Amber Glenn triumphed over neck discomfort to outshine her world champion U.S. counterpart Alysa Liu and secure the figure skating Cup of China for the second consecutive year on Saturday in Chongqing. As the U.S. national champion, Glenn, despite a shaky landing on a triple toeloop early in her free skate, clinched the victory and held her neck in relief.
Initially in third place after the short program on Friday, Glenn had to wait for Liu and Japan’s Rinka Watanabe to complete their free skates to determine her final standing. Liu slipped to second with a total of 212.07 points, while Watanabe settled for third place after a less-than-ideal performance in the free skate.
Expressing her elation, Glenn described the win as “incredible” and shared her excitement about both her and her teammate securing the top two spots on the podium. This event marked Liu’s first podium finish in a Grand Prix competition, despite her previous success as a two-time world championship medalist.
In the men’s division, Japan’s Shun Sato defended his title by claiming the Cup of China for the second successive year. Sato’s impeccable free skate, featuring three quadruple jumps, led him to victory with a total score of 278.12, surpassing Italy’s Daniel Grassl and Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov.
Furthermore, the ice dance category saw world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates secure their inaugural Cup of China victory after several attempts, outscoring their U.S. counterparts Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik. The French duo of Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud claimed the third spot.
Additionally, Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava claimed the pairs gold, with Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii finishing second and China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, the 2022 Olympic champions who recently returned from retirement, settling for third place.
The Cup of China serves as the second event out of six in the regular season Grand Prix series leading up to the final in December, providing a crucial platform for skaters aiming to excel at the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February. The ISU Grand Prix series will move to Saskatoon next for the Skate Canada International event starting on October 31.
