World Figure Skating Championships 2023

ISU World Figure Skating Championships is finished! As long as I can remember this might be one of my favourite events in the last decade! 🤩
So I wouldn’t make this too long, I’m gonna make my recaps of mens and ladies and dance free ALL IN ONE.

Ladies free skating

Who I loved most – Kimmy Repond, Niina Petrokina, Kaori Sakamoto, Haein Lee, Loena Hendrickx. It’s amazing, how each of these ladies has their own style and despite their young ages they’ve developed something unique about them. I’m gonna start with Kimmy, because she was an absolute star this season! I’m so excited to see what the future brings for this young Swiss figure skater, but to put out such high quality skating, artistry for such young age is incredible! Just hoping she gets her jumps slightly more powerful for next season..
Niina Petrokina – I saw so much determination in her and she really fought for each second of her program, but not in a way that made it look heavy or difficult, but she really was like a gracious warrior. Also – she made history! Never before has Estonia gotten two sports for Worlds! Nothing but good words about her. I know the free skate wasn’t perfect, but she definitely laid down her best at that moment and it paid off.
Loena Hendrickx – I always struggle to remember the order of the last letters of her last name.. I hope from now on, I’ll always get it right. The height and strength of her jumps is from another league. It was a pity that she missed one jump, but the medal was so well-deserved and I’m so happy for her. She already became legendary last season, so it’s just amazing to see her continue and excel the way she does. to be fully honest, I’m not entirely sure by looking at her, if she really felt 100% in that long program she chose for the season, so I hope she’ll find the right fit for next season.
Haein Lee – such a charming young woman. It wasn’t surprising or something I haven’t seen before, but what I enjoyed about her was the genuine love towards skating and the sport that somehow came out from her skating. You can definitely see a bit of Yu-Na Kim in her and my god how I loved Yu-Na. So I hope this woman has many successful years ahead and that she will explore more styles in her skating.
Kaori Sakamoto – first I want to point out – did you notice the way she was looking for a Belgian flag for Loena during the medal ceremony? – true sportsmanship right here. It was the sweetest thing and really made her the queen of the night. Not to mention her program. It was perfection in my eyes. It felt like the layer of fabric that went across her body in the front was meant as an elastic.. since the song was called elastic heart. The whole program had so many nuances and details and she was in it to win it. The flop went completely unseen for me, because the whole program itself was so well done with such passion and feeling that I couldn’t imagine anyone receiving the gold that night, other than Kaori.

Men free skating

What an event! So many emotions and great skates! My favourites – Jason Brown, Shoma Uno (duh), Junhwan Cha, Kevin Aymoz, Keegan Messing, Lukas Britschgi, Matteo Rizzo. Notice how I didn’t mention Ilia? Not because I didn’t like him.. I do, I love him, but yesterday just felt that his program went a bit missing between the mistakes and it just wasn’t IT for me. Of course technically he is like from another planet, but I didn’t get such a wow-factor as I got with some other skaters with simpler programs.
Jason – just want to say thank you for your service. I know how hard it is to make a comeback and you have just gives us positive emotions and memories one after the other. I’m so happy he got to experience these worlds on such a high note and look forward to seeing what he does next in his career.
Shoma – even though I really don’t love such classical pieces, I put him here for two reasons – his quad jumps and surprisingly his crossovers. I can’t think of anyone else with crossovers like his, I feel like I can watch them endlessly, they just show how skilled he is and he can truly be called a master of sports because of those crossovers that lay the foundation for his skating. Secondly his quads, specifically the loop. I’m telling you, those jumps wouldn’t be such high quality if he didn’t have the skating skills he does. He uses ice so well for take off and the jumps looked so easy. Amazing for him to also win a gold after such a long career and I hope for him as well that maybe we see some other styles in the future.
Junhwan – probably my top 2 of mens event. Determination and dedication and also the relaxed vibe we got from him gave me so much of Yu-Na Kim memories. He delivered like no one else yesterday and that was a program to remember.
Kevin – my favourite from this event. Period. Could rewatch his programs over and over again. Thank you Kevin!
Keegan – the most entertaining figure skater of 21st century. Period. Thank you for your service Keegan!
Matteo – a person I never thought I would add to my list of favourites, but I am and after watching the exhibition I would add him again. I don’t know much about him, but I think he was great yesterday. I loved his program, I thought the costume was so funky and gave me ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ vibes and it’s just so impressive how he nailed the program. Looking forward to more from him, because with a bit more power he can definitely challenge the top guys!
Lukas – what a season for the Swiss federation! Such a solid performance, granted he doesn’t have as difficult elements as some of the other guys, but man he delivers. He extends the landings, he makes sure the quality is there – Swiss quality. I wish him a good holiday and hope to see him again next season. Seems like European men are really making moves before the next Olympics! Exciting!

Ice dance event

For those who know me, know I used to do ice dance. I still enjoy watching it and I also watched the whole event this time. But with all my favourite teams gone from ice dance, I’ve struggled to choose a favourite, but from yesterdays FD I must say Madison & Evan are undoubtedly my favourites. I’ve always liked them, but recent years as they’ve fully matured, they have started to explore choreos and musics that are so unique and out there – and that’s what makes me admire them most! They are driving the sport more forward. And Madis costumes are to dieeee for.
Other than that I love Lilah and Lewis. I think they are definitely going to be pushing into the top 3 in the next years and I love how well they can entertain the crowd. I don’t mind them becoming the next top team:).
I did love Piper&Paul as well. I’ve always liked them, because they are also one of the unique teams, who just stands out by just doing their own thing. They don’t seem to be affected by trends or what others are doing. Their lifts are unique, programs different and they always have a story to tell. And they seem to have such a good chemistry between each other that I’m definitely gonna miss them when they decide to leave the sport.

So many emotions

Ugh. So many emotions, I think I could write another 3 posts like this one, to get all my thoughts out and I feel sad that the event is over.
I watched the exhibition today and I loved that as well! Normally I skip exhibition because the programs are slow and boring, but man was I surprised today, because like 9 out of 10 did energetic programs. My favourites were Matteo, Kaori, Junhwan.
Anyway, looking forward to having some in between time between seasons.

See you in my next blog already very soon, with some totally different topics!

Johanna x JIV 🫶🏻