What are the World Figure Skating Championships?
The ISU World Figure Skating Championships are the sport's annual world titles, first contested in 1896. At Prague 2026, Ilia Malinin won a third consecutive men's title with a runaway "redemption" free skate weeks after his Olympic disappointment; Kaori Sakamoto took the women's crown, Hase/Volodin the pairs, and Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron the dance title.[1] [2]
| Season | Pool / Format | Host cities |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | M: Malinin · W: Sakamoto | Prague (CZE) — Malinin's third straight; Hase/Volodin pairs, Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron dance |
| 2025 | M: Malinin · W: Liu | Boston (USA) — Alysa Liu's comeback world title |
| 2024 | M: Malinin · W: Sakamoto | Montréal (CAN) — the quad-Axel free skate |
| 2023 | M: Uno · W: Sakamoto | Saitama (JPN) |
| 2022 | M: Uno · W: Sakamoto | Montpellier (FRA) |
| 2021 | M: Chen · W: Shcherbakova | Stockholm (SWE) |
| 2020 | — | Canceled (COVID-19) |
| 2019 | M: Chen · W: Zagitova | Saitama (JPN) |
| 2018 | M: Chen · W: Osmond | Milan (ITA) |
| 2017 | M: Hanyu · W: Medvedeva | Helsinki (FIN) |
Singles world champions (M/W) of the last ten editions.
How do skaters qualify?
Federations earn one to three entries per discipline from the previous year's results and select their teams — meaning a Worlds berth is a national-team credential in itself — with minimum technical scores required for entry.[2] [3]
Why do they matter?
Outside the Olympics the Worlds are the sport's supreme stage — the roll of champions from Sonja Henie to Hanyu to Malinin is figure skating's history, and Worlds results set the following season's entries and seedings.[1] [2]
References
- ISU — Malinin seals third World title in Prague. Accessed August 2026.
- Olympics.com — 2026 Worlds: schedule, results and medallists. Accessed August 2026.
- ISU — official site. Accessed August 2026.