Daily Times

Alysa Liu rarely wavers when it comes to anything, whether it be her abrupt decision to retire after the 2022 Winter Olympics, or the American figure skater’s similarly stunning decision to announce her comeback early last year.

So when the 19-year-old was pondering what to do for her entrance Wednesday night, when Liu’s name was announced for the warm-up to her short program at the world championships, she found herself in a rare situation: She was indecisive.

“Then I saw there was a lot of space,” Liu said, “and I thought, `What a great place to do a cartwheel!´”

So she cartwheeled, right there on the carpet leading to the ice. And Liu landed it perfectly, just like everything in her program. The result was her international-best of 74.58 points, putting Liu ahead of Mone Chiba of Japan and American teammate Isabeau Levito – in the midst of her own comeback from an injury – going into Friday night’s free skate.

Liu and Levito will be trying to become the first U.S. women’s world champion since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.

“Moments like these made me realize 16-year-old me was so right. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t decide to retire a little bit,” said Liu, who was simply burnt out when she stepped away, the sport feeling less like a joy and more like a job back then.

“People would tell me not to make the decisions I made,” she added, “but I’m really glad. I have good intuition, I think.”

Chiba scored 73.44 points and Levito scored 73.33. Kaori Sakamoto of Japan was fifth with 71.03 points as she tries to become the first to win four consecutive titles since Carol Heiss in the 1950s and ’60s. Two-time defending U.S. champion Amber Glenn, who was among the favorites in Boston, fell on her opening triple axel and was ninth with 67.65.

“Just going to have to rely on my training,” Glenn said, when asked about bouncing back Friday night.

In the pairs short program Wednesday night, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara took a big step toward regaining the title they lost a year ago with their energetic program to “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones. The Japanese skaters earned 76.57 points to land in first place ahead of Sara Conti and Niccolo Macci, the surprising Italians, who scored 74.61.