At figure skating worlds, U.S. women in medal contention after short program

Americans Mariah Bell and Alysa Liu are third and fifth after the world figure skating championships short program, looking to deliver the first U.S. women’s medal in six years and in the absence of Russian stars.

The national champion Bell recorded a personal-best 72.55 points, which is 7.77 behind leader Kaori Sakamoto and 2.45 points behind Belgian Loena Hendrickx going into Friday’s free skate in Montpellier, France,

Liu followed with 71.91 points, .17 behind South Korean You Young for fourth place.

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A non-Russian will win the world title for the first time since 2018 due to that nation’s ban after the invasion of Ukraine. Russians swept the medals at last year’s world championships and finished first, second and fourth at the Olympics last month.

Sakamoto, the Olympic bronze medalist, entered as the favorite and delivered a clean short capped by a triple flip-triple toe loop combination.

Bell, 10th at the Olympics, and Liu, seventh at the Olympics, are bidding to become the first U.S. woman to win a world medal since Ashley Wagner took silver in 2016, ending a 10-year drought.

Bell, after FaceTiming with coach Adam Rippon, who is not on site, opened her short with a triple flip-triple toe combo. Bell then FaceTimed again with Rippon after her skate, for which she upped her previous personal best from the 2019 Worlds.

Liu said she had “happy tears” after her clean skate and hopes to attempt a triple Axel in the free skate.

The third American, Karen Chen, popped a triple loop that gave her trouble at the Olympics and is eighth.

Worlds continue later Thursday with the pairs’ short program.

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