Summary

  • Use the 'watch live' button at the top of the page for BBC TV coverage.

  • Team GB's figure skaters return to Prague.

  • Medal hopefuls Fear and Gibson are back on the ice.

  • Kristen Spours takes to the rink for the final time before her retirement.

Live Reporting

  1. Watch: World Figure Skating Championships - Pairs Free Skating

    Pairs Free Skating

    Date: Thursday 26 March Venue: O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic

    Coverage: Watch live on the Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website & app from 17:15 GMT

    To catch up on all the action for 30 days, click here.

  2. A full complement of GB stars

    Emma Smith
    BBC Sport journalist

    Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson will aim to replicate their historic World medal from 2025Getty Images

    All eight figure skaters who represented Team GB in Milan are back in Prague following a mixed Games on the ice for Britain.

    Ice dance couple Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson won Britain's first world championship medal since 1984 when they claimed bronze last year in Boston.

    It raised hopes of an Olympic podium, but a mistake by Fear during their free dance left them in a disappointing seventh place. They will aim for better in Prague.

    Also competing for Britain in ice dance are Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez, fresh from reaching the free dance on their Olympic debuts.

    In the pairs, Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby will aim to build on an encouraging 15th place from Milan after a turbulent start to the Games including a fall for Vaipan-Law in the team event and a wrist injury for Digby.

    Kristen Spours competes in the women's event - her last competition before her injury enforced retirement - while Edward Appleby is in the men's singles.

  3. Malinin seeks redemption after Milan nightmare

    Emma Smith
    BBC Sport journalist

    Ilia Malinin fell twice and performed just a single axel in his nightmare Olympic performanceGetty Images

    One of the most shocking moments of Milan-Cortina was the sight of Ilia Malinin, unbeaten in two-and-a-half years, crumbling under pressure during the men's free skate.

    Malinin, nicknamed 'Quad God' for being the first man to land the quadruple axel, was pre-emptively crowned by many as Olympic champion. But he fell twice in his final performance and finished eighth.

    The 21-year-old is the reigning world champion, and will look to make amends for his Milanese nightmare by defending that title.

    His chances are boosted by the absence of the man who won gold in Milan. Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov is skipping the Worlds because of burnout.

    As in the women's event, the main contenders to American Malinin will come from Japan. Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato earned Olympic silver and bronze and will contend for the podium again here.

    Also watch for Adam Siao Him Fa of France and Georgia's Nika Egadze, who like Malinin failed to live up to their medal potential at the Winter Games.

  4. Sakamoto aims to exit on a high after Liu withdraws

    Emma Smith
    BBC Sport journalist

    Alysa Liu's withdrawal means she will not win Olympic gold and the world title in this same seasonGetty Images

    Just as at the Olympics, expect the women's competition to be a fight between USA and Japan for the medal places.

    However the balance has been tipped back in favour of the Japanese after Liu, the reigning world champion who added Olympic gold last month with a stunning free skate routine, withdrew from competition.

    It completed an incredible comeback for Liu, who quit the sport aged 16 after the 2022 Olympics as she was not enjoying herself.

    Since the Olympics, Liu has become a mainstream celebrity in the USA - she was recently seen at the Oscars - but admits she has not had enough prep time to compete effectively at the Worlds.

    "There's so many commitments I have and activities that are overlapping with the Worlds," she told NBC. "And then also I don't have much time training, so I was like, I can't be doing the Worlds. I don't think I would be able to put out my best performance."

    Most likely to step up to the top of the podium is Milan silver medallist and three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto, in her final performance before retirement.

    Her Japanese compatriot and heir apparent is 17-year-old Ami Nakai, whose Olympic bronze marked her as a star of the future.

    Meanwhile American champion Amber Glenn will be looking for atonement after a disaster in Milan, where an invalid element in her short program scuppered her medal chances.

  5. How to watch

    BBC iPlayer

    Competition takes place from 25 to 29 March, and action from the free skates and free dance - where the medals are decided - will be live on BBC iPlayer.

    To catch up with all the action for 30 days, click here.

    All times GMT

    Thursday, 26th March

    1715-2100: Pairs Free Skating

    Friday, 27th March

    1700-2100: Women's Free Skating

    Saturday, 28th March

    1130-1530: Men's Free Skating

    1730-2115: Ice Dance Free Dance

    There will also be a highlights programme on Sunday, 29 March on BBC Two, between 1300 and 1500 GMT.