by Matteo Morelli

The 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be held from January 4 to 11, returning to St. Louis, Missouri, for the first time in 20 years, since last being hosted there in 2006. The Enterprise Center and Centene Community Ice Center will welcome 15 senior teams and 12 junior teams competing for podium finishes.

The results will be particularly significant, as they will determine the teams selected for the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games, the World Championships, the Four Continents Championships, and the World Junior Championships.

Don’t forget to tune in on Sunday, January 11, at 1pm (CT), when the Olympic team will be announced!

Senior Preview

Madison Chock and Evan Bates enter their fifteenth U.S. Championships, having medalled every year except their first appearance in 2012, collecting six golds, six silvers, and one bronze medal. The four-time consecutive U.S. champions are fresh off their third straight Grand Prix Final victory in Nagoya, Japan, an important result in view of their objective to be at the top at the Winter Olympics in Milan. They have announced that, following feedback received earlier in the season, they made minor changes to both their rhythm dance, skated to music by Lenny Kravitz, and their flamenco free dance, with all costumes designed by Chock.

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik have enjoyed their best season to-date, qualifying for their first Grand Prix Final (with a sixth-place finish), after winning silver at Cup of China and bronze at Finlandia Trophy. At their fourth U.S. Nationals, they will look to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish and place as high as possible, hoping to earn a spot at the Winter Olympic Games.

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko are also aiming for the top spots, particularly now that Carreira has finally obtained her American citizenship, allowing them to compete at the Winter Olympics. So far, they have won two silver medals and one bronze at Nationals. Following a season start that didn’t reflect their expectations, they have decided to bring back their “Perfume: the story of a murderer” programme from the 2023-24 season.

Caroline Green and Michael Parsons earned a bronze medal at the NHK Trophy Grand Prix, after having to withdraw from the free dance at Cup of China. They also have high hopes of qualifying for Milan and will fight to add another national medal to their existing bronze and silver medals from previous U.S. Championships.

This Nationals will also welcome back Maia and Alex Shibutani, which returned to competitions after retiring in 2018. So far this season, they competed at NHK Trophy and Finlandia Trophy, finishing in sixth and fifth place. Out of their eight appearances at U.S. Nationals between 2010 and 2018, they collected two bronze, four silver and two gold medals. They are also hoping to make the U.S. Olympic team, returning to the Games after winning both an individual and a team bronze medal in 2018.

The deep American ice dance field also includes Oona Brown and Gage Brown, who competed at Skate America and Finlandia Trophy; Emily Bratti and Ian Sommerville, who competed at Grand Prix de France and Skate Canada International, and won bronze at U.S. Nationals in 2024; Eva Pate and Logan Bye, who won Lombardia Trophy and competed at Grand Prix de France; Katarina Wolfkostin and Dimitry Tsarevski, who competed at NHK Trophy; and 2024 Junior World Champions Leah Neset and Artem Markelov, who competed at Skate Canada International.

Junior Preview

Top contenders in the junior field include:

Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin, who won the Junior Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan, after qualifying by winning both of their Junior Grand Prix assignments. They are the 2025 U.S. Junior Champions.
Jasmine Robertson and Chase Rohner, who won the Junior Grand Prix in Varese, Italy, and, with a bronze medal earned in Latvia, also qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final, finishing sixth.
Michelle Deych and Ryan Hu, who competed at the Junior Grand Prix events in Latvia and Thailand.
Annelise Stapert and Maxim Korotcov, who competed at the Junior Grand Prix events in Turkey and Italy.
Anaelle Kouevi and Yann Homawoo, who competed at the Junior Grand Prix events in Azerbaijan and Turkey.
Two new teams Jane Calhoun and Mark Zheltyshev and Aneta Vaclavickova and William Lissauer will also compete.

Novice Preview

Do not miss Anne’s preview of the Novice field: you can read it by clicking on this link.

Event info: The junior rhythm dance kicks off on Monday, January 5, from 11:20am (CT), whilst and the junior free dance is taking place on Tuesday, January 6, from 9:25am (CT).

The senior rhythm dance kicks off on Thursday, January 8, from 4pm (CT), whilst the free dance is taking place on Saturday 10 and is divided into groups: Group 1 will take the ice from 2:25pm (CT); Groups 2 and 3 will compete from 6:07pm (CT).