Efimova and Mitrofanov defend U.S. Pairs’ title in St. Louis
2026 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships: Pairs
Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov defended their national title with over 10 points to spare on Friday night in St. Louis, Mo. Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea rose one spot to claim the silver, while Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman edged out Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe for the bronze medals.
In selecting the USA’s two pair teams to send to Milan for the Olympic Games, US Figure Skating’s selection committee will meet on January 11 and follow criteria which requires that the teams selected must qualify pursuant to the rules at the time of the determination of the team. Accordingly, given that Efimova does not hold a US Passport, it is unlikely that the champions will be named to the Olympic team.
Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov
The defending champions began their campaign for a repeat title with a near-stellar execution of their suspenseful “Cloak and Dagger” routine. The only noticeable error came when Mitrofanov touched his hand on the ice on the side-by-side triple toes. The throw triple loop was solid, and the team picked up a level four on the lift, death spiral and footwork, earned a whopping 75.31 points to win that portion of the competition.
“We’re definitely very proud with how we skated tonight. The crowd was amazing!” Mitrofanov. “We really trusted each other. We trusted our training. I was a little bit more nervous than normal, to be honest, and I’m really proud of Elisa for holding my hand very strong throughout the program. Definitely want to give a big thank you for holding me throughout the program.”
Efimova and Mitrofanov struggled through the first half of their “Love Story” free skate. Efimova put her hand down on the front end of the triple Salchow-double Axel sequence while her partner took a fall. Efimova also underrotated the triple toes and two-footed the landing of the throw triple loop. However, the 2025 Grand Prix Finland silver medalists rebounded to finish a sturdy throw triple Salchow and produced three level four lifts. The effort earned a score of 132.40 for a total competition score of 207.71.
“I have never been in this position, so this is also completely new experience, and you don’t know how it feels to compete as a reigning national champion until you actually do I,” said Efimova. “And it does bring extra pressure. It does bring more fire and the will to defend. So, this was very, very exciting. And I feel it was also a good experience for our future, for the competitions where we can hopefully get into the spot internationally, too. That is, I think, our next big goal.”
“We definitely learned that the more pressure you put on us, the more we will rise to the occasion,” Mitrofanov added. “We’ve been in many situations where there’s been a lot of pressure. You know, last year’s nationals, world’s, this nationals, and for us to be able to go out there and accomplish our goal, it definitely means a lot to us. We didn’t have the best skate today for the free skate that we wanted. However, we use this as a learning lesson going forward for the other competitions that will also have high pressure. And so, for us, this is like a learning lesson to understand what to do next.”
The team also spoke about the significance of repeating as national champions and bringing gold back to the Skating Club of Boston given last year’s tragic loss of so many Boston skaters.
“The Skating club of Boston has a long history and a long history of success, and it’s an honor to be a member of that club,” said Efimova. “I’m very happy that we are able to bring the gold home this season too. I hope that’s also a little part of that success that’s being created in the club. And of course, since what happened last January 29th, I have felt it important to bring that success, to bring a little bit of light with every performance. So, to bring something good in the moments of difficulties with something we can do with our sport, with our skating, it is very emotional and very important for me.”
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea
Kam and O’Shea struggled in their start to the competition in St. Louis. During their soulful short program set to “Hallelujah” by K.D. Lang., Kam botched both her triple Salchow, falling, and the throw triple loop, stepping out. They were dejected to receive a score of 67.13 and finish the night in third place. However, less than one point separated the teams sitting in second, third, fourth and fifth place after the short program, so the 2024 national champions were poised to move up in the rankings.
“I am a little disappointed in how I skated,” said Kam. “I thought we were really well prepared and we’ve been practicing really well all week. I am also proud of how we were able to get every single point out of all the elements that we had left and we got all the levels that we were looking to get except for the twist. But, we did the best that we could with the cards that we were dealt, and we look forward to having a really strong long program.”
“I think if you ask any athlete, the nerves ever go away, but it’s a constant,” said O’Shea. “But I think it’s a feature, not a flaw, right? I think that it’s your body’s way of getting you prepared for something that you care about immensely and the adrenaline, the butterflies, a little extra oxygen, all those things are very helpful in your process.”
The 2024 Four Continents bronze medalists struggle lingered into the free skate during which the side-by-side triple jumps were messy. Kam later tumbled to the ice on the throw triple Lutz. However, they executed a determined throw triple loop later in the program, followed by three level-four lifts that scored positively with the judges. They managed a score of 129.99 for second place, finishing the competition in second place overall with 197.12 points.
“It was a blessing to be able to have a partner that’s so accomplished and who has already achieved so much in his career,” Kam said about the prospect of competing at the Olympic Games in Milan with O’Shea. “I feel so grateful to have him by my side, not just because he’s a great partner, but he’s also a great person. And feeling so grateful to have Danny as my partner just made me want to achieve the goal even more.”
“It’s been a long journey,” O’Shea reflected on his Olympic aspirations. “A long time on Team USA and a long time working towards this. And it was always a goal but coming back and skating with Ellie for these past four seasons, it’s been at the forefront of my mind for sure. To go after it one more time, and the possibility seems likely. I am in a fun mixture of emotions where it’s honestly so full of excitement that It could happen, and honestly, a little bit of fear, not fear, but like, I don’t want to, like, jinx it or feel good about it too early, right?”
Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman
McBeath and Parkman capitalized on the mistake-laden event by executing enough technical elements to win the bronze medal with a total of 187.45 points.
They skated a solid and determined short program to snag 66.81 points in their routine set to “Vale” by Christian Reindl, Lucie Paradis and Power-Haus. The pair successfully performed side-by-side triple toe loops and a soaring triple twist as well as a sturdy throw triple Lutz but finished the night in fifth place, just points away from the teams ahead of them.
“I think I was excited about our power elements today,” said McBeath. “I love how powerful Daniel is. So, it’s always really fun getting like, tossed in the air. So, I really enjoyed that. As far as our program today, we’re aware of some of those little details on the levels. So, that will be good going into the free program. We just want to be nice and crisp for next time.”
“Well, I think we did pretty good,” said Parkman. “Unfortunately, we were upset that we weren’t able to show all of our possibilities today. Especially, we are a little bit upset and disappointed that we missed the levels in some of the elements.”
The 2025 national silver medalists carried their confidence into their Lara Fabian free skate which they executed with precision apart from tumbles that both skaters took on the ambitious side-by-side triple flips. The judges rewarded the team with a score of 120.64.
“I think today, there were some things that I really enjoyed,” McBeath reflected after her skate. “I really felt connected with Daniel which I really liked. But then, of course, some things we can do better. I’m proud of us for going for flip, just because no other team is doing that right now. So, you know what? It was a risk, and we took it, and I’m happy that we went for it, and it’s just another step and we’ll get there on that. So, that’s cool, and then, just…we’ve grown so much so I’m proud of us for that. And, we have a long way to go.”
“Unfortunately, not everything worked out today,” said Parkman. “What was planned, we took the risk with the flips. The flips didn’t work out today, unfortunately. But, well, you know, overall, I think the program was pretty good. Audience is very, very like sweet. Audience is very sweet, lovely. So, let’s just move forward.”
Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe
Chan and Howe rebounded in spectacular fashion after a disastrous short program in which Chan doubled the side-by-side triple toes and later fell on the set up for the throw triple loop. The error-filled effort achieved a score of 59.29.
“I think after the toe, I was a bit in shock because I felt so confident, just overall, in training,” Chan explained. “Then after that fall, I looked at him, and he made the call to just turn around and get it done. So, I was really trying to stay in the moment and just trying to let go of whatever happened and continue the program as best as we could. And we finished. We caught up with the music. It was very, very shocking. Definitely.”
“Definitely not our best skate,” said Howe. “Just weird mistakes, you know. We had to replace the throw because we fell on the entry before, which is something that is any team’s worst nightmare. But at the end of the day, the fact that we’re out there, we’re trying to adjust, and we recovered. I mean, I think that’s the one positive to take into another day.”
Howe acknowledged they had nothing to lose going into the free skate and hoped they could “turn” things around on Friday.
The approach worked. The three-time U.S. national medalists partially redeemed themselves with a valiant effort in their tender free skate choregraphed to “Ghost.” They managed to stick the landings of the side-by-side triple Salchows which eluded them in the short program, but Chan stepped out of the double Axel and the team abandoned the second double Axel altogether. Chan also doubled the triple toes, but nailed a superb throw triple loop. All three lifts and the spin were graded a level four, and they scored 127.23 points for a third-place finish in the in the free skate. With a total score of 186.52 points, the team catapulted from eighth to fourth.
“As far as elements go, you know, it wasn’t perfect, but hey, we went out there, we felt good,” said Howe. “It was a much stronger performance than the performance we were looking for on Wednesday when we completed that short. So, we’re really grateful to be finished, wrapping up this competition and being able to at least finish with a stronger free skate.”
“There’s still, you know, the whole free skate,” Chan shared regarding how the team compartmentalized the short program and shifted their clear minded focus towards the free skate on Friday night. “Things can turn around and just to keep mentally strong, spiritually strong, and really team up and do the best that we can to finish, you know, finish the race as strong as we can.”
Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy
Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy snagged 67.67 points for their solid short program set to “El Tango De Roxanne” from Moulin Rouge! They managed side-by-side triple toe loops and a soaring throw triple loop.
“We were super proud of how we performed today,” said Shin. “We have been training very well at home, and I think we were able to stay in the moment, stay present and do our best. I told Balazs, ‘Like, we got this’, but I was definitely really nervous going into it.” She added that they had not skated first after the warmup before and was concerned about not having time to “take a breath.”
“I think we were definitely a little nervous,” Nagy agreed, “but I felt like as the program went on, we got on top of our feet. We kind of settled into the program, and I think we were able to kind of build on our training.”
However, the team buckled under pressure in the free skate, underrotating jumps and botching throw landings. They finished in fifth place with a total competition score of 185.10.
“I think it was just, like, nerves got the better of us, and so everything was just a little bit shaky,” Nagy said. “You know, the twist was little weird. I think things kind of got back on track and we were back in it, and it felt really good.”
“Overall, this competition, we had a really strong short and that’s something we’re super proud of,” Shin added. “And, coming into the long, we felt a little bit more nervous, I think, but we still tried our best no matter what and tried to finish strong.”
Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez placed sixth (180.80), followed by Olivia Flores and Luke Wang (175.86) and Chelsea Liu and Ryan Bedard (175.56).
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