2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships TV, live stream schedule

Nathan Chen, Alysa Liu
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Nathan Chen and Alysa Liu headline the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, airing live on NBC and NBCSN and streaming live for NBC Sports Gold subscribers from Thursday through Sunday.

Skaters are competing not only for national titles, but also spots on March’s world championships team.

Chen, undefeated since placing fifth at the PyeongChang Olympics, looks to become the first man to win four straight national titles since Brian Boitano in 1988. He is a massive favorite, outranking the next-best American this season (Jason Brown) by 80 points in fall international competition.

Liu, who last year became the youngest U.S. champion in history at age 13, added a quadruple Lutz to her triple Axel this season.

She will not be old enough for major senior international competitions until the 2022 Olympic year, making Bradie Tennell and Mariah Bell the favorites to comprise the team for the world team for a second straight year.

Ice dance figures to be a battle among training partners Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue and Madison Chock and Evan Bates. Hubbell and Donohue won the last two national titles, but the 2015 U.S. champions Chock and Bates outscored them at December’s Grand Prix Final.

Four different pairs won the last four national titles, and all of them are in this week’s field.

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NATIONALS PREVIEWS: Nathan Chen | Alysa Liu | Vincent Zhou | Pairs | TV Schedule | Results

Day Time (ET) Program Network
Thurs. 4:30-7 p.m. Pairs’ Short NBC Sports Gold | STREAM | Skate Order
5-7 p.m. Pairs’ Short NBCSN | STREAM
7:30-11 p.m. Women’s Short NBC Sports Gold | STREAM | Skate Order
9-11 p.m. Women’s Short NBCSN | STREAM
Fri. 4:30-6 p.m. Rhythm Dance NBC Sports Gold | STREAM | Skate Order
5-6 p.m. Rhythm Dance NBCSN | STREAM
7:25-11 p.m. Women’s Free NBC Sports Gold | STREAM | Skate Order
8-11 p.m. Women’s Free NBC | STREAM
Sat. 1:30-4:30 p.m. Men’s Short NBC Sports Gold | STREAM | Skate Order
2:30-4:30 p.m. Men’s Short NBC | STREAM
6-9 p.m. Pairs’ Free NBC Sports Gold | STREAM | Skate Order
8-11 p.m. Pairs’/Dance Free NBCSN | STREAM
9:30-11 p.m. Free Dance NBC Sports Gold | STREAM | Skate Order
Sun. 2:30-6 p.m. Men’s Free NBC Sports Gold | STREAM | Skate Order
3-6 p.m. Men’s Free NBC | STREAM

As a reminder, you can watch the events from the 2019-20 figure skating season live and on-demand with the ‘Figure Skating Pass’ on NBC Sports Gold. Go to NBCsports.com/gold/figure-skating to sign up for access to every ISU Grand Prix and championship event, as well as domestic U.S. Figure Skating events throughout the season. NBC Sports Gold gives subscribers an unprecedented level of access on more platforms and devices than ever before.

Summer McIntosh breaks 400m individual medley world record, extends historic week

Summer McIntosh
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Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh broke her second world record this week, lowering the 400m individual medley mark on Saturday.

McIntosh, a 16-year-old who trains in Sarasota, Florida, clocked 4 minutes, 25.87 seconds at the Canadian Championships in Toronto.

She took down Hungarian Katinka Hosszu‘s world record of 4:26.36 from the 2016 Rio Olympics. Before Saturday, McIntosh had the fourth-fastest time in history of 4:28.61.

“It’s always nice to set world records,” McIntosh said.

On Tuesday, McIntosh broke the 400m freestyle world record, becoming the youngest swimmer to break a world record in an individual Olympic event since Katie Ledecky in 2013.

McIntosh also this week became the fourth-fastest woman in history in the 200m individual medley and the eighth-fastest woman in history in the 200m butterfly.

In each of her four races this week, she also broke the world junior record as the fastest woman in history under the age of 19.

She is entered to swim the 200m free on the meet’s final day on Sunday. She is already the eighth-fastest woman in history in that event.

McIntosh, whose mom swam the 1984 Olympic 200m fly and whose sister competed at last week’s world figure skating championships, placed fourth in the Tokyo Olympic 400m free at age 14.

Last summer, she won the 200m fly and 400m IM at the world championships, becoming the youngest individual world champion since 2011.

This summer, she could be at the center of a showdown in the 400m free at the world championships with reigning world champion Ledecky and reigning Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus of Australia. They are the three fastest women in history in the event.

Around age 7, McIntosh transcribed Ledecky quotes and put them on her wall.

MORE: McIntosh chose swimming and became Canada’s big splash

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Hilary Knight leads new-look U.S. women’s hockey roster for world championship

Hilary Knight
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Hilary Knight headlines a U.S. women’s hockey roster for this month’s world championship that lacks some of the biggest names from last year’s Olympic silver-medal team. Changes have been made as the U.S. looks to end losing streaks to Canada, both overall and in major finals.

The full roster is here. Worlds start Wednesday in Brampton, Ontario, and run through the gold-medal game on April 16.

It was already known that the team would be without stalwart forwards Kendall Coyne Schofield, who plans to return to the national team after having her first child this summer, and Brianna Decker, who announced her retirement last month.

Notable cuts include the No. 1 goalies from the last two Olympics: Alex Cavallini, who returned from Christmas childbirth for the tryout camp this past week, and Maddie Rooney, the breakout of the 2018 Olympic champion team.

Cavallini, 31, was bidding to become the first player to make an Olympic or world team after childbirth since Jenny Potter, who played at the Olympics in 2002, 2006 and 2010 as a mom, plus at several world championships, including less than three months after childbirth in 2007.

Forward Hannah Brandt, who played on the top line at last year’s Olympics with Knight and Coyne Schofield, also didn’t make the team.

In all, 13 of the 25 players on the team are Olympians, including three-time Olympic medalists forward Amanda Kessel and defender Lee Stecklein.

The next generation includes forward Taylor Heise, 23, who led the 2022 World Championship with seven goals and was the 2022 NCAA Player of the Year at Minnesota.

The team includes two teens — 19-year-old defender Haley Winn and 18-year-old forward Tessa Janecke — who were also the only teens at last week’s 46-player tryout camp. Janecke, a Penn State freshman, is set to become the youngest U.S. forward to play at an Olympics or worlds since Brandt in 2012.

Abbey Levy, a 6-foot-1 goalie from Boston College, made her first world team, joining veterans Nicole Hensley and Aerin Frankel.

Last summer, Canada repeated as world champion by beating the U.S. in the final, six months after beating the U.S. in the Olympic final. Canada is on its longest global title streak since winning all five Olympic or world titles between 1999 and 2004.

Also at last summer’s worlds, the 33-year-old Knight broke the career world championship record for points (now up to 89). She also has the most goals in world championship history (53). Knight, already the oldest U.S. Olympic women’s hockey player in history, will become the second-oldest American to play at a worlds after Cammi Granato, who was 34 at her last worlds in 2005.

The Canadians are on a four-game win streak versus the Americans, capping a comeback in their recent seven-game rivalry series from down three games to none. Their 5-0 win in the decider in February was their largest margin of victory over the U.S. since 2005.

Last May, former AHL coach John Wroblewski was named U.S. head coach to succeed Joel Johnson, the Olympic coach.

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