The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The World Championships are considered the most prestigious event in figure skating. Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Ulrich Salchow of Sweden currently holds the record for winning the most gold medals at the World Championships in men's singles (with ten), while Sonja Henie of Norway holds the record in women's singles (also with ten). Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev of the Soviet Union hold the record in pair skating (with six), while Rodnina won another four gold medals with her previous partner Alexei Ulanov, and thus holds the record for the most gold medals won by an individual skater in pair skating (with ten). Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov, also of the Soviet Union, hold the record for winning the most gold medals in ice dance (with six). Guillaume Cizeron of France also won record six gold medals won in ice dance, but with different partners.
Men's singles
The men's event was first held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and is the oldest discipline at the World Championships. Until 1902, men and women were able to compete in the same event (open singles). Since 1903, only men could compete in this event.
Ulrich Salchow of Sweden has won the most gold medals in men's singles (with ten), and also the most medals overall (with thirteen). He won ten gold medals in a row; however, this feat was not achieved at back-to-back events, as he did not compete at the 1906 World Championships. The record for most back-to-back titles is held by Karl Schäfer of Austria (with seven). The most silver medals were won by James Grogan of the United States, Yuma Kagiyama of Japan, and Brian Orser of Canada (with four each), while Alexandre Fadeev of the Soviet Union, Jan Hoffmann of East Germany, and Andor Szende of Hungary share the record for winning the most bronze medals (with three each).
Total medal count by nation
Countries or entities that can no longer participate are indicated in italics with a dagger (). At the 1900 and 1901 World Championships, only two competitors participated in the men's singles event, so no bronze medals were awarded. In 1902, Madge Syers of Great Britain won a silver medal in the open singles event; this medal is included on the men's table.
Most gold medals by skater
If the number of gold medals is identical, the silver and bronze medals are used as tie-breakers (in that order).
+ Top 10 ranking of men's singles skaters by the most gold medals won at the World Championships Skater Nation Total 1 Ulrich Salchow 10 3 – 13 2 Karl Schäfer 7 2 1 10 3 Dick Button 5 1 – 6 4 Willy Böckl 4 3 2 9 5 Alexei Yagudin 4 1 1 6 6 Kurt Browning 4 1 – 5 7 Hayes Alan Jenkins 4 – 2 6 8 Scott Hamilton 4 – – 4 9 Fritz Kachler 3 3 1 7 10 Elvis Stojko 3 2 1 6
Most total medals by skater
If the total number of medals is identical, the gold, silver and bronze medals are used as tie-breakers (in that order).
+ Top 10 ranking of men's singles skaters by the most medals won at the World Championships Skater Nation Total 1 Ulrich Salchow 10 3 – 13 2 Karl Schäfer 7 2 1 10 3 Willy Böckl 4 3 2 9 4 Fritz Kachler 3 3 1 7 5 Yuzuru Hanyu 2 3 2 7 6 Jan Hoffmann 2 2 3 7 7 Dick Button 5 1 – 6 8 Alexei Yagudin 4 1 1 6 9 Hayes Alan Jenkins 4 – 2 6 10 Elvis Stojko 3 2 1 6
Women's singles
After the exclusion of female skaters from the open singles event at the World Championships in 1902, the International Skating Union established a separate second-class competition for women called the ISU Championships, which were first held in 1906 in Davos, Switzerland. The first combined World Championships for men, women, and pairs took place in 1930 in New York City.
Sonja Henie of Norway has won the most gold medals in women's singles (with ten), and also the most medals overall (with eleven), which is also the longest winning streak at back-to-back events in this discipline. Six skaters share the record for winning the most silver medals (with three each): Surya Bonaly of France, Regine Heitzer of Austria, Michelle Kwan of the United States, Gabriele Seyfert of East Germany, Irina Slutskaya from Russia, and Megan Taylor of Great Britain. Vivi-Anne Hultén of Sweden and Carolina Kostner of Italy are tied for winning the most bronze medals (also with three each).
Total medal count by nation
Countries or entities that can no longer participate are indicated in italics with a dagger (). At the 1908 and 1910 World Championships, only two competitors participated in the women's singles event, so no bronze medals were awarded. At the 1909 World Championships, Lily Kronberger from Hungary was the only competitor and winner of the gold medal. No silver or bronze medals were awarded.
Most gold medals by skater
If the number of gold medals is identical, the silver and bronze medals are used as tie-breakers (in that order). If all numbers are the same, the skaters receive the same placement and are sorted in alphabetical order.
+ Top 10 ranking of women's singles skaters by the most gold medals won at the World Championships Skater Nation Total 1 Sonja Henie 10 1 – 11 2 Michelle Kwan 5 3 1 9 3 Carol Heiss 5 1 – 6 Herma Szabo 5 Katarina Witt 4 2 – 6 6 Kaori Sakamoto 4 1 – 5 7 Lily Kronberger Hungary 4 – 2 6 8 Mao Asada 3 1 1 5 Sjoukje Dijkstra 10 Opika von Méray Horváth Hungary 3 1 – 4
Most total medals by skater
If the total number of medals is identical, the gold, silver and bronze medals are used as tie-breakers (in that order). If all numbers are the same, the skaters receive the same placement and are sorted in alphabetical order.
+ Top 10 ranking of women's singles skaters by the most medals won at the World Championships Skater Nation Total 1 Sonja Henie 10 1 – 11 2 Michelle Kwan 5 3 1 9 3 Carol Heiss 5 1 – 6 Herma Szabo 5 Katarina Witt 4 2 – 6 6 Lily Kronberger Hungary 4 – 2 6 7 Irina Slutskaya 2 3 1 6 8 Yuna Kim 2 2 2 6 9 Carolina Kostner 1 2 3 6 10 Kaori Sakamoto 4 1 – 5
Pairs
The first separate pair skating event was held in 1908 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The first combined World Championships for men, women, and pairs took place in 1930 in New York City.
Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev of the Soviet Union hold the record for winning the most gold medals in pair skating, as well as the longest winning streak at back-to-back World Championships (with six). Rodnina won another four gold medals with her previous partner, Alexei Ulanov, and was undefeated at ten World Championships in a row. Two teams share the record for total medals won (with eight each): Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov of the Soviet Union, and Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany; Savchenko won another three medals with Bruno Massot, and holds the record for the most total medals won by an individual skater in pair skating (with eleven). Ilse and Erik Pausin of Austria and Germany won the most silver medals (with five). Lyudmila Smirnova of the Soviet Union won five silver medals as well, but with two partners. Three pairs teams share the record for the most bronze medals (with three each): Cynthia and Ronald Kauffman of the United States, Marianna and László Nagy of Hungary, and Pang Qing and Tong Jian of China. Todd Sand of the United States and Eric Radford of Canada also won three bronze medals, but each with different partners.
Total medal count by nation
Countries or entities that can no longer participate are indicated in italics with a dagger (). At the 1910 and 1911 World Championships, Ludowika Eilers and Walter Jakobsson competed as a pair representing two countries (Eilers for Germany and Jakobsson for Finland). Their results count individually for each country on the total medal table. At the 1911 World Championships, Eilers and Jakobsson were the only competitors in the pairs event, so no silver or bronze medals were awarded.
Most gold medals by pairs team
Only pair results are included in the list. Individual results in case of partner changes are marked with a note or listed separately below the table. If the number of gold medals is identical, the silver and bronze medals are used as tie-breakers (in that order). If all numbers are the same, the pairs receive the same placement and are sorted in alphabetical order by the female partner's last name. If a skater or pair has competed for multiple countries, countries are listed in chronological order (from first to last).
+ Top 10 ranking of pairs skaters by the most gold medals won at the World Championships Female partner Male partner Nation Total 1 Irina Rodnina Alexander Zaitsev 6 – – 6 2 Aljona Savchenko Robin Szolkowy 5 2 1 8 3 Ludmila Belousova Oleg Protopopov 4 3 1 8 4 Andrée Brunet (née Joly) Pierre Brunet 4 1 – 5 Ekaterina Gordeeva Sergei Grinkov Emília Rotter László Szollás Hungary 7 Maxi Herber Ernst Baier Germany 4 – 1 5 8 Irina Rodnina Alexei Ulanov 4 – – 4 Barbara Wagner Robert Paul Canada 10 Ludowika Jakobsson(née Eilers) Walter Jakobsson Germany & 3 4 – 7
Most total medals by pairs team
Only pair results are included in the list. Individual results in case of partner changes are marked with a note or listed separately below the table. If the total number of medals is identical, the gold, silver and bronze medals are used as tie-breakers (in that order). If all numbers are the same, the pairs receive the same placement and are sorted in alphabetical order by female partner's last name. If a skater or pair has competed for multiple countries, countries are listed in chronological order (from first to last).
+ Top 10 ranking of pairs skaters by the most medals won at the World Championships Female partner Male partner Nation Total 1 Aljona Savchenko Robin Szolkowy 5 2 1 8 2 Ludmila Belousova Oleg Protopopov 4 3 1 8 3 Ludowika Jakobsson(née Eilers) Walter Jakobsson Germany & 3 4 – 7 4 Shen Xue Zhao Hongbo 3 3 1 7 5 Irina Rodnina Alexander Zaitsev 6 – – 6 6 Elena Valova Oleg Vasiliev 3 3 – 6 7 Pang Qing Tong Jian 2 1 3 6 8 Andrée Brunet (née Joly) Pierre Brunet 4 1 – 5 Ekaterina Gordeeva Sergei Grinkov Emília Rotter László Szollás Hungary
Four more skaters won a total of six medals in the pairs event, but with different partners: Alexei Ulanov of the Soviet Union won four gold medals while partnered with Irina Rodnina (1969–1972), and two silver medals while partnered with Lyudmila Smirnova (1973–1974). Marika Kilius of West Germany won two gold medals, two silver medals, and two bronze medals: one silver medal and one bronze medal while partnered with Franz Ningel (1956–1957); and two gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal while partnered with Hans-Jürgen Bäumler (1959–1964). Ludwig Wrede of Austria won two gold medals, two silver medals, and two bronze medals: two gold medals and one bronze medal while partnered with Herma Szabo (1925–1927), and two silver medals and a bronze medal while partnered with Melitta Brunner (1928–1930). Lloyd Eisler of Canada won one gold medal, three silver medals, and two bronze medals: one bronze medal while partnered with Katherina Matousek (1985) and one gold medal, three silver medals, and one bronze medal while partnered with Isabelle Brasseur (1990–1994).
Ice dance Ice dance is the most recent of the four disciplines at the World Figure Skating Championships. It was first contested at the 1952 World Championships in Paris, France.