Sawt Falasteen - World champion Liu wins Skate America women's crown

Liu scored 140.54 points to win Sunday's free skate in a spellbinding performance at the 1980 Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, New York.

The 24-year-old Californian won the overall title with 214.27 points with Japan's Rinka Watanabe settling for a runner-up spot for the second consecutive year on 210.96 with Georgia's Anastasiia Gubanova third on 204.69.

But Liu was somewhat surprised at the judges' scores, saying she was disappointed in her jumps and confused when she took the lead.

"I did not like my performance and when I did it, jump-wise, it did not feel very good," Liu said after claiming her first ISU Grand Prix triumph.

Watanabe won the short program but was only third behind Liu and Gubanova in the free skate.

Liu, 20, retired in 2022 but returned for the 2024-2025 season and captured the world title earlier this year in Boston, putting her among the favorites for gold at February's Winter Olympics in Italy.

Chock and Bates, who captured Saturday's rhythm dance, won Sunday's free dance with 127.81 points with Canada's Majorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha second on 119.74.

In the overall competition, Chock and Bates, who also captured Saturday's rhythm dance, won with a total of 212.58 points with Lajoie and Lagha second on 197.16 and French duo Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud third on 192.61.

The ISU Grand Prix series continues next week in Helsinki.

D.AbuRida--SF-PST