HELSINKI (AP) — United States champion Amber Glenn took another step forward ahead of the Olympics by taking the lead in the short program in Finlandia Trophy figure skating on Friday.
Skating to Madonna's “Like a Prayer,” Glenn started with a triple axel on her way to a season-best score of 75.72 points to lead ahead of Saturday's free skate. It was an improvement on her last Grand Prix at the Cup of China last month, when she placed third in the short program before surging back to win overall.
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Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France perform in Ice Dance Rhythm Dance during the figure skating ISU Grand Prix competition in Helsinki, Finland, Friday Nov. 21, 2025. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)
Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany perform in Pairs Short Program during figure skating ISU Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy Helsinki competition in Helsinki, Finland, Friday Nov. 21, 2025. (Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva via AP)
Adam Siao Him Fa of France performs in the Men's Short Program during the figure skating ISU Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy competition in Helsinki, Finland, Friday Nov. 21, 2025. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)
Amber Glenn of the U.S. performs in the Women's Short Program during the figure skating ISU Grand Prix competition in Helsinki, Finland, Friday Nov. 21, 2025. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)
Japan's Mone Chiba, last season's world championship bronze medalist, was second on 72.89 and Canada's Madeline Schizas third on 65.16.
Adam Siao Him Fa of France landed two high-scoring quadruple jumps and took the lead in the men's short program with a 92.50 score, while Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama had a heavy fall.
Siao is off to a better start than his last competition, his home Grand Prix de France, where he was fifth in the short program and recovered to finish second overall, though 40 points behind winner Ilia Malinin.
Canada's Stephen Gogolev, chasing a first career Grand Prix medal, was second on 89.35 and Japan's Kagiyama third on 88.16 after a fall on a quad salchow left him sprawled across the ice early in his program.
The top four pairs were separated by just .27 of a point as Germany's Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin lead on 70.40 after an exceptionally close short program.
Americans Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea were second on 70.24, another U.S. pair of Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov third on 70.19 and Canada's Lia Pereira and Trent Michaud fourth on 70.13.
France's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron lead the ice dance as they aim to continue their winning start as a partnership this season. They scored 79.89 in the rhythm dance to beat Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier on 79.56. Third place went to Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik on 78.51.
The Finlandia Trophy is the last of six Grand Prix events where skaters can qualify for next month's finals, a key competitive test for would-be medal contenders ahead of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in February.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France perform in Ice Dance Rhythm Dance during the figure skating ISU Grand Prix competition in Helsinki, Finland, Friday Nov. 21, 2025. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)
Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany perform in Pairs Short Program during figure skating ISU Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy Helsinki competition in Helsinki, Finland, Friday Nov. 21, 2025. (Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva via AP)
Adam Siao Him Fa of France performs in the Men's Short Program during the figure skating ISU Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy competition in Helsinki, Finland, Friday Nov. 21, 2025. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)
Amber Glenn of the U.S. performs in the Women's Short Program during the figure skating ISU Grand Prix competition in Helsinki, Finland, Friday Nov. 21, 2025. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan acknowledges that sharing a name and party affiliation with the incumbent Republican gives him “an instant megaphone" in the crowded primary race. But Sullivan said his campaign isn't a sham or something Democrats put him up to doing.
He said friends for years have jokingly referred to him as senator and asked if he has ever thought about running. He said he’s been considering it for more than a decade.
“This is my choice,” Sullivan, who lives in the small fishing community of Petersburg, said in a telephone interview Monday.
Last week, Sen. Dan Sullivan accused the challenger Sullivan of “trying to trick” voters to help his main rival in the race, Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola. The senator suggested the other Sullivan's entrance in the August primary was part of a coordinated effort by Democrats and Peltola's campaign to confuse voters, an accusation they deny. He threatened litigation to get to the bottom of it.
The issue is of national concern to Republicans because they are seeking to hold onto their majority in the U.S. Senate in what is expected to be a difficult midterm election year for the party in power. Sullivan, the challenger, dismissed claims that his candidacy is a merely a ruse to undermine the senator's reelection chances.
He said he has had no contact with Peltola's campaign — “zero, none, zilch” — and said “no” when asked if anyone from the state Democratic Party or any national Democratic operatives had contacted him to run.
A Peltola spokesperson, Harry Child, has said the campaign “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.” The executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party, Jenny-Marie Stryker, said her organization “is in no way affiliated with either Dan Sullivan.” A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson, Monica Robinson, replied “no” when asked if the group had been involved in urging the challenger Sullivan to run.
Sullivan called sharing a name with the Alaska's incumbent U.S. senator “a matter of fate” and said he had done nothing wrong.
“I have every right to run for whatever office I'm qualified for, and I’m qualified for this office,” the challenger said, adding: “I think I’m doing what most Americans would think would be a patriotic thing to do when you’re unsatisfied with the status quo. You stand up and say, I’m going to fight for things I believe that are going to make my community better.”
Ballots in prior years in Alaska have not identified the incumbent, but the Alaska Division of Elections’ current candidate list online does. It also distinguishes the candidates using a middle initial — Dan S. Sullivan for the senator and Dan J. Sullivan for the challenger.
Alaska has open primaries in which the top four vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the ranked choice general election in November. Sen. Sullivan's campaign worries having two Dan Sullivans on the ballot could confuse voters.
Sen. Sullivan's campaign, in a statement Monday, said, “Alaskans deserve a fair and honest election — not political games meant to manipulate the ballot and benefit Democrats.”
The challenger said he was registered with the limited government-leaning Alaskan Independence Party for decades, until the party's dissolution late last year. Election officials had said voters registered with the party could change their affiliation but if they did not, they'd be shown as “undeclared.” Sullivan said he then was listed as undeclared until filing to run for office, when he registered as Republican.
He said he was motivated in part by his late father, whom he described as a “true, compassionate, conservative Republican.” He said if he had to label himself, it would be “a pragmatic Republican centrist” — similar to Alaska's senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, but “with touches of a Rand Paul Republican in there.”
He said he grew up in the Chicago area but was drawn to Alaska and put down roots nearly 50 years ago in Petersburg. The fishing community of about 3,400 in southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest is known as “Little Norway” for its many residents with Scandinavian roots. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service before changing careers and becoming a teacher. He has since retired.
Like most communities in Alaska, Petersburg isn't connected to the state's main road system and is accessible only by air or water. Juneau, the nearest city, is about 45 minutes away by plane.
Petersburg sits on Mitkof Island, which is distinguished by mountains, thick stands of forest and boggy areas called muskeg. Sea lions hauled up on buoys and humpback whales and orcas are common sights off its shores.
Sullivan, who will turn 69 this weekend, passed on an interview request last Friday, he said, because the king salmon were running and he wanted to fish.
As far as his run for office, the challenger said he plans to do some fundraising and hopes to campaign in the state's larger cities, including Anchorage and Juneau, but he so far has no firm plans to do so and is working on the details.
He finds the current dustup over his Senate run — and the incumbent's reaction — a bit surprising.
“I guess my thought would be, ‘Dude, why don’t you just run your campaign?’ If you’ve got a strong record, run on your record. People will love you for it and you’ll be swept back into office,” he said Monday. “Why would he be concerned that a guy out of Petersburg is this huge threat?”
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, heads to a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
