Amber Glenn edges Alysa Liu for second straight Cup of China figure skating title | Figure skating

Amber Glenn overcame neck pain to beat American world champion teammate Alysa Liu and win the China Figure Skating Cup for the second year in a row on Saturday.

Glenn, the U.S. national champion, clutched her neck after completing her free skate, during which she recovered from a shaky landing on a triple toe jump shortly before the start.

Glenn was third after Friday’s short program, meaning she had to wait for Liu and Japan’s Rinka Watanabe to perform their free programs before knowing where she ranked.

Liu returned to second place with a total of 212.07 points to Glenn’s 214.78 after a wobbly landing on a triple flip, while Watanabe narrowly remained on the podium, falling to third place after posting only the fifth-best score in the free skate.

Glenn said she felt “amazing” and was “really excited that my teammate and I were first and second on the podium.” Although she is a two-time World Championship medalist, this is Liu’s first time on the podium in a Grand Prix event.

Japan’s Shun Sato won the men’s Cup of China event for the second year in a row, landing three quadruple jumps in a flawless free skate for a total of 278.12, edging Italy’s Daniel Grassl with 269.43. Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan with 262.67 after a fall on his final jump.

In ice dancing, world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates won their first Cup of China on the sixth attempt, scoring a total of 208.25 to beat American teammates Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik with 202.27. Third place went to Frenchmen Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud with 196.60.

The pairs free skate will take place later Saturday.

The Cup of China is the second of six regular season Grand Prix events that will conclude in December. It is a key test for skaters aiming for medals at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February.