In the world of figure skating, the women’s short program causes tears and excitement

MONTREAL – 2023 U.S. champion Izabeau Levito was duly excited, finishing second with a near-flawless performance and a personal-best score. Her compatriot, new US champion Amber Glenn, was shocked by the mistake that left her in ninth place.

Leona Hendrickx of Belgium broke down in tears despite her excellent skating. And two-time defending world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan flashed a goofy grin in bewilderment after finishing fourth, a whisker behind second, after two mistakes.

That was the women’s short program at the world championships at the Bell Center on Tuesday.

Hendrickx scored 73.73 to 76.98 for Levito, 73.55 for Lee Hae-In of South Korea and 73.29 for Sakamoto. Glenn scored 64.53 after falling on the final four jumps, the triple loop.

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Free skate is Thursday.

“If I learned anything at nationals, anything could happen,” said Glenn, referring to Leviton’s third-place finish at the U.S. championships in January and what turned out to be a comedy of errors. “I’ve learned not to just throw in the towel. “It’s just that when you’ve been training that well, you can get really down and frustrated, and then go out there and do something you’ve never missed.”

Coming off the national free skate, Levito was so excited after her powerful worlds short program that she punched the air repeatedly and smiled for most of the next five minutes.

“I’m still smiling,” Levito said at a press conference about an hour after finishing. “I’m really happy with how I skated at nationals, I didn’t let it get me down and just focused on getting better. And now I feel better.”

Hendrickx, a world silver and bronze medalist for the past two years, broke down in tears as he performed while battling a hip injury.

“That was one of the big things,” he said. “Also, it’s not easy to compete for a full season. At the end of the season, your body is extremely tired, and mentally you are just as tired.”

Hendrickx’s short program is high energy and full of action that borders on lube. He will go from a strong bounce to flirting with the judges.

It all came together on Wednesday, when he looked more like a world beater than an athlete beaten down by injury and fatigue.

Philip Hersh, figure skater at the last 12 Winter Olympics, makes a special contribution. NBCSports.com/figure-skating.