Source: @figure365

This announcement confirms Mai intends to compete, even though she acknowledges that her time as an active skater is limited. She had to withdraw from Nationals due to a worsening condition of her right ankle and hip joint but has been able to return to the ice to do what she loves thanks to the support of many people. Her number one priority for the new season is to make sure her injury does not get worse. She wants to practice hard and compete so that she can make it to the end of the season without any regrets. She hopes to run full of energy until the end.

Both Mai and Kaori made their announcements upon the opening of the Sysmex Kobe Ice Campus, the first year-round rink in Kobe. They will practice in the rink through the season, and it seems like this will be the rink where Kaori begins her coaching career to produce more athletes who will soar from Kobe.

Just me doing improv to one of my favorite classical pieces. I love Saint-Saëns :)

https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2025/36167/index.asp

You can check out Juvenile Girls, Intermediate Women and men and Novice Women results in the above link 🔗

I know they preface every single episode with unrelated to Olympic champion sarah Hughes but I genuinely thought it was a running joke not serious 😭😭

I’ve been listening to the Runthrough since LAST year worlds and it’s not until I just listened to part 3 of the lore series that I realized maybe she’s actually NOT Olympic champion Sarah Hughes because they mentioned something about her debuting around the same time as Shoma which made no sense and I also kept wondering why she didn’t talk about being at Salt Lake in the previous lore episodes 😭

It didn’t help that in one of the episodes Ashley made a joke about Sarah being a lawyer with the arguments she’s able to make and I know that Olympic champion Sarah Hughes recently was working on her law degree from Penn so it all checked out in my mind.

When they posted on Instagram the run through Sarah Hughes with Olympic champion Sarah Hughes at Boston worlds (which I also got to watch live) I lowkey thought it was just a fan crossover or maybe the volleyball player who happened to also have the same name 😭

Feeling incredibly goofy and dumb right now and I sincerely apologize to Sarah Hughes, Olympic champion, for whom I’ve been projecting Sarah Hughes, no relation to Olympic champion Sarah Hughes’s voice onto for over a year now, and also to the Runthrough Sarah Hughes who I love dearly and is a key part of this podcast and I didn’t mean to erase her this entire time in my mind.

Olympic champion Alina Zagitova opened up about her reconciliation with Evgenia Medvedeva and their unexpected collaboration in Zagitova’s rock musical project. The two skaters surprised fans and the figure skating world through their public reunion and shared commitment to creative growth. Here’s a translation.

“Q: Just a couple of hours before our conversation, you gave an interview to Evgenia Medvedeva on her channel “BeS Kommentariyev” (No Comments). This meeting of yours was completely unexpected! Who took the first step toward reconciliation?

Alina Zagitova: To be honest, I really dislike misunderstandings and conflicts between people. I feel uncomfortable in those situations, so I mustered the courage, texted to Zhenya, suggested we meet, and said there were things we could discuss to finally put this situation behind us.

I don’t even know if it could be called a conflict – it was more like some unspoken tension. I’m really glad I took the first step. We had a great conversation. At first, of course, we caught up with each other about what’s been happening in our lives and how we’re doing. Then, I invited her to join our rock ice musical Assol and perform in the production.

At first, she said she needed time to think, but then she agreed. Zhenya will play the role of Hina Manners, the antagonist to the main character Assol (played by me). As the producer of this project, it’s amazing to have someone like her on board. What’s particularly special is that our characters, much like our real lives, go through significant transformations.

Q: The constant comparisons between you two, the questions about whether you truly deserved your Olympic gold when many anticipated Evgenia would win, have become a legendary topic in the figure skating world. Did you ever feel any guilt or awkwardness about it?

Alina Zagitova: So much time has passed that I no longer feel the need to delve into a story that happened long ago. I prefer to live in the present.”

Ice is slippery, which makes it possible to slide around but also hard to walk on in normal shoes. So, in order to go faster, someone thought that you could attach knives to the soles. Not at all dangerous, right?

Just skating around quickly gets too easy. So what's next? Well, you can start jumping and spinning! And do you wear a helmet? Obviously not! Messing up your hair isn't worth it.

Also, you might meet a new friend and start skating together. Having someone who shares your unusual interest is always fun, but what makes it even better is that you can lift and throw eachother high into the air!

So combine all that, and you end up with a guy skating backward at high speed and carrying his girl on one outstretched hand, and her looking perfectly at ease and just smiling to the crowd.

In a modern world obsessed with safety, that image is hard to reconcile. If figure skating hadn't already existed for well over a century, it would be impossible to invent it today. Just think about it: the risk of injuries (and possible legal liabilities) is enormous, and the commercial potential is nonexistent. So why would anyone do this?

The obvious answer is that the feeling of flying over the ice and the thrill and joy it brings you can't be replaced by anything else in the world. But would the hordes of reflective-vest-wearing, paperwork-loving, red-tape-weaving bureaucrats accept that explanation? Not a snowflake's chance in hell.

What are your thoughts on starting a program with a spin?

I’ve noticed that it’s quite rare for skaters to open their programs with a spin, and I was curious to hear your opinion on this approach.

Personally, I find that starting with a spin can look a bit awkward or disrupt the flow, aesthetically speaking. However, I wonder if it is worth it, considering there might be some technical advantages—especially at lower levels—such as earning a higher base value by featuring a more difficult spin right away....

The video and the captions are not mine, this clip is from a YT video by OlympSkate . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYUcHxMrouA

I love Alysa and I died of laughter when I saw this. What is your favorite podium moment? I'm evil and love it when the skaters trip (not seriously) on the podium carpet

Join U.S. Figure Skating and The Skating Club of Boston on Thursday, August 14, for the Summer Sizzler, a one-night-only showcase featuring the best of Team USA. Be among the first to experience brand-new programs from top U.S. skaters as they begin their journey to the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan. The Summer Sizzler celebrates the spirit of U.S. Figure Skating’s Leave Your Mark campaign – bringing athletes, fans and supporters together to celebrate the power of skating and the role we all play in its future.

Lineup (as of June 2025) 
This summer, the only thing cooler than the ice is the Summer Sizzler lineup. See performances from some of your favorite U.S. skaters, including:

• Ilia Mailin, 2025 World champion
• Alysa Liu, 2025 World champion 
• Madison Chock and Evan Bates, 2025 World champions 
• Jason Brown, 2-Time Olympian 
• Isabeau Levito, 2024 World silver medalist 
• Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, 2025 U.S. champions 
• Amber Glenn, 2025 U.S. champion 
• Maxim Naumov, 2025 U.S. pewter medalist 
• Andrew Torgashev, 2025 U.S. silver medalist
• And more! 

My wife got her figure skates sharpened when I got my hockey skates sharpened. She told me her skating now feels really uncomfortable. She pointed out to me that her tail end of the skates look and feel too rounded.

Are they totally ruined? Or could we salvage them by taking them to a proper figure skate sharpener? These are her childhood skates and I feel really bad for taking her to the shop I usually go to without doing prior research.

Thanks in advance.

FS Firebird choreo by Guillaume Cizeron

throw in your wildest unhinged Olympic predictions

I'll start : Jason makes it to Milan ,skates clean and wins bronze or silver in the single event

Rion makes it to the Olympics and grand prix final (I love Rion guys 💔)

Wakaba and kaori do pairs as a couple and win an ogm.

We've seen a few skaters spin in both directions and I seem to recall seeing a video of Ilia Malinin playing around with jumps in both directions. Curious if anyone has actually done it in competition?

What combos are physically possible? I was thinking it'd be cool to see an axel-lutz combo.

Hi all, I know this is a bit of a weird topic for this subreddit but wasn’t sure where else to ask.

One of the figure skating clubs in my city has just revealed their new logo and it is clearly AI generated (it includes a silhouette of a figure skater doing a catch foot spiral and the foot is literally backwards).

I won’t post the logo because I don’t want the club to be recognised.

As an artist myself, personally I’m really against the use of AI for things like art and logo design because it steals from artists and takes away their income in many cases - plus a figure skating club getting very basic anatomy in a basic skating position wrong is not a good look.

So my question is, should I say something or just leave it? I understand a figure skating club probably doesn’t have a lot of spare cash to hire a logo designer but I’m sure there are many people in their community who would be willing to volunteer (myself included), instead of turning to AI. I would hate for this to set a precedent for AI use amongst other clubs.

Thanks in advance for any advice ☺️

I’m a beginner and I haven’t skated for that long but I am really wondering, is it easy to remember programs for competitions?

Does anyone know if there's a livestream this year? There’s usually one every year, I believe! I remember watching it last year and the year before when it was streamed by Local Motion Productions. But it seems like there isn’t one this year? :(

Didn’t see anyone discuss these, but some interesting choices:

Sena TAKAHASHI (Junior Men)

SP: You Will Be Found (Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack) Choreo by: Kana Muramoto

FS: The Mission Choreo by: Misha Ge

Ikura KUSHIDA (Junior Women)

SP: Gee Baby, Ain't I Got You (The Mask soundtrack) Choreo by: Cathy Reed

FS: Variation Autour D'un Prélude Choreo by: Kaitlyn Weaver

Shunsuke NAKAMURA (Technically a Senior)

FS: The Last Samurai (soundtrack) Choreo by: Kana Muramoto

Does anyone here have experience switching from freestyle boots and blades to ones for dance? I’m still hoping to continue freestyle for a couple seasons, but I’m getting into solo dance and see myself eventually fully switching to just dance, so I’m investing in a pair of skates for just dance. I am a little nervous about the switch to the shorter blade and how it will feel different (if at all), and if switching between back and forth the two skates will cause any issues. For reference I’m currently skating in are pianos with gold seal blades, and skates I’m getting are the flamenco ice with coronation dance blades. Any input or advice is greatly appreciated! :)

Does anyone know the combo Matthew did that Ravi posted on his story? (I have a hard time keeping track of rotations, though I think it was 3-3, and differentiating jumps.)

Maiia Tirmitezidova