Five things to watch at World Figure Skating Championships
· Yahoo Sports
After lighting up Milan at the Winter Olympics, many of the world's best figure skaters conclude their 2025-26 seasons at the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague.
The competition, taking place at O2 Arena in the capital of the Czech Republic, will feature most of the biggest stars from this year's Games in Italy.
Visit fish-roadgame.com for more information.
However both the men's and women's individual gold medallists - Mikhail Shaidorov and Alysa Liu - have both chosen not to enter.
Competition takes place from 25 to 29 March, and action from the free skates and free dance - where the medals are decided - will be live on BBC iPlayer.
All times GMT
Thursday, 26th March
1715-2100: Pairs Free Skating
Friday, 27th March
1700-2100: Women's Free Skating
Saturday, 28th March
1130-1530: Men's Free Skating
1730-2115: Ice Dance Free Dance
There will also be a highlights programme on Sunday, 29 March on BBC Two, between 1300 and 1500 GMT.
Whether you are new to figure skating, a veteran fan or needing your fix after enjoying the Olympics, here are the major stories to look out for...
- Day-by-day guide to the Winter Olympics
- Full schedule including times of medal events
- Winter Olympics 2026 medal table
Sakamoto aims to exit on a high after Liu withdraws
Alysa Liu's withdrawal means she will not win Olympic gold and the world title in this same season [Getty Images]Just as at the Olympics, expect the women's competition to be a fight between USA and Japan for the medal places.
However the balance has been tipped back in favour of the Japanese after Liu, the reigning world champion who added Olympic gold last month with a stunning free skate routine, withdrew from competition.
It completed an incredible comeback for Liu, who quit the sport aged 16 after the 2022 Olympics as she was not enjoying herself.
Since the Olympics, Liu has become a mainstream celebrity in the USA - she was recently seen at the Oscars - but admits she has not had enough prep time to compete effectively at the Worlds.
"There's so many commitments I have and activities that are overlapping with the Worlds," she told NBC. "And then also I don't have much time training, so I was like, I can't be doing the Worlds. I don't think I would be able to put out my best performance."
Most likely to step up to the top of the podium is Milan silver medallist and three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto, in her final performance before retirement.
Her Japanese compatriot and heir apparent is 17-year-old Ami Nakai, whose Olympic bronze marked her as a star of the future.
Meanwhile American champion Amber Glenn will be looking for atonement after a disaster in Milan, where an invalid element in her short program scuppered her medal chances.
Malinin seeks redemption after Milan nightmare
Ilia Malinin fell twice and performed just a single axel in his nightmare Olympic performance [Getty Images]One of the most shocking moments of Milan-Cortina was the sight of Ilia Malinin, unbeaten in two-and-a-half years, crumbling under pressure during the men's free skate.
Malinin, nicknamed 'Quad God' for being the first man to land the quadruple axel, was pre-emptively crowned by many as Olympic champion. But he fell twice in his final performance and finished eighth.
The 21-year-old is the reigning world champion, and will look to make amends for his Milanese nightmare by defending that title.
His chances are boosted by the absence of the man who won gold in Milan. Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov is skipping the Worlds because of burnout.
As in the women's event, the main contenders to American Malinin will come from Japan. Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato earned Olympic silver and bronze and will contend for the podium again here.
Also watch for Adam Siao Him Fa of France and Georgia's Nika Egadze, who like Malinin failed to live up to their medal potential at the Winter Games.
Will ice dance prove controversial again?
France's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron have won recent Olympic and European titles [Getty Images]The vagaries of figure skating judging were thrown into stark focus at the Olympics - having been a source of great controversy in the sport for months.
France's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron won ice dance gold in Milan, narrowly beating USA's Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
In Milan, French judge Jezabel Dabouis scored Fournier Baudry and Cizeron nearly eight points higher than three-time world champions and Milan-Cortina 2026 team event gold medallists Chock and Bates.
the veracity of the judges, while the International Skating Union (ISU) had already announced overhauls of the scoring system for 2026-27 before the Olympic controversy.
Both the French and American couples are back in Prague, as are bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirer of Canada.
Add in the controversy surrounding the former dance partners of both Fournier Baudry and Cizeron, and you have potential for even more fireworks.
A full complement of GB stars
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson will aim to replicate their historic World medal from 2025 [Getty Images]All eight figure skaters who represented Team GB in Milan are back in Prague following a mixed Games on the ice for Britain.
Ice dance couple Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson won Britain's first world championship medal since 1984 when they claimed bronze last year in Boston.
It raised hopes of an Olympic podium, but a mistake by Fear during their free dance left them in a disappointing seventh place. They will aim for better in Prague.
Also competing for Britain in ice dance are Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez, fresh from reaching the free dance on their Olympic debuts.
In the pairs, Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby will aim to build on an encouraging 15th place from Milan after a turbulent start to the Games including a fall for Vaipan-Law in the team event and a wrist injury for Digby.
Kristen Spours competes in the women's event - her last competition before her injury enforced retirement - while Edward Appleby is in the men's singles.
No Russians or Belarussians
Adeliia Petrosian is among the Russian athletes not permitted to skate at the World Championships [Getty Images]While skaters from Russia and Belarus could compete as neutrals in the 2026 Olympics, they remain banned by the ISU.
Athletes from these nations remain excluded because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, so none will take part in the World Championships.
That means no Adeliia Petrosian, the Russian champion who was tipped for an Olympic medal in the women's singles. She finished sixth after falling during her free skate.
Russia's Petr Gumennik, who finished sixth in the men's event in Milan as an Individual Neutral Athlete, is also absent.