Sixteen U.S. athletes are set to compete at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022, March 21-27, in Montpellier, France. Official practice begins Monday, March 21, with competition starting on Wednesday, March 23. The women and pairs will kick off the competition, while the men will begin Thursday, March 24, and ice dancers on Friday, March 25.
In the women's field, Olympians Mariah Bell, Karen Chen and Alysa Liu will represent the U.S. in France. Chen, who earned silver in Beijing as part of the Olympic Team Event, is on her fourth World Team, and boasts a pair of fourth-place finishes. Liu is making her Worlds debut after a seventh-place finish at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Bell finished 10th at the Games and will be making her fourth appearance at a World Championships, finishing a career-best ninth in 2019.
Olympic silver medalist Vincent Zhou heads to Montpellier in search of his second Worlds medal. The 2021 Skate America champion earned bronze at the World Championships in 2019. Zhou will be joined by U.S. silver medalist Ilia Malinin, who will be making his Worlds debut, and Camden Pulkinen, who is also making his Worlds debut. Pulkinen was added to the roster last week after three-time World champion and reigning Olympic champion Nathan Chen announced his withdrawal.
In the pairs competition, Olympic silver medalists Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier will skate in their second consecutive World Championships after a sixth place finish at the Olympic Games a month ago. They'll be joined by reigning U.S. champions Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc. Cain-Gribble and LeDuc finished eighth at the Olympic Games, and have notched a pair of top-10 Worlds finishes in their career.
The United States will bring three strong teams to the ice dance competition. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, who earned both silver and bronze medals at the Olympic Games, return to the World Championships after a silver-medal finish in 2021. The duo, which will retire from competition following the event, is aiming for their fourth Worlds medal. Olympic silver medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates are seeking their third World medal after taking silver in 2015 and bronze in 2016. The duo won their third U.S. title in January. Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker will make their fourth consecutive Worlds appearance after placing ninth in 2021. American ice dancers have medaled at Worlds in the last six outings.
NBC will broadcast coverage of the women's free skate at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 26, followed by a recap show at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 17. There will be an additional 12 hours of competition coverage on USA. Additionally, the full competition can be streamed live on Peacock Premium.
U.S. Entries at the ISU World Figure Skating Championship 2022
Name / Hometown / Training Town
Women
Mariah Bell / Lake Forest, Calif. / Irvine, Calif.
Karen Chen / Fremont, Calif. / Colorado Springs, Colo.
Alysa Liu / Richmond, Calif. / Oakland, Calif. and Colorado Springs, Colo.
Men
Ilia Malinin / Vienna, Va. / Reston, Va.
Camden Pulkinen / Scottsdale, Ariz. / Colorado Springs, Colo.
Vincent Zhou / Palo Alto, Calif./ Colorado Springs, Colo. and Kyoto, Japan
Pairs
Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc / Coppell, Texas; Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Euless, Texas
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier / Addison, Ill.; Colorado Springs, Colo. / Irvine, Calif.
Ice Dance
Madison Chock and Evan Bates / Novi, Mich.; Ann Arbor, Mich. / Montreal
Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker / East Aurora, N.Y.; Edmonds, Wash. / Montreal
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue / Sylvania, Ohio; Madison, Conn. / Montreal
