A new crop of U.S. pairs teams look to make their mark in international competition.
Category: Pairs
Metelkina/Berulava: Not afraid of Olympic pressure
Pairs skaters Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava look forward to their first Olympics together, competing for Georgia. Reporter Victoria Burdman spoke with the duo at Skate America to learn more about their mindset and preparations for the Olympic season.
Pereira/Michaud: “We’re hungry for more”
Figure skaters Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud look to claim a spot on Canada's team for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Golubeva/Giotopoulos Moore: “We’re trying to mature our skating”
This week in Halifax, a new season starts for Anastasia “Nastia” Golubeva, 18, and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore, 22, who represent Australia. It’s the couple’s fourth season competing together, and their results have been good: They placed 8th at Worlds in 2023 and 10th at last spring’s Worlds. This season, they hope for continued growth. Golubeva …
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Vaananen/Clerici: “We know we can win and compete at higher levels”
In recent decades, Finland has taken an ever-greater role in ice skating, hosting major events and fielding successful skaters. Kiira Korpi and Laura Lepisto won medals in women’s singles, Juulia Turkkila/Matthias Versluis are top ice dancers, and of course, Finnish synchronized skating teams have won nine World championships. But pairs skating has not been part …
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McBeath/Parkman: “We learned a lot this season”
Sometimes the best-laid plans get disrupted by a stroke of fate. That’s what happened to Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman in January at the 2024 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Columbus, OH. McBeath, 29, and Parkman, 25, a brand-new pairs team, got everyone’s attention in the short program at Nationals with their big triple …
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Bruno Marcotte: “It’s going to be important for Miura/Kihara to push the envelope”
Winning a first World title was life-changing for Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, according to their coach, Bruno Marcotte. The Japanese team’s triumph at their home World Championships last year was a career high point and opened many new doors. However, when Miura/Kihara returned to training in summer 2023 with plans to defend their title, …
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Efimova/Mitrofanov: Finding the Right Fit
What happens when you’re an elite pairs skater, you’ve just achieved your biggest success at an ISU championship … and your partnership ends right afterward? It’s a scenario that Alisa Efimova, 24, and Misha Mitrofanov, 26, both faced over the past two years. In 2022, Mitrofanov won the ISU Four Continents Championships with Audrey Lu. …
Coaches’ Corner at 2023 Skate America
At Skate America, we caught up with a few coaches to get their thoughts about their students’ performances at the first Grand Prix event of the season. Patrice Lauzon (I.AM) Ice dancers from the I.AM (Ice Academy of Montreal) school swept the podium at Skate America, with Chock/Bates taking gold, Lajoie/Lagha winning silver, and Lopareva/Brissaud …
“We’re Back”: The Surprising Return of Chelsea Liu & Balazs Nagy
Chelsea Liu and Balazs Nagy will make their Grand Prix debut as a team this weekend at Skate America in Texas. Earlier this fall, they finished just off the podium at Autumn Classic International in Montreal, Quebec. Without question, it’s been a good start for their new partnership. Yet, arguably, Liu and Nagy shouldn’t be …
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