Has the end of the Winter Olympics left a rink-sized void in your heart? If so, good news: the ISU Figure Skating World Championships are now underway.
This year's competition, held in Prague, began on Wednesday and ends on Saturday. Much like the Olympics, it features two days of competition in each of the four disciplines: women's, men's, pairs and ice dance.
It's the last major event of the 2025-2026 figure skating season, offering athletes one more shot at a title and, in some cases, post-Olympics redemption.
Many Olympians, including American gold medalist Alysa Liu, and reigning ice dance world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates, withdrew from worlds after medaling in Milan, which is not unusual. But other fan-favorites, like Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin, are aiming to make this podium after missing out in Italy.
Competition kicked off with the women's short program, where Glenn, performing her "Like a Prayer" routine, successfully landed the triple jump that likely cost her an Olympic medal. She is in third place heading into Friday's women's free skate, which will determine who wins a medal (gold, silver and bronze, just like the Olympics)l.
"It's great being able to go into the free skate not feeling like I'm clawing my way up through the ranks for once," Glenn told U.S. Figure Skating, adding that competing so soon after the Olympics helps. "Even though it's been a month, it feels like it was yesterday."
Malinin, who finished in eighth place in Milan after a series of uncharacteristic stumbles, has his eye on a third straight world title. He earned an international personal best score in his short program on Thursday, topping the leaderboard by more than nine points ahead of Saturday's men's free skate.
Malinin said that he approached worlds with a goal of proving to himself that his Olympic slip-up "was a one-time thing."
"But now I've realized that there's much more than just skating," he said. "It's being able to go out there, enjoy everything and just have fun. So, coming here, I had no real expectations but to finish the season."
Many familiar faces are taking the ice, including French ice dance champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who paired up last year due to controversies involving their former partners. Reigning world silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan, fresh off Olympic silver, is looking to close out her career with a different color medal.
It's also a chance to see skating stars who didn't compete in Italy. They include U.S. pairs skaters Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who won their second national title in January but missed out on the Olympics because Finnish-born Efimova, who has a green card, didn't get citizenship in time.
The first winners of the championship were crowned on Thursday, in pairs: Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin earned their first world title after winning bronze in Milan. Georgia's Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava took silver, as they did at the Olympics, and Canada's Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud won bronze.
Here's what else to know in the final half of worlds.
How and when to watch
Here's the overall schedule, in eastern time:
- Wednesday, March 25: Women's & Pairs Short Programs (6:30 a.m., 1:45 p.m.)
- Thursday, March 26: Men's Short Program & Pairs Free Skating (6:30 a.m., 1:15 p.m.)
- Friday, March, 27: Rhythm Dance & Women's Free Skating (6:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m.)
- Saturday, March 28: Men's Free Skating & Free Dance (7:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m.)
In the U.S., all events are streaming live on Peacock and available for replays for 72 hours. NBC and USA Network will also broadcast the competition, and you can view the TV schedule here.
Americans to watch
Women (Friday):
- Isabeau Levito, the third member of the U.S. "Blade Angels," aims to improve on her performance at the Olympics, where she placed 12th overall after a fall in her free skate. The 2024 World silver medalist brought her characteristic grace and glamour — and a new, high-scoring opening jump — to her Sophia Loren medley short program. She delivered a clean routine to finish the first half of competition in a close fourth place behind Glenn.
- Sarah Everhardt, a 19-year-old from Virginia, is competing in her first world championship after Liu withdrew, calling the opportunity "a gift given to me." She has finished in the top five at nationals for the past three years.
Men (Saturday):
- Andrew Torgashev, the reigning U.S. silver medalist, delivered an international personal best in the short program on Thursday. He heads into the free skate in 7th place, hoping to improve on his 12th-place Olympic finish.
- Jacob Sanchez is making his worlds debut at 18 years old, after a last-minute call to sub in for Jason Brown. Sanchez, who placed fourth at U.S. nationals this year, said he had "two days to really prepare" — and delivered a career-best score in his short program.
Ice dance (Friday, Saturday):
- Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik are looking to build on the momentum of their breakout season, at which they finished fifth at the Olympics. They are seen as the heirs apparent to reigning world champions Chock and Bates, who have competed in the event for the last 12 years.
- Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko are also competing fresh off their Olympic debut, where they finished in 11th place.
- Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, the fourth-place finishers at U.S. nationals, are competing in their third worlds together. They finished sixth and ninth in 2023 and 2025.
Pairs (finished):
- National champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov finished in sixth place
- Emily Chan and Spencer Howe, fresh off a seventh-place finish at the Olympics, placed 16th after a fall-ridden free skate. They subbed in on short notice for Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, who withdrew after the Olympics.
- Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman finished 12th.
Competitors to watch
Women (Friday):
- Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won three straight world titles until Alysa Liu broke her streak in 2025, where she won silver. The same pattern repeated at the Olympics. A gold medal would be a fitting bookend for the 25-year-old, who is retiring after this competition. Her short program — set to "Time to Say Goodbye" — launched her into first place.
- Mone Chiba of Japan sits in second place heading into the final competition. She is hoping to make the podium after finishing fourth in Milan.
Men (Saturday):
- Adam Siao Him Fa of France, who has also been known to land backflips in competition, enters the final day of competition in second place.
- Aleksandr Selevko, the four-time Estonian national champion, scored a personal best in the short program to round out the top three.
- Shun Sato of Japan is potentially within a medal's reach, after claiming bronze in Milan. His countryman Yuma Kagiyama, who won Olympic silver, fell on a jump in his short program and stands in sixth place for now.
- Canada's Stephen Gogolev delivered a personal best score in his gangster-themed short program despite a loose shoelace. He's in fifth place heading into the free skate.
Ice dance:
- Reigning Olympic champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France are the only gold medalists to take the ice in Prague. It's their first world championships as a duo, and Beaudry said it had been their plan since the start of the season to compete at worlds, their first together as a duo, now "with a little bit less pressure than the Olympics."
- Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier skated their way to a triumphant bronze medal at the Olympics, taking some pressure off what could be the last competition of their career. They've won four worlds medals together, most recently silver in 2024 and 2025.
- Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson won bronze at worlds last year, becoming the first duo from Great Britain to medal at the event since 1984. The eight-time national championships delighted audiences with their Spice Girl routine at the Olympics, where they finished seventh.
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