Glenn and Siao lead short programs at figure skating Finlandia Trophy

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.

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)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed Friday to work together to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease global economic uncertainties caused by the war in the Middle East.

Their summit in Seoul came as U.S. President Donald Trump slammed allies for not supporting the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. Macron was making his first visit to South Korea since taking office in 2017, as part of an Asian tour that already has taken him to Japan.

Macron told Lee at the start of the meeting that the two countries can play a role in helping to stabilize the situation in the Middle East, including Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has unleashed shock on global energy markets.

At a joint televised briefing afterward, Macron underscored the need for France and South Korea to cooperate to help reopen the strait and deescalate Middle East animosities, while Lee said the two affirmed “their resolves to cooperate to secure the safe shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The two leaders did not take questions and did not elaborate on how they would help reopen the strait — the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.

“We need to clearly define, at the international level, the conditions for a process to ease the crisis and conflict in the Middle East,” Macron said. “We need to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.”

Lee said he and Macron agreed to expand cooperation in technology, energy and other areas. South Korean and French officials also signed agreements to cooperate on nuclear fuel supply chains, jointly invest in an offshore wind project in southern South Korea and to collaborate on critical minerals. South Korea has moved to increase output at its nuclear reactors to mitigate the energy crunch and Lee has also called for a faster transition to renewable energy, saying the war has exposed the country’s heavy reliance on fossil fuel imports.

Macron’s Asia trip comes as Trump has ramped up his frustration with allies. In a speech Wednesday, Trump said Americans “don’t need” the strait but the countries who do “must grab it and cherish it.”

In an earlier Easter event at the White House, Trump called for his allies in Asia and China to get involved in reopening the waterway.

“Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force — let South Korea do it,” Trump said. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”

The United States stations about 28,000 troops in South Korea, not the 45,000 stated by Trump. The U.S. troops’ deployment in South Korea is meant to deter potential aggressions from North Korea.

Macron has said reopening the Strait of Hormuz through a military operation is unrealistic.

South Korean officials have said they are in contact with Washington on the issue and that Seoul isn’t considering paying Iran transit fees to secure fuel shipments through the strait.

French President Emmanuel Macron, front left, his wife Brigitte Macron, back center, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, front right, and his wife Kim Hea Kyung, right, attend the welcome ceremony at the presidential Blue House in Seoul Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je /Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, his wife Brigitte Macron, left, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, and his wife Kim Hea Kyung, second left, attend the welcome ceremony at the presidential Blue House in Seoul Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je /Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, second right, during their meeting at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during their meeting at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)