As it happened - ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021: Shcherbakova heads FSR sweep of ladies' medals

Hello and welcome to the third of four days of competition at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 in Stockholm on Friday, 26 March. Scroll down for our live updates below!

Olympic Channel is live blogging the event all week, and today we'll be bringing you all the action, updates, and news from the ice dance rhythm dance and ladies' singles free skate.

After Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov took the lead in the ice dance, Anna Shcherbakova converted her ladies' short program lead into a first world title.

Do bookmark this page for easy access throughout the day.

Top five, final standings, ladies overall score:

1. Anna Shcherbakova (FSR), 233.17 GOLD
2. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (FSR), 220.46 SILVER
3. Alexandra Trusova (FSR), 217.20 BRONZE
4. Karen Chen (USA), 208.63
5. Loena Hendrickx (BEL), 208.44

Top five, final standings, ice dance rhythm dance:

1. Victoria Sinitsina / Nikita Katsalapov (FSR), 88.15
2. Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue (USA), 86.05
3. Madison Chock / Evan Bates (USA), 85.15
4. Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier (CAN), 83.37
5. Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin (FSR), 83.02

All times are local to host country Sweden (Central European Time/CET).

Please refresh the page for latest updates. Most recent updates first.

10:25pm - Good night

Well, what a day we've had.

First, a fantastic rhythm dance earlier today saw favourites Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov take the lead in the ice dance ahead of tomorrow evening's free, but they're closely trailed by the two American duos.

Then I think it's fair to say that ladies' free skate was very much unexpected.

The press conference for the three medallists can be viewed below, but for now, this is where we're going to call it a night.

We'll be back tomorrow for the men's free skate featuring Hanyu Yuzuru, Kagiyama Yuma, and Nathan Chen from 11 am.

See you then!

10:06pm - Medal ceremony

So, time for the victory ceremony.

It's a sweep for the three skaters representing the Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FSR). It's the first time a team has swept the medals in the ladies event since the USA in 1991.

The bronze medallist, Alexandra Trusova – who also happened to be the winner of the free skate small gold medal.

Now this is a popular medallist. Taking silver, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva. Six years after her last Worlds appearance, when she won the title, she will take silver.

And now, the 2021 world figure skating champion in ladies' singles, Anna Shcherbakova.

For the second time in as many days, we're about to hear Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, the designated victory anthem for the FSR.

Shcherbakova can't help but laugh as the FSR flag in the middle of the flag stand isn't attached properly and is unfortunately dangling off one edge. They quickly lower it to fix it before re-raising it.

You can read Nick's report on that dramatic final here.

10:00pm - Shcherbakova reaction

"I really don't know what to say now, after my performance, I felt that I really tried to do my best and tried to fight for every element," Shcherbakova says in English with what is obviously a giant smile under her pink mask.

"I'm really not satisfied with my performance. I'm really happy that I'm first overall because it was my goal.

"It was a real fight for me, because from the first element, everything was not like I wanted and every [remaining] element I understood that I [had to] try to do my best on the element and not lose points."

About celebrating her 17th birthday on Sunday: "I really didn't think about it before because I was thinking only of my competition but maybe we will do something with my coaches. I really want to say thank you to them. It was a really hard season."

9:54pm - Anna Shcherbakova, 2021 world champion

So, it's Anna Shcherbakova's to lose.

She falls on the quad flip!

Beautiful comeback – triple flip, triple toe; the flip Ripponed.

Back-to-back double Axels, run of the mill stuff for Shcherbakova.

She was moving there on the ice during the spin, but it's scored in the positive GOEs.

Triple Lutz, hanging on. Followed by a triple flip, single Euler, triple Salchow. Nice.

And this is special, a triple Lutz (Ripponed) triple loop combination – now where have we seen that before? It's Olympic champion Alina Zagitova's signature combination, of course.

That will do it. Shcherbakova will be the world champion. It'll be an FSR sweep. 152.17, second in the segment; 233.17 total.

Not her best performance ever, but it won't matter once she is introduced as the 2021 world champion.

Now she realises it and I don't think she can believe it! Hugs from both Sergei Dudakov and Eteri Tutberidze.

GOLD to Shcherbakova, SILVER to Tuktamysheva, BRONZE to Trusova.

9:46pm - Struggles for Kihira

Kihira Rika of Japan, who's looking to break this FSR three-pronged attack.

A double Axel to start but her free skate hit the ice. Then Kihira falls on her triple Axel.

Triple flip, single Euler, triple Sal. Good recovery. Followed by a clean triple loop.

A good start to the second half of Kihira's program with a clean double Axel, triple toe.

Triple flip, double toe. That was planned as a triple toe, but the doubling looked intentional.

The last element doesn't go off cleanly, a triple Lutz landed with both feet on the ice and that's going to be a downgrade too.

What a shame. She was listed for a quad Sal but chose not to perform it. This won't be enough for a medal.

126.62 is only good for eighth in the free, and 205.70 overall is sixth. Wow!

9:38pm - Tuktamysheva guaranteed bronze

Now the 2015 European Champion in this very arena, and also the 2015 world champion, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of FSR.

She has two triple Axels listed. Tuktamysheva turns out of the first, a combination with a double toe.

The second triple Axel, though, is beautifully executed.

She switches things up a bit and lands a triple Lutz, triple toe combination – not on her original submitted planned content – but that's a fall on her triple flip. Oh, and the toe was landed on the quarter too perhaps.

Double Axel, single Euler, triple Salchow – the Salchow landing not the cleanest.

A clean triple Lutz, and she finishes with a clean triple loop.

So there's no sign of Tuktamysheva's usual triple Lutz-double Axel jump sequence.

You know, with the mistakes, I'm not this will be enough to displace Trusova, who is – incredibly – going to make it onto the podium.

That scores 141.60 for the segment, and yes – it's 220.46 overall; that guarantees a medal for Tuktamysheva, who is taken aback and what emotion!

9:30pm - Trusova still leads

Here's the second American, Karen Chen.

Double Axel in combination with a triple toe to start. Then a lovely triple Lutz. Very graceful jumping.

Chen's triple flip looks slightly off but a great bounce-back triple loop.

Triple Lutz, double toe, double loop combination, which could have been better; then a clear error on a triple Salchow as that's slightly under – should be called on the quarter.

One combination left, it's a triple loop, double toe – maybe under on the toe?

A beautiful skate. Chen can't believe her own performance, hands on her head in joy. Coach Tammy Gambill looks delighted too.

It's a segment score of 134.23 points, fourth in the free; a total of 208.63, second for now.

9:22pm - Two falls for Kim

South Korean champion Kim Ye-lim starts with a very nice triple Lutz, triple toe.

But she turns out of her double Axel. Kim's triple flip, as well as her triple loop, are both solid.

A fall on the triple Lutz to start the second half of her routine, unfortunately.

She gets her three-jump combo – double Axel, double toe, double loop – off, but suffers a second fall on the triple Salchow.

This is going to drop Kim down the standings somewhat. It's only ninth in the free skate and seventh overall, below her teammate Lee Hae-in.

With four skaters left, Belgium's Loena Hendrickx – with a previous ISU Championships best of fifth at the 2018 Europeans – is guaranteed a top six finish!

9:14pm - Sakamoto surprised

First up in this final group, Sakamoto Kaori of Japan, skating to the soundtrack from The Matrix.

Double Axel, cleanly landed. Nice start. Oh, but I've spoken too soon. Triple flip, triple toe combination but Sakamoto turned out of the flip. The combo still got positive GOEs from the judges though.

Recovers with a triple Lutz – wrong edge? –, and follows that up with a strong triple Salchow.

Double Axel, triple toe, double toe, superb! Great speed and poise.

Triple flip – clean this time – in combination with a double toe.

And a fantastic triple loop to finish her jumps. Yes! What a program, what a performance.

Just the one small error. Sakamoto looks almost relieved that she delivered a more or less clean routine.

Of course, this doesn't have the technical score of Trusova's routine, but should still threaten for the overall lead.

Wow – that's surprising. Only third. 207.80 overall. Sakamoto looks really surprised.

8:59pm - Tennell into fourth

On the ice now, the last skater of Group 3, American champion Bradie Tennell.

She'll certainly be hoping for a good finish to her Worlds here.

Triple Lutz, triple toe to open. Double Axel. A nice triple loop. And the triple Salchow rounding out the first half of this routine looked perhaps slightly under too.

Onto this second portion with the extra 10% base value now. Triple Lutz, double toe – she had been listed for a triple toe in that combination.

Nice double Axel. One more combination coming up… but Tennell steps out of the triple flip – under? – and can't get the rest of the element off.

She'll be disappointed with that. It's such a beautifully-choreographed program, though.

197.81 total points, she's in fourth so a top 10 guaranteed with six left to skate.

8:35pm - Trusova won't change coaches

Speaking to media in the virtual mixed zone after her skate, Alexandra Trusova has just said she has no plans to change coaches and replace Plushenko ahead of the Olympic season in 2021/2022.

"Everyone was helping me, especially after the short program. My parents called me very often, Evgeni Victorovich [Plushenko] helped me here, Dmitry Sergeevich [Mikhailov] called me just before the warm up.

"Everyone helped me to get into the right mood and I am very happy about it. About the transfers – I am not planning on changing anything. Everything works for me. I don't know about any rumours and I am currently not planning on changing anything.

"Of course, I am not happy, I wanted to perform a clean skate. As always I will keep trying to skate clean.

''When you do an unsuccessful skate, you forget it and then just keep going."

Meanwhile, Loena Hendrickx of Belgium has just gone into second. She is delighted with her score.

8:20pm - Trusova falls twice

Here we go, Alexandra Trusova on the ice. Coach Evgeni Plushenko looks on from the boards.

Quadruple flip to open is clean. Remember, Trusova suffered a surprising result in the short which resulted in her finishing only 12th.

She falls on the quad Salchow. A lovely quad Lutz, triple toe to recover. Both the quad flip and Lutz-toe combination received Grades of Execution over +3.

Double Axel, leading into her spins and choreo sequence.

A second fall, on a quad Lutz. Then Trusova turns out of a quad toe before going on to complete the single Euler, triple Salchow bit of that combination. She lands the triple Lutz, triple toe.

This will be a disappointment for Trusova, in her first senior worlds. On her day, she's capable of huge jumps – she had five quads listed in today's free – but it just hasn't come together for her this week.

A look of dejection, perhaps, on her face. Or maybe a recognition that it just was not to be.

She still slots into top spot for now, but she's not going to hold on to that by any means. 217.20 total.

7:49pm - Ryabova leads through two groups

A really unfortunate routine there for Jenni Saarinen of Finland, who falls five times during her performance (on four jumps and during her step sequence) – and she will be 11th of the 11 to skate so far.

Here's the last skater of the first half of the free program, Azerbaijan's Ekaterina Ryabova.

Triple Lutz, triple toe is fine to open. A Rippon triple loop.

Ryabova swaps the order of her triple Salchow and triple flip, performing the flip first. She still has two Axels to come in the second half of the program.

The first is in a double Axel, triple toe, double toe combination; the second she decides to perform stand-alone (having been listed for a combination with a double toe loop).

She closes the jumps with a triple Lutz, double toe.

So, what to make of all of that? Some decent jumps but none of them particularly stand out. By my count, the judges scored only one of those seven jumps with a Grade of Execution over +1.

I think she will go into the lead here over Kiibus, but it wasn't as perfect as she could have performed, it feels like. She's got a big grin coming off the ice though and that's great to see.

It's 189.46 points in total.

Up next after the ice is resurfaced, Alexandra Trusova. We'll have her routine as well as Bradie Tennell's in detail, then routine-by-routine coverage of the top six.

6:55pm - Olympic qualification

Through the first six skaters, Estonia's Eva-Lotta Kiibus leads the standings.

Don't forget, Olympic qualification quota spots are up for grabs today.

That bodes well for the Netherlands' Lindsay van Zundert, the first skater on the ice in the short program who subsequently made it through to today's free and was again the first skater today.

She scored 174.50 total and is currently in second.

6:30pm - Ladies' free preview: All eyes on Shcherbakova

Nick McCarvel writes:

The Russian will celebrate her 17th birthday on Sunday and is already a three-time national champion for the Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FSR), but this will be her biggest challenge yet.

At Russian nationals in December, Shcherbakova landed two quads – a flip and a Lutz – and will need the same sort of steely, athletic prowess that she showed there to come away with her first title.

The lingering question: Is her health 100 percent?

You can read Nick's full preview of the free skating here.

Shcherbakova's planned program content shows her listing all three of her combinations today in the second half of her routine, where they will carry an additional 10% in base value.

6:08pm - Welcome back

Good evening and welcome back to Stockholm from wherever you are – if you're like me, in your living room at home.

The first ladies' free skating group is out on ice and we're just about ready to get this final underway.

Don't forget, you can get in touch with me on Twitter.

4:45pm - Time for a quick break

Well, that was a super entertaining rhythm dance, wasn't it?

Time for a short break on the blog now but we'll crown the second world champion of 2021 later this evening.

The ladies' free skate starts at 6 pm local time, and we'll be here to cover all of that.

Before that, you can read Nick's report on the rhythm dance here and his preview of the ladies' free here.

4:35pm - More reaction

Reacting after their skate in the mixed zone, Nikita Katsalapov said of their season: "It was truly a difficult year, but we would love to forget about it as quickly as we can.

"Possibly it gave us some extra powers to activate what we couldn't at the first half of the season.

"Now we both feel well and feel very satisfied with our short program. In general we showed what we can do, it was clean and soulful, very light.

"Our coaches and our team are satisfied too. We have a very good feeling."

Added Sinitsina: "We will try to get ready for tomorrow with cool heads, without any distracting thoughts. We have to finish the work that we've already done. We came here ready to show our maximum."

4:10pm - Press conference starting

The press conference featuring the top three teams is about to begin, and you can watch along:

4:05pm - Gilles and Poirier react to fourth place in rhythm dance

Nick McCarvel reports:

Piper Gilles, on how they feel about their rhythm dance: "I think we are absolutely thrilled. We were nervous going into this competition not having competitions this season. ... This was one of the easiest programs we've done because we feel so fit. We've really stuck with our training."

Paul Poirier, on skating in an empty arena: "I didn't notice it was empty. I went into blinder mode. We've done lots of simulations at home, but competing against the top couples in the world is something different. We were focused."

Gilles: "I think we were confident in ourselves. It's hard coming into a competition like this ... [but] it's exactly what we had been training for. This one felt fun.

3:59pm - Second for Hubbell and Donohue

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue start with their Finnstep.

Level three on that, before their pattern dance type step sequence and twizzles both score level fours for both skaters.

This is clean so far, great stuff. A level three on the midline step sequence and a four on the last lift.

Christina Aguilera's Burlesque soundtrack provided the perfect accompaniment to that routine!

A double fist pump from Donohue on his knees on the ice as the routine concludes.

They are happy with that! It's 86.05, a new PB for the Americans by 0.1 points.

So Sinitsina and Katsalapov take the rhythm dance small gold medal.

3:52pm - New leaders

Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov are Singin' In The Rain for us today.

Their twizzles get us off on the right foot, scoring level fours for both. Level three on the midline step sequence.

Hang on, the Finnstep's only been graded at level two. That will lose them some points on Chock and Bates.

A level three on the pattern step for Sinitsina but the FSR duo close it out with a nice rotational lift.

Lovely routine. Alexander Zhulin loved that on the boards.

This may be close for the lead… It's 88.15, not really close in the end. Three points clear. Higher scores than Chock and Bates both technically and in program components too.

They recently told our Russian-language colleagues about their tough season.

3:44pm - Chock/Bates entertain

The first of the two American pairs, Madison Chock and Evan Bates skating to Too Darn Hot.

A nice straight line lift opens the routine. Solid.

Level four on the Finnstep, nicely done. Just the second couple today to hit that mark.

Chock gets only a level three on the pattern dance type step sequence, but both team members nail the twizzles.

Big smiles on both faces as they glide across the ice to this great music. A level three diagonal step sequence.

That was entertaining! It's 85.15, just shy of their personal best.

3:36pm - Only third for the Italians

Here are Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy.

The midline step sequence comes quite a ways into their routine. It's a level 3, then a level 4 straight line lift.

Loving the music choice of Grease.

No problems for either on the twizzles, a level three on the Finnstep. They finish with the pattern dance type step sequence.

A solid routine from the duo. Coach Barbara Poli loved that!

It's 81.04, third place for now.

3:30pm - Gilles and Poirier into first

Thanks, Nick. The Canadians start their routine with nice twizzles, graded level fours.

A high grade of execution on the midline step sequence, a level three; their Finnstep is also a level three so that's worth less than Stepanova and Bukin's.

The level has definitely been stepped up here in the final group. Gilles gets a level three; Poirier a four for their pattern dance step sequence before the routine ends with a brilliant rotational lift.

That was very nice.

83.37, first place, an audible "Yes!" from Poirier.

3:25pm - Gilles/Poirier looking to level up

A team for a decade, Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier were long the No.2 or 3-ranked squad from their country. They are now the top ice dancers from Canada - and are looking to climb the international ladder, too.

Long known as the "creative" or "interesting" team, the duo are aiming for a medal in Stockholm. And want to break away from that moniker as just fun-to-watch performers.

“If being [that team] was really all that our athletic career was going to be about, [then] we recognized that was something that we could just do as performers in shows,” Poirier told Olympic Channel in a recent exclusive interview.

“I think now we're at that point where, like, we don't need to we know that we have the ability to be in the last group, to be pushing like podium spots,” Gilles added.

They're also not shy about saying they'd like to aim for the Olympic podium at Beijing 2022, too.

Read our feature with the Canadian due - on the ice now. - NM

3:16pm - FSR's Stepanova/Bukin flawless

Here they are, Stepanova and Bukin.

They have a personal best score of 84.07 points.

Level fours for both on the sequential Twizzles, and a level four on the Finnstep. They're the first couple to get a level four on that element today.

High grades of execution too, this is good from the FSR pair; him in a black suit and her a red dress.

The pattern dance type step sequence is graded a level three for both Stepanova and Bukin, as is the midline step sequence.

Level four on the curve lift. It's a fantastic program.

This should see them into the lead. Which it does, it's 83.02 points and first place for now with five to go.

3:04pm - New PB for Fear and Gibson

A superb routine from Great Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, hitting level 3s and 4s on all their elements including the Finnstep where most other couples only managed a level 2.

Their score of 77.42 is a new personal best by around a point.

The big couple to watch in this group, however, is FSR's Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin. They'll be skating to Moulin Rouge.

2:38pm - Exclusive Sara Hurtado interview

Sara Hurtado and Kirill Khaliavin of Spain skate first in this next group that's now on ice warming up.

Hurtado, who trains in Moscow, recently spoke exclusively to Olympic Channel's Lorena Encabo about her love for the sport, and her future plans.

Give it a watch below.

2:26pm - No quad Axel: Hanyu decided only days before worlds 

The quadruple Axel - talked about for Hanyu Yuzuru and Nathan Chen the last two years - was an option for Hanyu up until days before departing for Stockholm, Japanese media reports.

Reporter Kurasawa Hitoshi: "Hanyu finished [in] the mixed zone. He talked about a lot of things. But according to Hanyu, he had decided not to try the quad Axel about three days before his departure."

Hanyu had attempted the quad Axel in practice at the 2019 Grand Prix Final, but never in competition. The jump has never been done in international competition.

2:03pm - Americans Hawayek/Baker slot into second

One of my favourite dance pairs to watch up now, Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker of the USA.

They've always got great programs full of humour.

This one is set to the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive and other songs from Saturday Night Fever.

Level threes on the pattern dance type step sequence from both, and also on the midline step sequence.

Some points given back to the judges in this routine, it has to be said.

Still a lovely dance, and the other skaters in the spectators' seats are cheering.

It's 75.08, just below Zagorski and Guerreiro.

UPDATE (2:10 pm) – Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen of Canada just took the lead.

1:35pm - New PB for Zagorski/Guerreiro

Here come Olympians Tiffani Zagorski and Jonathan Guerreiro of the FSR.

They're performing to the soundtrack from The Greatest Showman.

A beautiful program, the twizzles done well, although Guerreiro only received a level 3 on the pattern dance type step sequence. Zagorski had a level 4.

75.58, unsurprisingly into the lead, and that is a new personal best by 0.09 points.

1:15pm - Ladies' free practice: Shcherbakova falls three times

Ahead of the ladies' free skating later this evening, the top 24 from Wednesday's short program have been practising for the final.

Short program leader Anna Shcherbakova of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia fell three times in her run through, including on a quad flip.

Hat-tip to @rockerskating for pointing it out.

1:07pm - Withdrawal to report

Good afternoon, this is ZK Goh taking over from Nick on the blog.

Group 4 is about to take to the ice, however Armenia's Tina Garabedian / Simon Proulx Senecal have withdrawn for medical reasons.

First up on the ice, Japan's Komatsubara Misato and Tim Koleto.

Koleto, born in the USA, is married to Komatsubara and has received his Japanese citizenship, taking the name Komatsubara Takeru. This makes the couple eligible to represent Japan at the Olympic Games, where citizenship is a requirement.

1:02pm - Lopareva/Brissaud lead through 3 groups

We're just getting warmed up on the ice in the rhythm dance, with Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud of France leading through three groups with a 66.80. The top teams will score around the 90-point mark. The French are the first duo to secure their spot in the free dance.

Group 4 (of 7) is when things start to get more serious, starting with Tiffany Zagorski and Jonathan Guerreiro, the three-time Russian medallists.

And to watch in Group 5: Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha of Canada, Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker of the U.S. and Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen, another Canadian duo.

Twenty teams in total will make the free dance. See the full starting list here.

11:53am - Dance: A first-time world champ to be crowned

There will be a new world champion ice dance team this weekend.

That's because four-time and reigning world champs Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron have opted out of the world championships, citing the pandemic and their struggle to find a regular training routine amidst shutdowns in Montreal, where they are based.

The duo hasn't competed since the European Championships last January, where they were a surprise second to Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov.

So who is the door open for? Sinitsina/Katsalapov for sure, though they have had their own challenges this season, as well as the American teams, Madison Chock and Evan Bates as well as Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue.

All those teams are former world medallists, but never have won gold.

More on the top dance teams soon. Meanwhile, we spoke exclusively to Gabby and Guillaume last August. See the feature interview below - and read more on them here.

11:21am - Digesting the day that was

The first group of ice dancers are on the ice! There are 32 teams set to compete in the rhythm dance, and this season's required pattern dance element is the Finnstep, which you'll see in each duo's rhythm dance program as we go.

But wow - what a day Thursday was.

First, a thought on Mishina/Galliamov, who were world debutants and skate away with the title, both their short program and free skate brimming with excellent pair skating. "We were really surprised to come first," a shellshocked Mishina said after the win. "I don't know what to say in this moment because we don't even understand what it means yet."

The last time a team won on debut in pairs? The great Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, the 1988 and 1994 Olympic champs. They won the title in 1986.

And, in the men's, Hanyu is a program away from his first world title in four years, the two-time Olympic champ firing on every cylinder in his "Let Me Entertain You" short, scoring a 106.98. "This is worlds after all," a happy Hanyu said to reporters. "All skaters are going to bring out their best skating. I knew that I had to skate my best, which is what I wanted to achieve."

10:45am - Hello Friday! Rhythm dance to kick things off

Fridays are for dancing, aren't they?

Greetings on Day 3 of the world championships in Stockholm, where today the ice dance will kick off with the rhythm dance (beginning right about now!) and tonight it's the ladies' free program, from 6pm local time in Sweden.

I'm Nick McCarvel (find me on Twitter here), and today it's myself and my college ZK Goh who will be guiding you through the action, providing you with the best behind-the-scenes coverage we can manage. Have a thought? Don't be afraid to give us a shout!

Before we get stuck into the day's action, how about Thursday? What a fantastic, fearless day of skating, the men throwing down in the short program and a surprise result in the pairs' event, where Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov are champions on debut - something not done at worlds in pair skating in some 35 years!

Two-time Olympic champ Hanyu Yuzuru was back to his other-worldly ways in the short, and he leads into Saturday's free. His 17-year-old Japanese compatriot Kagiyama Yuma had a big splash himself, scoring 100+ and is in second. Nathan Chen is going to try and make a comeback in the free, the two-time and reigning world champ fell for the first time in over two years (!) in competition on a quad Lutz and sits in third.

Here's yesterday's live blog if you want to re-live any part of the action.

We here at Olympic Channel are buzzing about the day of skating to come. We hope you are, too! Let's do this.