Landing seven triple jumps, Liu capped her improbable comeback from retirement to win the free skate and the overall women’s title at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, defeatinig three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan by nearly five points, 222.97-217.98.
The 19-year-old from Richmond, Calif., became the first US woman to win a World Championship since 2006 and the first to win in a non-Olympic year since 2003. 7.98, in her victory.
“What just happened?” Liu said after her skate. “I haven’t even processed my short program [win] yet, I don’t know how I’m going to process this one.”
At this time last year, Liu hadn’t competed in two years, last taking the ice at the 2022 World Championships. She put away her skates completely, ready to leave behind a youth spent in skating. She won two US national titles by the age of 14, but had not been old enough to skate at the World Championships until 2022, when she won a bronze.
When she resumed training last year, Liu considered forgoing the 2024-25 season. She decided against it, jumping back into competition. She finished second at US Nationals and was named to the World team.
US teammates Amber Glenn, the reigning Grand Prix champion, and Isabeau Levito, the reigning World silver medalist, were expected to reach the Worlds podium, not Liu.
But then Liu won the short program Wednesday afternoon, and entered Friday night in position to win it all.
Skating to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park,” she confidently landed her opening triple flip and kept going, landing a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination. The crowd roared with each landing, as the score of her technical feats were tracked on the Garden’s Jumbotron in real time.
“I’m mostly happy I could put out two of my best performances,” said Liu. “I’m very happy with how my program went today.”
During her last spin, the tracker showed Liu had supplanted Sakamoto as the points leader, prompting her coaches to begin celebrating from behind the boards.
Entering the free skate in fifth place, the Japanese skater knew she had ground to make up if she wanted a chance at a fourth-consecutive title, something not accomplished since American Carol Heiss in 1960. Sakamoto made up significant ground thanks to two triple Lutzes, including one in the second half of her program, scoring a 146.95 in the free skate.
Sakamoto’s countrymate, Mone Chiba, who was second after the short program, finished third in the free skate, earning an overall 215.24 and the bronze.
Levito, who was in her first major competition since being sidelined by a foot injury for three months, fell on her opening triple flip-triple toe combination. Once she recovered from that miscue, the reigning World silver medalist landed everything else in her balletic program to Liszt’s “Liebestraum,” scoring a 138 in the free skate. Levito’s overall score of 209.84 placed her fourth.
“When I fell on the first jump, I wanted it to be over and stop the program,” said Levito. “I was thinking, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ But I think I finished the rest of the program really well, and I’m proud of myself for doing that.”
After falling on her triple Axel in her short program, Glenn redeemed herself in the free skate. Landing the triple Axel to open the program, she followed it with three jump combinations, including a triple flip-triple toe loop. She popped a triple flip into a double, but otherwise showed grit to finish fifth.
“I’m proud I was able to keep my composure,” said Glenn.
