Kaori Sakamoto leads, Mariah Bell in medal position at figure skating worlds (video)

Reigning U.S. national champion Mariah Bell is in contention to become the first American woman to win a figure skating world championships medal in six years after posting a personal best in the women’s short program in Montpellier, France.

The 25-year-old Bell recorded 72.55 points skating to the music of “River Flows in You” by South Korean pianist and composer Yiruma, putting her in third place – 7.77 behind leader and 2022 Olympic bronze medalist Kaori Sakamoto (80.32) of Japan. Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx stands second at 75.00 going into Friday’s free skate.

Sakamoto’s program, set to music from the movie “Gladiator,” was highlighted by a triple flip-triple toe loop combination that vaulted her more than five points clear of Hendrickx, who finished seventh at the Winter Olympics last month in Beijing. Rounding out the top five in Montpellier are South Korea’s You Young (72.08) followed by American Alysa Liu (71.91) – both of whom are also in contention for the world championship podium given the close point differential.

Sakamoto, whose Olympic bronze medal derailed a Russian sweep of the podium in Beijing, did not have to contend with her top competitors – including gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova, silver medalist Alexandra Trusova and fourth-place finisher Kamila Valiyeva – in France after the Russian athletes were barred from international competition following the invasion of Ukraine.

“It does sort of open up the field just (because) there’s three ladies that won’t be there, and the top ladies,” Bell said last week. “So obviously the results will be different, and there are some opportunities to bump up.”

Their absence means a non-Russian skater will win the women’s world title for the first time since 2018. The