David J. Phillip/Associated Press
The 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships are set to take place between Monday and Sunday in Montpellier, France, and it’s guaranteed that there will be some new champions crowned this year.
In 2021, the United States’ Nathan Chen won the men’s single event and Russia’s Anna Shcherbakova won the women’s singles competition. Neither will be on the ice this year. Fresh off winning Olympic gold, Chen withdrew because of injury, while no Russian skaters will be competing because the country was barred by the International Skating Union following its invasion of Ukraine.
Last year’s pairs winners (Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov) and ice dance winners (Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov) were also from Russia, so there will be no repeat champions in 2022.
Here’s everything else you need to know about this year’s World Championships.
Broadcast Schedule
Wednesday, March 23
Women’s short program, 5-7 p.m. ET, USA Network
Thursday, March 24
Pairs free skate, 2-4 p.m. ET, USA Network
Men’s short program, 4-6 p.m. ET, USA Network
Friday, March 25
Women’s free skate, 2-4 p.m. ET, USA Network
Saturday, March 26
Men’s free skate, 4-6 p.m. ET, USA Network
Free dance, 6-8 p.m. ET, USA Network
Women’s free skate, 8-10 p.m. ET, NBC
Events can be streamed on Peacock and the NBC Sports app.
Preview
It was shaping up to be a dominant year for Chen. The 22-year-old American won the U.S. Championships in January and then captured his first Olympic gold medal in Beijing in February. He’s won gold at the past three World Championships, and considering his form and pedigree, it would have taken a brave person to bet against him claiming a four successive world title in Montpellier.
However, Chen won’t get that opportunity.
“I am disappointed to have to withdraw from Worlds,” Chen said in a USFS release (h/t NBCSports.com). “I have been training for this competition since returning from Beijing. I have a nagging injury that I’ve been dealing with, and I don’t want to risk further injury by practicing and competing next week.”
The last time Chen didn’t win the men’s world title was in 2017, when Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu captured gold. But injury means that he won’t be competing, either.
Among the top men’s skaters could be Vincent Zhou of the United States. Zhou didn’t get to participate in the men’s event at the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19. The 21-year-old could make up for it in France. His previous best showing at the World Championships came in 2019, when he won the bronze medal.
In addition to Zhou, the U.S. is sending a bunch of other talented skaters to the event. Mariah Bell, Karen Chen and Alysa Liu are all competing in the women’s event, while Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc (pairs), Madison Chock and Evan Bates (ice dance) and Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue (ice dance) could be duos to watch.
Japan’s Shoma Uno won the silver in the men’s event in 2017 and 2018. So it wouldn’t be surprising to see him and Zhou battling it out for the gold in Montpellier.
Wakaba Higuchi of Japan was also a silver medalist in 2018, and she could fare well in the women’s event.
With so many top skaters not participating in the 2022 World Championships, we could see plenty of fresh faces on the podium. And that unpredictability might make the competition even more exciting to watch.
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