ST. LOUIS — Day one of the U.S. figure skating championships is underway in St. Louis with the pairs short program and women’s short program opening the four-day event tonight.
Two-time reigning national champion Amber Glenn and defending world champion Alysa Liu are the big draws on the women’s side while defending national champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov highlight the pairs lineup. “Quad God” himself Ilia Malinin will take the ice for his short program on Thursday night.
This is the final event for American skaters before the 2026 Winter Olympics start in February, the last chance to show why skaters belong in Milano Cortina. U.S. Figure Skating will announce the Olympic team on Sunday, Jan. 11.
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US figure skating championships schedule today
The Jan. 7 session of the 2026 U.S. figure skating championships will stream in its entirety on Peacock. The women’s short program will also air on USA Network.
TV: USA Network
Livestream: Peacock
Pairs short program: 5:30 p.m.
Women’s short program: 8:20 p.m.
Ice dancing vs. figure skating
Ice dancing does not feature jumps or lifts, like you see figure skating pairs execute. Ice dancing is made up of two segments, the rhythm dance and the free dance.
When does Ilia Malinin compete?
The ‘Quad God’ himself takes the first on Thursday night for his short program.
What time does Amber Glenn compete today?
Amber Glenn, who’s going for a third consecutive national title, goes last in Wednesday’s short program lineup. She’s set to take the ice at 10:49 p.m. EST. She skates to ‘Like a Prayer’ by Madonna for her short program.
What time does Alysa Liu compete today?
Alysa Liu, reigning world champion, takes the ice third to last in Wednesday’s short program lineup, starting at 10:37 p.m. She skates to ‘Promise’ by Laufey for her short program.
Types of figure skating jumps
Toe jump: A skater drives the toe pick of their non-takeoff foot into the ice to generate momentum into the jump.
Toe loop: A skater jumps off and lands on the same back edge of their blade.
Lutz: A skater moving backward in a curve motion jumps off the back outside edge of one skate and uses the toe-pick on the front of their other blade to rotate in the opposite direction of the curve they drew and lands on the back outside edge of the foot they didn’t take off from.
Flip: A skater launches off the back inside edge of one skate and lands on the back outside edge of the other skate.
Edge jump: A skater does not use their non-takeoff foot when launching into a jump, like they would in a toe jump.
Salchow: A skater launches off the back inside edge of one skate and lands on the back outside edge of their other skate.
Axel: The only forward-facing jump, a skater lands on the back outside edge of their non-takeoff foot.
Loop: The skater jumps off a back outside edge of their skate and lands on the same edge.
When is US Olympic figure skating team named?
The team will be named on Sunday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. Three men and three women singles skaters will be chosen, as will three ice dance teams and two pairs, 16 athletes in all. The USFS selection process includes past performances, focusing on the athlete’s body of work over the past two seasons.
When are 2026 U.S. figure skating championships?
Dates: Jan. 7-11
Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri
The 2026 U.S. figure skating championships will take place Jan. 7-11 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
Why US has never won Olympic gold in pairs figure skating
As you watch the pairs short program today at the U.S. national championships and perhaps wonder how the United States has performed in pairs skating over the years at the Olympic Games, here’s a primer, which is short and not-so-sweet.
Americans have never won an Olympic gold medal in pairs skating. That is not a typo. It has never happened, and Olympic pairs competition goes back to 1908.
The last time a U.S. pair earned an Olympic medal was 1988. That was Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard, who won the bronze medal at the Calgary Olympic Games. Four years earlier, the Carruthers siblings — Kitty and Peter — won silver at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics. Four other U.S. pairs going back even further in the history books won either silver or bronze from 1932-1964. That’s it: 26 Winter Olympic pairs competitions, six U.S. medals, none of them gold.
The population of the United States is around 340 million. It is one of the great sports mysteries of our time that a nation this big could not find one young woman and one young man talented enough to skate together as a pair to become Olympic champions. But so far, no — and it’s not going to happen this year either as U.S. pairs, try as they might, are not expected to come close to a medal in Milan.
Why has this happened over and over again? One strong possibility is that the focus and fame in U.S. figure skating traditionally has come in the singles events, from Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill to Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano. (Although the U.S. definitely has upped its game in ice dance over the past 20 years.)
Throughout its history, the United States has been known as a nation of individualists. That clearly is true on the ice as well.
U.S. figure skating championships lineup today
All times Eastern.
Pairs short program
5:40 p.m.: Linzy Fitzpatrick and Keyton Bearinger
5:46 p.m.: Chelsea Liu and Ryan Bedard
5:52 p.m.: Naomi Williams and Lachlan Lewer
6:06 p.m.: Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy
6:12 p.m.: Olivia Flores and Luke Wang
6:18 p.m.: Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez
6:47 p.m.: Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman
6:53 p.m.: Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe
6:59 p.m.: Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov
7:06 p.m.: Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea
Women’s short program
8:35 p.m.: Anabel Wallace
8:41 p.m.: Erica Machida
8:47 p.m.: Brook Gewalt
8:53 p.m.: Katie Shen
8:59 p.m.: Emilia Nemirovsky
9:05 p.m.: Logan Higase-Chen
9:19 p.m.: Alina Bonillo
9:25 p.m.: Sonja Hilmer
9:31 p.m.: Sherry Zhang
9:38 p.m.: Sophie Joline von Felten
9:44 p.m.: Josephine Lee
9:50 p.m.: Starr Andrews
10:19 p.m.: Elyce Lin-Gracey
10:25 p.m.: Sarah Everhardt
10:31 p.m.: Bradie Tennell
10:37 p.m.: Alysa Liu
10:43 p.m.: Isabeau Levito
10:49 p.m.: Amber Glenn