World Figure Skating Championships 2025: Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn and the stars to know ahead of 2026 Olympics

[ASFN Admin]

The World Figure Skating Championships kick off Wednesday and the United States has a lot on the line. Reigning men's singles champion Ilia Malinin will look to defend his title in Boston, while women's singles standout Amber Glenn is turning in the best season of her career.

In addition to Glenn and Malinin, reigning ice dance champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates will go for the three-peat for the U.S. at the event. Bates and Chock took home the gold at the World Figure Skating Championships in both 2023 and 2024.

With their 2026 Olympic hopes on the line, skaters will take part in a practice session Tuesday before the event begins Wednesday. Two events will be held each day from Wednesday through Saturday. The World Figure Skating Championships will end Sunday with the Exhibition of Champions.

Here's everything fans need to know about the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships.

Ilia Malinin is already a gold-medal favorite for 2026 Olympics​

Malinin, 20, is already a superstar who took home the gold for his singles routine at the World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal in 2024. Known for his quad jumps, Malinin is already a favorite to take home a gold medal at the 2026 Olympics in Milan.

A decorated skater as a junior, Malinin learned quadruple jumps during the COVID-19 lockdown. Since then, he's regularly used and attempted the jumps in competition. In 2022, Malinin became the first skater to successfully land a quad Axel during an international competition after pulling off the move during his free skate at the 2022 CS U.S. Classic.

Malinin has already teased trying as many as seven quad jumps during the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, though told NBC News he could pare back on that figure if he feels he needs to play it safe at the event.

Malinin will take part in the men's short program Thursday and the men's free skate Saturday evening.

Amber Glenn is the next U.S. women's star​

At 25, Glenn is considered a veteran in the sport. But that hasn't stopped her from turning in the best season of her career. Her biggest win came in December, when Glenn became the first U.S. women since 2010 to win the Grand Prix Final. She managed to land a triple Axel at the event, leading to her victory. During the 2024-25 season, Glenn has finished first at five events: the Grand Prix Final, U.S. Championships, the Grand Prix Cup of China, the Grand Prix de France and the Lombardia Trophy.

Glenn will likely take the ice for the women's short program Wednesday and the women's free skate Friday.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates are looking for a three-peat at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani, File)
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Madison Chock and Evan Bates look to continue dominance​

Chock and Bates are mainstays in the world of figure skating by now. The U.S. duo has medaled in the ice dance event at three consecutive World Figure Skating Championships. They took home the gold in both 2023 and 2024, and won the bronze at the event in 2022. The duo also played a big role in the United States winning the team gold at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

After partnering up on the ice in 2011, Chock and Bates started dating in 2017 and got married in 2024. Bates has talked about his season being their last in the sport, according to NBC News.

“We’re going to treat it like it’s our last shot,” Bates said of the next 11 months. “We’ve been doing this for a really long time, both in our 30s. We’re a married couple. There are things in our lives that we would love to also accomplish, like grow a family and things like that.”

Chock and Bates are expected to take the ice Friday for the rhythm dance event and then Saturday for the free dance.

Isabeau Levito, Alysa Liu looking for success​

American Isabeau Levito is looking to improve on last year's silver-medal performance at the World Figure Skating Championships. She struggled with injury this season, pulling out of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January. Levito is healthy ahead of Wednesday's championships, and will look to recapture last year's excellence when she takes the ice.

Alysa Liu competed with Team USA at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, though failed to medal in her events. She announced her retirement from figure skating in April of that year, but returned to the sport in 2024. Liu won the silver at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, finishing just behind Glenn.

World Figure Skating Championships 2025 schedule, TV network​

The World Figure Skating Championships will air events Wednesday, March 26 through Sunday, March 30. The event is taking place in Boston. It's the first time since 2016 the United States has hosted the world championships.

Here is a full schedule of events at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships (all times Eastern):

Wednesday, March 26

• 
  12:05 p.m., Women's short program (USA at 3 p.m.)
  
  
• 
  6:45 p.m., Pairs short program
  

Thursday, March 27

• 
  11:05 a.m., Men's short program (USA at 3 p.m.)
  
  
• 
  6:15 p.m., Pairs free skate (USA at 8 p.m.)
  

Friday, March 28

• 
  11:15 a.m., Rhythm dance (USA at 3 p.m.)
  
  
• 
  6 p.m., Women's free skate (NBC at 8 p.m.)
  

Saturday, March 29

• 
  1:30 p.m., Free dance (USA at 3 p.m.)
  
  
• 
  6 p.m., Men's free skate (NBC at 8 p.m.)
  

Sunday, March 30

• 
  2 p.m., Exhibition of champions
  

The 2025 World Figure Skating Championships is available via livestream on Peacock. Most events will air later on either USA or NBC.

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