Amber Glenn overcame neck pain to beat world champion American teammate Alice Liu to win the China Figure Skating Cup for the second year in a row on Saturday in Chongqing.
Glenn, the U.S. national champion, grabbed her by the neck after finishing her free skate, in which she recovered from a wobbly landing on a triple toe loop near the start.
Glenn was third after Friday's short program, meaning she had to wait until Liu and Japan's Rinka Watanabe competed in the free skate before she knew her place.
Liu returned to second place with a total score of 212.07 points to Glenn's 214.78 points after landing a wobbly triple flip, while Watanabe barely held on to the podium, falling to third place after posting only the fifth-best free skate score.
Amber Glenn of the United States scored a total of 214.78 points, good enough to win the China Women's Cup gold medal on Saturday in Chongqing, China.
Glenn said she felt “incredible” and that she was “really happy that my teammate and I ended up first and second on the podium.” Despite being a two-time World Championship medalist, this is Liu's first time on the podium at a Grand Prix event.
Sato wins men's gold
Japan's Shun Sato won the men's Cup of China for the second year in a row with three quadruple jumps in the pure free skate for a total score of 278.12, ahead of Italy's Daniel Grassl with 269.43. Mikhail Shaydorov (Kazakhstan) with a score of 262.67 after falling during the last jump.
Shun Sato of Japan scored 278.12 to take the top spot on the China Cup podium on Saturday in Chongqing, China.
In ice dancing, world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates won their first Chinese Cup on their sixth attempt with a total of 208.25 points, ahead of US teammates Emilia Zingas and Vadim Kolesnik with a score of 202.27. Third place went to Evgenia Lopareva and Geoffroy Brisot from France with a score of 196.60.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States scored a total of 208.25 points to win the ice dancing title at the China Cup in Chongqing, China.
The pairs free program will take place later on Saturday.
The Cup of China is the second of six regular-season Grand Prix events, ending with the final in December. It is a key test for figure skaters hoping to win medals at the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina in February.
