Shoma Uno of Japan Repeats as World Figure Skating Champion

Japan's Shoma Uno competes during the men's free skating at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama on March 25, 2023. (AFP)
Japan's Shoma Uno competes during the men's free skating at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama on March 25, 2023. (AFP)
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Shoma Uno of Japan Repeats as World Figure Skating Champion

Japan's Shoma Uno competes during the men's free skating at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama on March 25, 2023. (AFP)
Japan's Shoma Uno competes during the men's free skating at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama on March 25, 2023. (AFP)

Shoma Uno prevailed in a quad showdown in the free skate on Saturday to become the first Japanese man to defend his title at the figure skating world championships.

Uno, skating to selection of music that included Bach, attempted five quadruple jumps at Saitama Super Arena. He landed all of them except the quad salchow which he under-rotated for a total of 301.14 points.

South Korean skater Cha Jun-hwan was second with 296.03 points followed by American teenager Ilia Malinin, who became the first skater to land a quadruple axel at the world championships and finished with 288.44 points.

“The free skate was far from perfect but I put everything into it,” Uno said. “Every jump felt precarious, but I was able to get a good result.”

Uno capped an impressive performance by the hosts that saw Japanese skaters take gold in three out of four disciplines for the first time in history. Kaori Sakamoto won the women’s title while Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the pairs gold.

“The past two weeks have been very tough because I wasn’t in peak condition, and I caused a lot of concern to everyone around me,” Uno said. “But I was able to pay them back and show my gratitude with my performance today.”

Cha, third after the short program, moved up to second with a powerful routine that featured a quad salchow and a quad toe-loop.

Cha landed all his jumps cleanly except for a triple flip on his way to becoming the first South Korean man to win a medal at the world championships.

“It’s an honor to be the first male skater as a Korean skater to get a (world) medal,” Cha said.

Malinin attempted six quadruple jumps. He landed his opening quad axel but under-rotated a quad lutz which was part of a combination and was deducted points on a quad flip and a quad lutz.

It was Malinin’s first medal at the world championships. He finished ninth in his 2022 debut in Montpellier, France.

“I was nervous at the beginning, so I was glad to pull it off,” Malinin said. “I’m just very shocked by how much I have progressed this season.”

Coached by his parents who represented Uzbekistan, the 18-year-old Malinin is the only skater to land a quadruple axel, widely considered the hardest jump in figure skating, in competition.

Russia’s dominant skating team has been excluded from the world championships for the second straight year because of the invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States won their first ice dance title.

First after the rhythm dance, Chock and Bates finished first in the free dance with 134.07 points for a total of 226.1.

Reigning European Champions Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy were second with 219.85 points while Grand Prix Final Champions Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada were third with 217.88.

Chock fell once but it was not on a required element.

“We had to dig very, very deep many times, but I know we would not be sitting here without all this experience,” Chock said, adding the fall came as a shock to her. “I just caught my heel on the ice and it was so surprising.”

Chock and Bates, the three-time Four Continents champions, have been together for 12 years.

They won the silver medal at the 2015 world championships in Shanghai, bronze in Boston in 2016 and bronze last year in Montpellier.

They have also competed at six Grand Prix Finals, winning four medals — all silver.

“We’ve been pursuing this goal for so many years,” Bates said. “It was exciting and stressful all at the same time. I know that the ice dance field is very competitive. We’ve competed against all these teams for so many years.

“We really wanted to focus on ourselves, and skate our best, and highlight all the work that we’ve put this year into these programs.”

The 2024 world championships will take place in Montreal, Canada.



Thomas Muller Bids Farewell to Bayern Munich with Loss in Club World Cup

05 July 2025, US, Atlanta: Munich's Thomas Muller sits on the bench ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinal soccer match against between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (dpa)
05 July 2025, US, Atlanta: Munich's Thomas Muller sits on the bench ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinal soccer match against between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (dpa)
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Thomas Muller Bids Farewell to Bayern Munich with Loss in Club World Cup

05 July 2025, US, Atlanta: Munich's Thomas Muller sits on the bench ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinal soccer match against between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (dpa)
05 July 2025, US, Atlanta: Munich's Thomas Muller sits on the bench ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinal soccer match against between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (dpa)

After the final whistle to his Club World Cup, Thomas Muller waved to the Bayern Munich fans one last time.

His quarter-century with the German club is over.

The 35-year-old Muller went out with a 2-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals on Saturday, a bittersweet ending to a tenure filled with so much glory.

Muller came on as a substitute in the 80th minute and appeared to draw a penalty in the waning seconds of stoppage time when PSG's Nuno Mendes delivered a high challenge in the area.

But the video review showed that Mendes' foot struck the ball, just missing Muller's chin, and that finished off the PSG victory.

“I'm still fully in work mode now,” Muller said. “It doesn't feel much different from before the game when we tried, and I also tried, to just get one round further.”

He wasn't ready to reflect on his brilliant career at Bayern, which began when he joined the club as a 10-year-old in the summer of 2000.

“In the end, maybe we deserved more,” Muller said. “But in football when you have these tight matches, it's sometimes a coin flip. And, yes, we lost it.”

Muller made more appearances than any other player at Bayern, with more than 200 goals scored and more than 200 set up for others. He led the club to a record 13 Bundesliga titles, going out with one last championship this past season.

But Bayern announced in April that it would not extend his hefty contract for another season.

“Of course, I am aware that this was my last game, and I will see what goes through my head in the coming days,” Muller said.

He hasn't revealed his future plans, though there have been reports linking him to a possible move to US-based Major League Soccer.

“At the moment, I'm not in the mood to share my deeper thoughts about my career,” Muller said. “We lost a big fight, a very important game for us.”