BOSTON — Alysa Liu became the first American figure skating world champion in nearly two decades on Friday night, dethroning three-time defending champion Kaori Sakamoto with a brilliant free skate that earned her a standing ovation inside TD Garden.
With her gold dress shimmering, Liu landed all of her jumping passes to a rendition of “MacArthur Park” by Boston native Donna Summer and finished with 222.97 points to culminate a remarkable comeback from a two-year retirement.
As the 19-year-old Liu’s score was read, the sellout crowd roared and her coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, pulled her into a hug. Moments later, Sakamoto came over and also gave her a hug, as if to pass her the championship torch as the first world champion from the U.S. since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium in 2006.
“What the hell?” Liu asked. “I don’t know. I don’t know how to process this.”
Sakamoto finished with 217.98 points to add a silver medal to her three previous golds. Her Japanese teammate, Mone Chiba, was third with 215.24 points while Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn gave the Americans three of the top five.
Earlier in the night, American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates built a big cushion as they chase a third consecutive world title, scoring a season-best 90.18 points for their rhythm dance to lead Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.
Gilles and Poirier scored 86.44 points to their dance, set to music from The Beach Boys. They held the lead only long enough for the U.S. duo to finish their “tour of the decades” program, which earned them a raucous ovation inside TD Garden.
The International Skating Union chose the theme this season of social dances and styles of the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. But while some skaters picked one — the Watusi, the Madison or disco — Chock and Bates threw it all into their rollicking showcase.
“It was probably the most fun I’ve had thus far on competitive ice in a performance, maybe ever,” Chock said. “It was really a joy to perform in front of a home crowd and share that excitement with Evan. It was the best.”
Now, Chock and Bates will try to finish off the first three-peat since Russia’s Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov in the 1990s.
“That’s a tough amount of points to catch up on,” Poirier said, “but we also know that sport is really unpredictable.”
