TOKYO (AP) — World champion Alysa Liu produced a flawless routine in the women’s free skate as the United States won its sixth gold medal at the figure skating World Team Trophy on Saturday.
Skating to “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer, the 19-year-old Liu landed seven triple jumps for a personal-best score of 150.97 points. Teammate Amber Glenn was second with 148.93.
Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto was third with 145.00.
The United States finished the three-day competition with 126 points, 16 ahead of Japan. Italy was third with 86 points to claim its first ever medal in the event.
“We are just beaming. I'm so insanely proud of my team and everyone,” U.S. skater Jason Brown said. “It's been such an incredible season, and to end it here has been so special.”
Liu’s previous best free skate score was 148.39 only last month at the world championships in Boston.
“I was a little bit happier after my free skate at worlds but I’ll take this one,” Liu said. "I only ran it one time before coming here, so I wasn't expecting that. And I'm happy I could put out a good enough score for my team.”
Glenn also posted a personal best, which featured a triple axel.
“It's been consistent in practice, and I even did it in shows here in Japan,” Glenn said. “It's something I feel I'm able to do when I'm in the right place and I was today.”
The U.S. has medaled at every biennial World Team Trophy since its inception in 2009 and has won six of the nine competitions.
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the pairs free skate as the host nation cut the Americans' lead to 11 points, but the dominant performances by Glenn and Liu clinched gold for the U.S.
The U.S. headed into the final day with a 15-point lead over Japan after victories in the men’s and ice dance competitions on Friday.
Two-time world champion Ilia Malinin won the men’s free skate to solidify the overall lead for the Americans. Malinin landed four quads in his program to “I’m Not a Vampire,” scoring 183.88 points.
Ice dance world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the free dance segment. The three-time world ice dance champions received 12 points after a season’s best score of 133.51
The World Team Trophy features the top six figure skating teams. France was fourth, followed by Canada and Georgia.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Amber Glenn, of the United States, performs during the women's free skating program at the ISU World Team Trophy figure skating competition at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Saturday April 19, 2025 in Tokyo. (Kyodo News via AP)
Alysa Liu, of the United States, performs during the women's free skating program at the ISU World Team Trophy figure skating competition at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Saturday April 19, 2025 in Tokyo. (Kyodo News via AP)
The first place winning U.S. team, from right, Jason Brown, Alysa Liu, Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, pose during the award ceremony of of the ISU World Team Trophy figure skating competition at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Saturday April 19, 2025 in Tokyo. (Kyodo News via AP)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two people were killed after a Russian drone attacked a minibus in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said Saturday, in the latest barrage of civilian areas, a hallmark of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
Seven people were also wounded in the attack, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. Hours later Russia attacked another minibus in Kherson, wounding the driver, he said.
Meanwhile, along the northern border with Belarus, Ukraine recorded “rather unusual” activity on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram on Saturday. Without elaborating, he said activity was seen on the Belarusian side of the border and that Ukraine would act if matters escalated.
“We are closely documenting and keeping the situation under control. If necessary, we will react,” he said.
Belarus, a close ally of the Kremlin, has allowed Russia to use its territory as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine and to host some of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons.
On Ukraine's Black Sea coast, a Russian strike damaged port infrastructure in the city of Odesa. No casualties were reported.
Ukrainian civilians have endured relentless air assaults since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago. U.S.-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv over the past year have brought no respite, with Russia rejecting Ukraine’s offer of a ceasefire, and in recent weeks the Iran war has diverted international attention from Ukraine’s plight.
Meanwhile, on the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, Russia claimed Saturday it had taken control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.
It was not possible to independently verify the battlefield claims, and Ukraine did not immediately comment.
In Russia, local officials in the Krasnodar region said that a fire that broke out Friday following a Ukrainian strike on an oil terminal in the Black Sea city of Tuapse was put out on Saturday.
Ukrainian drones have hit the oil refinery and export terminal in Tuapse on four occasions in just over two weeks, sparking fires that prompted local evacuations and sent up massive plumes of smoke.
Ukraine has escalated its long-distance strikes against Russian oil facilities in an effort to slash Moscow’s oil exports, a key source of funding for its grinding invasion of Ukraine. But the economic impact is so far unclear, as the rise in oil prices from the Iran war, and a related easing of U.S. sanctions, have helped replenish the Kremlin’s coffers.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
FILE - In this image taken from video released by Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev's Telegram channel, smoke rises after a drone attack on the oil refinery and terminal in Tuapse, Russia, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev Telegram channel via AP, File)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
