Amber Glenn triumphed over neck discomfort to outperform her fellow U.S. teammate Alysa Liu, securing victory at the Cup of China figure skating event in Chongqing for the second consecutive year on Saturday. Glenn, the reigning U.S. national champion, visibly showed relief as she completed her free skate routine, bouncing back from a slightly unsteady landing on a triple toeloop early in her performance. Initially in third place following Friday’s short program, Glenn had to await the free skate performances of Liu and Japan’s Rinka Watanabe to determine her final ranking.
Liu slipped to second place with a total score of 212.07 points, while Glenn claimed the gold with 214.78 points, seizing the top spot after Liu faltered on a triple flip. Watanabe managed to secure third place despite a subpar free skate performance, only achieving the fifth-best score.
Expressing her joy, Glenn described feeling “incredible” and expressed excitement about both herself and her teammate occupying the top two positions on the podium. Notably, while Liu has previously won world championship medals, this marks her first appearance on a Grand Prix event podium.
In the men’s event, Japan’s Shun Sato retained his title at the Cup of China by executing three quadruple jumps flawlessly in his free skate, accumulating a total score of 278.12. Sato maintained his lead over Italy’s Daniel Grassl, who scored 269.43, and Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov, who finished third with 262.67 points after stumbling on his final jump.
The ice dance competition saw world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates claim their first Cup of China victory after six attempts, registering a total score of 208.25 to best their U.S. counterparts Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, who scored 202.27. Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud of France secured the third spot with a total score of 196.60.
Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava clinched the pairs gold with a score of 217.24, followed by Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii in second place, and China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, the 2022 Olympic champions who recently returned from retirement, in third place.
The Cup of China serves as the second out of six regular season Grand Prix events leading up to the final in December, serving as a crucial competition for skaters aiming for success at the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February. The ISU Grand Prix series will continue with the Skate Canada International event in Saskatoon starting on October 31.
