HomeFigure SkatingFIGURE SKATING: U.S. Championships on in Kansas with World Champions Malinin and Chock & Bates as headliners

FIGURE SKATING: U.S. Championships on in Kansas with World Champions Malinin and Chock & Bates as headliners

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≡ U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

The much-awaited 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships are ongoing in Wichita, Kansas, with the senior competitions to start on Thursday, featuring multiple current and former national champions on the ice.

The men’s star is Ilia Malinin, the 2024 World Champion and a medal favorite for the 2026 Winter Games. The two-time Ice Dance World Champions, Madison Chock and Evan Bates will be trying for their sixth national title and a sixth appearance at the Worlds.

All four defending champions – Malinin, Amber Glenn, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea and Chock and Bates are back. Malinin won twice during the ISU Grand Prix, as did Glenn, with Chock & Bates winning a gold and a silver. All three won at the Grand Prix Final and are favorites in their events.

The American depth is impressive; here are the top scores by American skaters in the world top 30 for the 2024-25 season so far (with world ranking and the meet performed; skaters not entered in the senior competition shown in strikeout type):

Men (4):
● 312.55 (1), Ilia Malinin (Lombardia Trophy) ~ 2023/24 national champ
● 246.58 (16), Andrew Torgashev (NHK Trophy) ~ 2023 3rd
● 246.48 (17), Lucas Broussard (Cranberry Cup)
● 236.77 (24), Jimmy Ma (Cranberry Cup)

Women (7):
● 215.54 (3), Amber Glenn (Cup of China) ~ 2024 national champ
● 213.33 (4), Elyce Lin-Gracey (Nebelhorn Trophy)
● 201.90 (10), Sarah Everhardt (Lombardia Trophy) ~ 2024 nationals 4th
● 198.13 (17), Isabeau Levito (Nebelhorn Trophy) ~ 2023 national champ
● 197.71 (18), Alysa Liu (Golden Spin of Zagreb) ~ 2019/20 national champ
● 197.41 (19), Sophie von Felten (Ljubljana Cup) ~ in Junior event
● 192.04 (26), Bradie Tennell (Skate America) ~ 2018/21 national champ
(Levito will not skate due to injury.)

Pairs (5):
● 201.73 (6), Ellie Kam-Danny O’Shea (Skate America) ~ 2024 national champs
● 191.51 (9), Alisa Efimova-Misha Mitrofanov (Skate America) ~ 2024 2nd
● 178.31 (18), Emily Chan-Spencer Howe (Skate Canada Int’l) ~ 2023 2nd
● 173.37 (20), Katie McBeath-Daniil Parkman (John Nicks)
● 170.21 (23), Audrey Shin-Balazs Nagy (Golden Spin of Zagreb)

Ice Dance (10):
● 219.85 (1), Madison Chock-Evan Bates (Grand Prix Final) ~ 5x national champs
● 198.87 (8), Christina Carrera-Anthony Ponomarenko (NHK Trophy) ~ 2024 2nd
● 196.07 (11), Emilea Zingas-Vadym Kolesnik (Warsaw Cup) ~ 2023 4th
● 190.86 (13), Emily Bratti-Ian Somerville (Tallinn Trophy) ~ 2024 3rd
● 189.86 (15) Caroline Green-Michael Parsons (Cup of China) ~ 3x 4th place
● 186.96 (17), Oona Brown-Gage Brown (Denis Ten Memorial)
● 184.41 (21), Eva Pate-Logan Bye (Warsaw Cup)
● 179.38 (25), Leah Neset-Artem Markelov (Skate America)
● 174.32 (28), Annabelle Morozov-Jeffrey Chen (Denis Ten Memorial)
● 174.32 (30), Isabella Flores-Ivan Desyatov (Denis Ten Memorial)

The meet will be shown on NBC’s Peacock streaming service, with significant portions of the event on NBC or USA Network:

23 Jan. (Thu.): 7:00 p.m.: Pairs Short Program on USA
23 Jan. (Thu.): 9:00 p.m.: Women’s Short Program on USA
24 Jan. (Fri.): 6:00 p.m.: Rhythm Dance on USA
24 Jan. (Fri.): 8:00 p.m.: Women’s Free Program on NBC
25 Jan. (Sat.): 2:30 p.m.: Men’s Short Program & Free Dance on NBC
25 Jan. (Sat.): 8:00 p.m.: Pairs Free Program on USA
26 Jan. (Sun.): 4:00 p.m.: Men’s Free Skate on NBC

NBC will also have a delayed showing of the Exhibition Gala, at noon on 2 February.

These championships are not a direct selection meet, but will have a heavy impact on the U.S. team selection for the 2025 ISU World Championships, to be held in Boston, Massachusetts from 25-30 March.

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