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Japan’s Sakamoto Three-Peats as Women’s Figure Skating World Champion

Gold medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan reacts after the medals ceremony for the Women's program of the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2024 in Montreal, Canada, 22 March 2024. (EPA)
Gold medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan reacts after the medals ceremony for the Women's program of the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2024 in Montreal, Canada, 22 March 2024. (EPA)
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Japan’s Sakamoto Three-Peats as Women’s Figure Skating World Champion

Gold medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan reacts after the medals ceremony for the Women's program of the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2024 in Montreal, Canada, 22 March 2024. (EPA)
Gold medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan reacts after the medals ceremony for the Women's program of the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2024 in Montreal, Canada, 22 March 2024. (EPA)

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan is the first women’s figure skater to three-peat as world champion since American Peggy Fleming from 1966 to 1968.

Sakamoto captured gold again Friday at the Bell Center, climbing from fourth place after the short program to the top of the podium with a near-flawless performance.

The 23-year-old led the pack by more than 10 points in the free program to finish with 222.96 points and earn a standing ovation from the 6,000 fans on hand.

Isabeau Levito of the United States — a 2022 world junior champion — claimed silver (212.16) for her first medal at a senior worlds. Chaeyeon Kim of South Korea took bronze (203.59).

Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx placed first in the short program Wednesday, but slipped to fourth after missing her rotation on a double lutz, triple-toe loop combination and subsequently falling on a triple flip.

American Amber Glenn was 10th (186.53), after placing ninth on Wednesday.

Earlier Friday, defending ice dance champions and 2022 Olympic gold medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States finished first with a season-best 90.08 in the rhythm dance. Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri were second (87.52) ahead of Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (86.51).

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko of the United States qualified with an eight-place finish (79.26).

Competition ends Saturday with the free dance and the men’s free program.

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Leclerc Qualifies on Pole for Azerbaijan GP

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco in action during a Formula One Grand Prix qualifying in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco in action during a Formula One Grand Prix qualifying in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
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Leclerc Qualifies on Pole for Azerbaijan GP

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco in action during a Formula One Grand Prix qualifying in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco in action during a Formula One Grand Prix qualifying in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Charles Leclerc qualified on pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Max Verstappen was sixth and Lando Norris only 17th on Saturday in a session that could have a big impact on the Formula 1 title race.
Ferrari's Leclerc, who won the last race in Italy, was fastest by .321 seconds from McLaren's Oscar Piastri, and the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz Jr. was third. Pole marked a dramatic turnaround for Leclerc, who crashed in the first practice session Friday.
“It hasn’t been an easy weekend because (of) the crash in FP1, which didn’t make me lose confidence. I knew that the pace was there," Leclerc said. "But you’ve got to build back up to speed.”
Leclerc is on pole in Baku for the fourth year running, but he has yet to win the race, The Associated Press reported.
Norris was on what seemed to be a lap fast enough to progress from the first part of qualifying as one of the top 15. But he had to slow for a yellow flag that was apparently for Esteban Ocon's slow-moving Alpine. Norris' time from his first lap missed the 15th-place cutoff by .137 of a second.
“There was nothing I could do” about the yellow flag, Norris said. “Frustrating, but now we look ahead to tomorrow and see where we can maximize the result.”
Norris is second in the standings, 62 points behind Verstappen with eight races remaining.
McLaren confirmed before the race weekend that it would favor Norris over Piastri to help his title challenge, with Norris suggesting the Australian would be asked to make way for him on track in some situations.
That almost certainly won't happen Sunday with 15 places separating the teammates in qualifying. Piastri is aiming to fight for a second career win.
“Our race pace is good, but the Ferrari is certainly not slow,” he said.
Defending champion Verstappen, who hasn't won any of the last six races, seemed better in Baku but was sixth and said he'd clipped a curb at “the worst time it could have happened.” Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez was fourth, beating Verstappen in qualifying for the first time all year.
Verstappen said the Red Bull was improved from the Italian Grand Prix, where he finished sixth, but questioned whether the team's attempts to refine the setup ahead of qualifying made things worse.
"On a street circuit you need to be comfortable and confident to be able to attack corners and it is harder to do this when the car is a bit more unpredictable," he said.
George Russell was fifth for Mercedes, ahead of Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton seventh and Fernando Alonso eighth for Aston Martin.
There was a bizarre incident in the final part of qualifying when Williams' Alex Albon stopped on his way out of the pits to remove a large piece of cooling equipment that the team left in his air intake. Albon qualified 10th and was facing an investigation from the stewards after the session.
Albon's teammate Franco Colapinto, in only his second F1 race weekend, was ninth in the best qualifying result for an Argentine driver in 42 years.
British teen Oliver Bearman, standing in at Haas for the suspended Kevin Magnussen, was 11th after recovering from a crash in the third practice Saturday morning.