Figure skating-American Liu leads short programme with dazzling performance

American Alysa Liu produced the best performance of her career to lead the women's field after the short programme at the World Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday, as the sport's biggest event ahead of the 2026 Olympics kicked off in Boston.

Liu won bronze at the championships three years ago but has her eye on the top of the podium this time around after judges rewarded her with a career-best score of 74.58 to lead Japan's Mone Chiba (73.44) ahead of Friday's free skate.

American Isabeau Levito was third in the standings with 73.33.

Liu brought the house down with a blockbuster routine that included a triple flip-triple toe loop combination and a pristine triple Lutz and the American flags were waving wildly as she took a bow.

Chiba made her complex choreography look easy as she opened with a superb triple Lutz-triple toe combination and won the crowd over with a high-flying triple flip, earning a standing ovation.

The women's short programme kicked off the action at TD Garden, as the home of Boston's bone-crunching ice hockey Bruins played host to skating's graceful artists less than a year before the Milano-Cortina winter Olympics.

The championships determine how many spots in each discipline a country will have at the Games.

A handful of favourites navigated missteps in the early action, including Japan's Kaori Sakamoto (71.03), who is bidding for a rare fourth consecutive title.

A popped jump for a double flip-triple toe loop combination marred an otherwise fine effort from the Olympic bronze medallist and she finished fifth in the standings.

American Amber Glenn (67.65), another favourite after going unbeaten this season, also struggled as she fell on her opening triple axel.

She recovered almost immediately,