The 2022 World Championships were notable for a slew of absences following the 2022 Winter Olympics. Reigning World and Olympic champion Nathan Chen of the United States and two-time world and Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan bowed out, citing injuries.[3][4] Additionally, the Chinese Skating Association opted to not send any skaters to the competition without providing an explanation.[5]
Ban of Russian and Belarusian figure skaters
In 2016, an independent report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed allegations that the Russian Olympic team had been involved in a state-sponsored doping program, active from at least late 2011 through August 2015.[6] On December 9, 2019, the WADA banned Russia from all international competitions after it found that data provided by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency had been manipulated by Russian authorities in order to protect athletes involved in its state-sponsored doping scheme.[7] Under the ban imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Russian athletes could not use the Russian flag or anthem in international competition and had to present themselves as "Neutral Athletes" or a "Neutral Team" at any world championships until December 16, 2022.[8]Anna Shcherbakova had stated her intention on February 19, 2022, to compete at the World Championships after winning the Olympic gold medal.[9] Russian skaters would have competed under a modified flag of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia at the 2022 World Championships.[10]
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nathalie Péchalat, then-president of the French Federation of Ice Sports, announced that no Russian and Belarusian athletes would be allowed to compete at the World Championships in France due to travel restrictions imposed by the French government, with no official word from the International Skating Union (ISU) as to whether the ban would extend further.[11] When Péchalat's announcement was made, there were discussions with Russian figure skaters, including those representing other countries, trying to attend the world championships by flying into neighboring countries and traveling to Montpellier by road.[11] On March 1, 2022, the ISU banned all Russian and Belarusian skaters from participating in any international skating events.[10]
These World Championships became the first major sporting event around the world, excluding the 2022 Winter Paralympics, to proceed with a Russian and Belarusian ban.[12]
Qualification
The number of entries from each nation for the 2022 World Championships was based on the results of the 2021 World Championships. These nations were eligible to enter more than one skater or team in the indicated disciplines.[13]
Nations began announcing their selections for the World Championships in December 2021. The ISU published a complete list of entries on March 2, 2022.[14]
Men and women competing in single skating first performed a short program. Women performed their short programs on Wednesday, March 23; men performed their short programs on Thursday, March 24.[1] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds,[34] the short program had to include the following elements:
For women: one double or triple Axel; one triple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, or two triple jumps; one flying spin; one layback spin, sideways leaning spin, camel spin, or sit spin without a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and one step sequence using the full ice surface.[35]
The top 24 skaters after completion of the short program component of the competition moved on to the free skating component. Women performed their free skates on Friday, March 25; men performed their free skates on Saturday, March 26.[1] The free skate performance for both men and women could last no more than 4 minutes,[34] and had to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one had to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one had to be a flying spin, and one had to be a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.[36]
The top 20 couples after completion of the short program component moved on to the free skating component, which were performed on Thursday, March 24.[1] The free skate performance could last no more than 4 minutes,[34] and had to include the following: three pair lifts, of which one had to be a twist lift; two different throw jumps; one solo jump; one jump combination or sequence; one pair spin combination; one death spiral; and a choreographic sequence.[39]
Couples competing in ice dance performed their rhythm dances on Friday, March 25.[1] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 50 seconds,[34] the theme of the rhythm dance this season was "street dance rhythms". Examples of applicable dance styles included, but were not limited to: hip-hop, disco, swing, krump, popping, funk, jazz, reggae (reggaeton), and blues. The required pattern dance element was the Midnight Blues.[40] The rhythm dance had to include the following elements: the pattern dance, the pattern dance step sequence, one dance lift, one set of sequential twizzles, and one step sequence.[41]
The top 20 couples after completing the rhythm dance component of the competition moved on to the free dance component, which was held on Saturday, March 26.[1] The free dance performance could last no longer than 4 minutes,[34] and had to include the following: three dance lifts, one dance spin, one set of synchronized twizzles, one step sequence in hold, one step sequence while on one skate and not touching, and three choreographic elements, of which one had to be a choreographic character step sequence.[42]
Judging
For the 2021–2022 season, all of the technical elements in any figure skating performance–such as jumps, spins, and lifts–were assigned a predetermined base point value and were then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution.[43] The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, an average after deleting the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE was added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total element score.[44] At the same time, judges evaluated each performance based on five program components–skating skills, transitions, performance, composition, and interpretation of the music–and assigned a score from .25 to 10 in .25 point increments. The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score.[45]
Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.[47] The total element score and total program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.[48]
Donovan Carrillo of Mexico had to withdraw prior to the short program when the luggage with his skates did not arrive in time for the competition.[53]Cha Jun-hwan of South Korea withdrew from the free skate due to problems with his boots.[54]
During the short program, one judge received backlash from fans and the media for noting that Ivan Shmuratko of Ukraine had committed a "costume/prop violation" for wearing the Ukrainian national team's training outfit rather than his traditional skating costume.[55] Shmuratko did not receive a deduction due to a majority of the judges' votes being required, while the crowd gave him a standing ovation for his performance.[56]
Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won the gold medal in the women's event, becoming the sixth Japanese skater to win a World Championship gold medal in women's singles.[59] Despite an injury, Loena Hendrickx of Belgium won the silver medal, becoming the first Belgian to win a World Championship medal in women's singles. "I had a lot of pain," Hendrickx stated after the competition, "but I wanted to show one last time that I can do it to finish my season strong." With six triple jumps, Alysa Liu of the United States finished in third place.[60]
Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc of the United States, who were in second place after the short program, were forced to withdraw after Cain-Gribble fell during the free skate and knocked her head against the ice, requiring her to be removed from the ice on a stretcher and hospitalized.[63]
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the United States won gold medals; it was the first time that an American pairs team had won the World Championship title since Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner in 1979. Knierim and Frazier were only the third American pairs team to ever win gold at the World Championships. Their free skate featured a "flawless" side-by-side triple Salchow. "I had so many emotions," Knierim stated afterward. "It was so much gratitude, fulfillment, excitement, and disbelief."[64]
One day prior to the rhythm dance, the ISU rejected the proposed program by Ukrainian ice dancers Oleksandra Nazarova and Maksym Nikitin. Their program was set to music by Ukrainian artists – "1944" by Jamala and the Ukrainian folk song "Oi u luzi chervona kalyna" performed by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of BoomBox – and included a fifteen-second snippet of a speech by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian language calling for peace; the ISU cited the speech portion of the program as "propaganda".[66] Following intervention by their federation, Nazarova and Nikitin were allowed to compete using a version featuring only the music, and like Ivan Shmuratko, they also wore the colors of the Ukrainian national team rather than their traditional costumes and received a standing ovation.[66][67] Despite limited training time leading up to the event, they said that they wanted to perform their new program to "express what they are living through."[68] After the rhythm dance, Mikhail Makarov, president of the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation, issued an appeal to Jan Dijkema, president of the ISU, and Sergey Bubka, president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, seeking to understand the rationale behind the ISU's decision.[66] Nazarova and Nikitin later withdrew from the free dance, feeling that performing their upbeat program set to music from Moulin Rouge! was inappropriate in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[69]
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France, who were favored to win the ice dance event, broke their own world record score in the rhythm dance, which they had previously set at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[59] Ultimately setting new world records in both the free dance and overall total, Papdakis and Cizeron won their fifth World Championship title. Cizeron described the experience as "one of the most beautiful competitions of our career." Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the United States, in what ended up being the last competition of their career, finish second, while Madison Chock and Evan Bates, also of the United States, finished third.[70]
On March 23, Simon Reed, who was providing commentary for the 2022 World Championships, was caught on a hot mic referring to Meagan Duhamel, two-time World Champion in pair skating, as "that bitch from Canada," while his co-host Nicky Slater could be heard laughing in the background. Duhamel had criticized the pair's commentary the day before on social media.[72] As a result, the International Skating Union removed both Reed and Slater as commentators for the remainder of the competition, as well as any future ISU events. "There is no place for harassing and abusive language or remarks and behavior in sport and our society," the ISU said in a statement.[73]
↑ "'피겨 장군' 김예림, 코로나19 확진…세계선수권 출전 불발"['Figure skating general' Kim Yelim is covid positive and cannot attend the World Figure Skating Championships]. The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). March 18, 2022. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
↑ "Eis-Paar Hase/Seegert hofft auf versöhnliche WM"[Skating pair Hase/Seegert hopes for a conciliatory World Championships]. Westfalen-Blatt (in German). March 21, 2022. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
↑ Jang, Bo-in (March 26, 2022). "피겨 차준환, 부츠 문제로 세계선수권 프리스케이팅 기권"[Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan, withdraws from world championship free skating due to boot problem]. Yonhap News (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
1 2 3 "Звернення до ISU"[Appeal to ISU]. Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation (in Ukrainian). March 26, 2022. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
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Shoma Uno 
Alexa Knierim 
Gabriella Papadakis 
