Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii bronze at the Figure Skating World Championships

historic medal forItaly to the World Figure Skating Championships underway in Saitama, Japan. Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii they won the bronze in the pairs of artistic confirming the third place in the free program with which they had closed the short. Barbara Luoni’s students skated almost perfectly, touching up every personal best and breaking down, for the first time in their career, the fateful barrier of 200 points. L’Italy back on the World Cup podium after nine years: we have to go back to the 2014 edition, curiously still held in Saitama, to find the blue medals. At the time, the dance couple Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte won the gold and Carolina Kostner won the bronze.

First blue couple on the podium

The most significant data, however, is represented by the fact that Conti/Macii have become the first artistic couple to hoist themselves on the world podium. The previous twelve medals had come from the women’s sector (7), the men’s sector (1) and dance (4).

Japanese gold

Returning to the race, the gold medal went to the Japanese Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kiharasilver to the Americans Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier. Conti/Macii clearly beat their direct competitors for bronze, the Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps (more than 8 points away) and the Americans Emily Chan/Spencer Akira Howe (more than 14 lengths away).