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.



Two Late Goals as Barcelona Rallies to Beat Atletico Madrid 4-2

Soccer Football - LaLiga - Atletico Madrid v FC Barcelona - Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - March 16, 2025 FC Barcelona's Ferran Torres celebrates scoring their fourth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina
Soccer Football - LaLiga - Atletico Madrid v FC Barcelona - Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - March 16, 2025 FC Barcelona's Ferran Torres celebrates scoring their fourth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina
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Two Late Goals as Barcelona Rallies to Beat Atletico Madrid 4-2

Soccer Football - LaLiga - Atletico Madrid v FC Barcelona - Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - March 16, 2025 FC Barcelona's Ferran Torres celebrates scoring their fourth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina
Soccer Football - LaLiga - Atletico Madrid v FC Barcelona - Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - March 16, 2025 FC Barcelona's Ferran Torres celebrates scoring their fourth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina

Atletico Madrid relinquished a two-goal lead in its 4-2 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish league on Sunday in another setback for the club after it was eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Playing at the Metropolitano stadium four days after it lost to Madrid in a penalty shootout, Atletico led Barcelona 2-0 at halftime but conceded a pair of stoppage-time goals to waste a chance to overtake the Catalan club for second place and move within a point of Madrid.
“It was a weird game, we did well in the first half and had the game under control after scoring twice,” Atletico player Marcos Llorente said. “I do think that the 120 minutes that we had to play in the Champions League made a difference, there was a letdown in the end.”
The defeat left third-placed Atletico four points behind its two rivals at the top of the league on 60 points each, with Barcelona having a game in hand. Madrid won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
Lamine Yamal scored two minutes into stoppage time and Ferran Torres six minutes later to give Barcelona the gritty come-from-behind victory.
“It’s a statement win for us, allowing us to regain the lead with a game in hand,” Yamal said.
Julián Álvarez had put Atletico ahead after a breakaway just before halftime. It had been an unusual double touch by Álvarez in the penalty shootout against Madrid that led to Atletico's elimination from the Champions League on Wednesday.
Atletico added to the lead with a goal by substitute Alexander Sorloth from inside the area in the 70th. Robert Lewandowski, the league's leading scorer, gave Barcelona hope by finding the net in the 72nd, and Torres equalized with a header after a cross by Raphinha in the 78th.
“We have to congratulate them,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. “There was a bit of luck, which you must have sometimes. We had a few chances in counterattacks but didn’t take advantage of them. Barcelona is a great team."
Atletico beat Barcelona 2-1 when the teams met in Barcelona in their first Spanish league match of the season in December. They drew 4-4 in a first-leg match in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey last month. The second leg is in April.
Athletic set for Champions League place Athletic Bilbao solidified its fourth place with a 1-0 win at Sevilla.
Yeray Álvarez scored with a header in the 84th to give Athletic the away victory and an eight-point gap to fifth-placed Villarreal, which has a game in hand.
It was Athletic's second win in a row after three straight matches without a victory across all tournaments. It came off a 3-1 win over Roma to reach the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
Real Betis rallies Sixth-placed Real Betis rallied from two goals down at halftime to win 3-2 at relegation-threatened Leganes, with Cucho Hernández scoring the winner in the 82nd.
The hosts had taken the lead with Dani Raba scoring in the 29th and 44th before Betis equalized through Isco in the 64th and Cédric Bakambu in the 78th.
It was the third straight victory for Betis in all competitions, and the second loss in a row for 18th-placed Leganes.
Also Sunday, ninth-placed Rayo Vallecano drew 2-2 at home with 12th-placed Real Sociedad, which is winless in six consecutive games in all competitions. Rayo is winless in five straight league matches.