Preview: 2025 World Championships

by Matteo Morelli

Boston is ready to host the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, welcoming the event back to the USA after it was last hosted in 2016, exactly at the TD Garden arena, which has a capacity of up to 17,500 spectators.

The ice dance field will see 36 teams representing 27 countries taking the ice to compete for the best spots. Only 20 teams will be able to advance to the final. We think that there is an argument to review the spots in the free dance, as teams on the circuit are showing that the level in ice dance is increasing (for example, at the last worlds 16 of the top 20 teams scored more than 70 points in the rhythm dance, and a further 12 scored between 60 and 70).

Either way, we wish everyone competing there the best of luck and to enjoy the event, making the most of the unique atmosphere that a world championship always has.

The Medal Hunt

Madison Chock & Evan Bates own a total of five world medals (two bronzes, one silver, and two golds). TD Garden in Boston is a venue they already know, as they competed at Worlds there in 2016, winning bronze. This time, they will enter the arena as the two times consecutive world champions, hoping to win a third consecutive world title. The six-time US champions won the Grand Prix final for a second consecutive time, but the very close margins between the tops teams are such that they ended in second place at the Four Continents Championships, just by half a point.

It was Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier of Canada that managed to upset Chock & Bates at Four Continents, showing that they are serious about the contention for the top spot. Last year, they won the silver medal at Worlds in Canada, winning the free dance. This season, they had to pay a high price for a mistake at the Grand Prix Final, were they only finished in fifth place. However, this team seem to be gaining more and more power during this second half of the season, so we can be reassured that the competition in Boston will be quite an entertaining one.

At their thirteenths Worlds attendance, Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri of Italy are the most experienced team at this event. After winning a second silver medal at the Grand Prix Final, their most important result is the third consecutive European title, cementing their leadership in the continent. With the Olympic Games set to take place in Milan next year, they will want to continue this progression of successes to show that they are a serious contender for an Olympic medal.

Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson of Great Britain are the team that want to break into the top three. This season, they were the only ice dance team to win both Grand Prix assignments, and won a bronze medal at the Grand Prix Final, making history for Great Britain.

European ice dance keeps collecting important results, including the silver medal that France’s Evgenia Lopareva & Geoffrey Brissaud won at the European Championships, leaving Fear and Gibson in bronze medal position, Finland’s Juulia Turkkila & Matthias Versluis out of the podium for just a fraction of a point, but also the impressive fifth place for Spain’s Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck, which have one of the most popular free dances of the season.

From the American continent, Canada’s Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha continue to impress with their skating, ending just outside of the podium at the Grand Prix Final and winning a second bronze medal at the Four Continents Championships; USA’s Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko were so close to win another Four Continents medal, however they are surely looking forward to perform in front of their home audiences, showing what they are capable of and enjoying the atmosphere there.

Interesting facts:

• This will be the twelfth World Championships for Chock/Bates and Gilles/Poirier, and the thirteenth for Guignard/Fabbri.
• All reigning world medallists (Chock/Bates, Gilles/Poirier, Guignard/Fabbri) have been on the podium for the last two seasons, and stand a strong chance to medal again at this competition.
• The reigning world medallists are the only ice dance teams to have also competed at Worlds in Boston in 2016, with Chock and Bates winning a bronze medal.

Event info: Teams have official practices from Monday, March 25. The rhythm dance kicks off on Friday, March 28, from 11:15am (EDT); the free dance occurs on Saturday, March 29, from 1:30pm (EDT).