logging over nine points out of 10 in each of three program components — composition, presentation and skating skills.

“We managed to skate through with smiles on our faces,” Miura said. “We had a big mistake with one of our jumps but still managed to get our best score. We feel it’s not beyond our dream to score 150.”

While Russian athletes are expected to be back competing at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games next year, the pair is up for the challenge to remain the best in the event.

“My foot felt fatigued early on, but I was able to overcome that with my mental strength,” Kihara said. “We’ve been acknowledged for what we’ve accumulated this season…Because we’ve been testing out many things, we have ideas about what to achieve to make us even more confident.”

Members of the U.S figure skating team pose for a photo after winning the World Team Trophy at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in the Japanese capital on April 19, 2025. (Kyodo)

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