Amber Glenn triumphed over neck discomfort to secure victory at the figure skating Cup of China in Chongqing, outperforming her fellow U.S. competitor Alysa Liu for the second consecutive year. Glenn, the reigning U.S. national champion, visibly showed signs of neck strain after completing her free skate routine, where she recovered from a slightly unsteady landing on a triple toeloop early on. Initially in third place after the short program on Friday, Glenn had to await Liu and Japan’s Rinka Watanabe’s performances in the free skate to determine her final placement.
Liu slipped to second position with a total score of 212.07 points, behind Glenn’s 214.78, following an unstable landing on a triple flip. Watanabe managed to secure a spot on the podium but dropped to third after receiving the fifth-highest score in the free skate.
Expressing her elation, Glenn described her feelings as “incredible” and expressed excitement for both herself and her teammate for achieving first and second place on the podium. While Liu, a two-time world championship medalist, has previously garnered success, this marked her first podium finish in a Grand Prix event.
In the men’s event, Japan’s Shun Sato defended his title at the Cup of China by executing three quadruple jumps flawlessly in his free skate, accumulating a total score of 278.12. He maintained a lead over Italy’s Daniel Grassl, who scored 269.43, and Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov, who fell during his final jump and finished with 262.67 points.
World champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates claimed their maiden Cup of China victory in ice dance after six attempts, achieving a total score of 208.25, surpassing their U.S. counterparts Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik. The third position went to Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud of France.
Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava secured the pairs gold with a score of 217.24, while Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii placed second, and China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, the 2022 Olympic champions who recently ended their retirement, took the third spot.
The Cup of China serves as the second event in the six-part regular season Grand Prix series leading up to the final in December, offering a crucial platform for skaters aiming to excel at the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February. The ISU Grand Prix series will now move to Saskatoon for the Skate Canada International starting on October 31.