- Amber Glenn set a record-breaking score of 83.05 in the short program, placing her in first.
- Alysa Liu sits in second place after her own flawless short program earned a score of 81.11.
- Defending champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov lead the pairs competition after the short program.
- The U.S. Figure Skating Championships is the final event before the 2026 Winter Olympics team is announced on Sunday, Jan. 11.
ST. LOUIS — A fist pump was all you needed to know about how Amber Glenn’s short program went Wednesday at the 2026 U.S. figure skating championships.
Her performance to “Like a Prayer” by Madonna was a powerful skate that didn’t have a single miss, a truly sensational outing. Her program boasts has one of the hardest degrees of difficulty, and she knew she nailed it when she finished, punctuating it with that emotional fist pump.
The result? A stunning — and record-breaking — score of 83.05, putting her in first ahead of Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito. She was still emotional even after hearing the result.
‘I was so ecstatic, and for some reason I just felt my grandma with me today and that meant a lot and I think she really got me through this,’ Glenn said after, tears welling in her eyes. ‘It was a whole new experience for me today.’
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Glenn said of all the moments in her long, winding career that this one is at the top.
‘I’m so grateful and happy to share it with these ladies,’ Glenn said of Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito, who are in second and third, respectively. ‘And I hope we can continue that for the next, like, month and a half.’
For her part, Liu continued her spectacular season, putting up a score of 81.11, which was also a record until Glenn broke it two skaters later. Liu delivered a flawless “Promise” short program, arguably her best one of the season. She was all smiles getting off the ice, her chill vibe the talk of the broadcast.
‘Well, listen, I have a ton of friends here watching and I’m competing with and we all did really good today, so what’s there to be mad about?’ she said after. ‘And I really liked from my performance specifcally, I liked my Biellmann a lot, I liked by Lutz loop.’
Earlier Wednesday, defending national champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov put up the performance of the night for pairs short program, scoring a 75.31. However, their Olympic fate is in limbo.
The championships continue Thursday with the rhythm dance and the men’s short program, when “Quad God” himself Ilia Malinin will take the ice. 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.
US figure skating championships results
Alysa Liu, reigning world champion, put up a monster 81.11 only for defending U.S. champion Amber Glenn to blow past it with an 83.05. Here are standings.
- Amber Glenn: 83.05 total segment score, 46.14 technical element score, 36.91 program component score.
- Alysa Liu: 81.11 total segment score, 43.68 technical element score, 37.43 program component score.
- Isabeau Levito: 75.72 total segment score, 40.10 technical element score, 35.62 program component score.
- Sarah Everhardt: 71.10 total segment score, 38.90 technical element score, 32.20 program component score.
- Bradie Tennell: 69.53 total segment score, 36.27 technical element score, 33.26 program component score.
- Starr Andrew: 65.77 total segment score, 34.09 technical element score, 31.68 program component score.
- Elyce Lin-Gracey: 65.24 total segment score, 34.52 technical element score, 30.72 program component score.
- Josephine Lee: 62.79 total segment score, 32.96 technical element score, 29.83 program component score.
- Sherry Zhang: 60.99 total segment score, 31.11 technical element score, 29.88 program component score.
- Sophie Joline von Felten: 60.68 total segment score, 34.36 technical element score, 27.32 program component score.
- Alina Bonillo: 58.94 total segment score, 32.10 technical element score, 27.84 program component score.
- Logan Higase-Chen: 55.22 total segment score, 29.51 technical element score, 26.71 program component score. She had a one-point deduction for a fall.
- Sonja Hilmer: 55.00 total segment score, 26.82 technical element score, 28.18 program component score. The crowd actually groaned when her score was announced.
- Emilia Nemirovsky: 53.28 total segment score, 26.16 technical element score, 27.12 program component score.
- Anabel Wallace: 52.74 total segment score, 28.84 technical element score, 23.90 program component score. The 17-year-old is competing at her first national championships.
- Brook Gewalt: 50.59 total segment score, 25.68 technical element score, 24.91 program component score.
- Katie Shen: 49.50 total segment score, 24.15 technical element score, 25.35 program component score.
- Erica Machida: 49.41 total segment score, 25.32 technical element score, 24.09 program component score.
Amber Glenn puts up record-breaking score
The two-time defending U.S. champion Amber Glenn put on a beautiful short program to ‘Like a Prayer’ by Madonna, the crowd clapping along as the song and program reached a crescendo. Glenn gave a massive fist bump when she finished, began to cry and put her face in her hands, overcome with emotion. She earned an 83.05, good for first place in the standings after the short program.
‘I think that’s the most intense I’ve reacted to any skate ever I’m usually but there was just a feeling today that was so different,’ she said.
Alysa Liu turns in flawless short program
The spectacular season for reigning world champion Alysa Liu continues. She delivered a flawless “Promise” short program, arguably her best one of the season. She was all smiles getting off the ice, and for good reason, scoring a season-best 81.11.
‘The fact that all of us are that good is just, I guess really good for the crowd, like the more people are coming in to watch us, and that fuels like our performances,’ Liu said.
Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu on their friendship
USA TODAY Sports’ Jordan Mendoza spoke to Amber Glenn and Alysa Liu on the tight friendship they have formed. Here’s what they said.
What Liu said about Glenn: “She’s just such a big sister to me. The idea that we compete against each other, it’s so weird to me. I really just see her as one of my friends and truly one of my teammates. I don’t know, doing things with her is really fun.”
When Glenn said about Liu: “It’s been great to have someone that has such a positive outlook on skating and on her career around me. And then on the flip side, I have an extra pair of tights if she rips them and doesn’t have a backup, or I have the schedule ready because she doesn’t have it.”
Sarah Everhardt turns in season-best short program
Two skaters into the final group and there was a new person in first in Sarah Everhardt. She felt like the crowd helped her remember to smile more, and as a result, that helped lead to a season-best score of 71.10. Elyce Lin-Gracey started the group and although she got a 65.24, it will likely keep her out of the top five by the end of the night
Starr Andrews’ routine a crowd favorite
Through two groups and 12 skaters, Starr Andrew ran the women’s short program to sit in first place. Her Beyoncé routine has always been a crowd pleaser, and it was no different this time around, executing another solid performance.
She earned a 65.77, just ahead of Josephine Lee, who had her own good showing. Lee stumbled with her short program at Skate America in November, but she didn’t have any issues with her Shakira-inspired Tango, getting a season-best score of 62.79. Sherry Zhang’s season-best of 60.99 has her in third.
Sonja Hilmer tap dances on ice
One of the coolest performances so far came from Sonja Hilmer, who incorporated tap dancing into her program. Not only was it unique, but she also executed it perfectly with the music and drew a loud applause from the audience.
“This is a concept I’ve been playing with here and there,” Hilmer said afterward.
The crowd actually groaned when Hilmer’s 55.00 score was announced.
Logan Higase-Chen tops Group 1 in short program
A junior champion is on the top step of the senior championship through Group 1 of the women’s short program. Logan Higase-Chen earned a score of 55.22 to put her in first, nearly two points ahead of Emilia Nemirovsky.
The first group featured a few senior championship debuts, including Higase-Chen, the 2024 U.S. junior champion, and Anabel Wallace, who scored a 52.74 in her short programt.
Erica Machida gains buzz with Chappell Roan program
Erica Machida knew just the music to use in the home state of the “Midwest Princess.” In their national debut, Erica performed their short program to Chappell Roan’s “Kaleidoscope” and “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl” that got the crowd amped for their performance.
They earned a score of 49.41, putting them in sixth place after the first group completed their programs
Alisa Efimova, Misha Mitrofanov sit in first after pairs short program
The defending champions are well-positioned to defend their crown with Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov comfortably in first place after the short program. Their score of 75.31 is more than seven points ahead of Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy in second place.
It was a justified score as Efimova and Mitrofanov looked miles ahead of the rest of the field, and some other contenders like Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, as well as Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe, had some big slips.
Efimova and Mitrofanov are a married couple and their story is an intriguing one as Efimova is not an American citizen. From Finland, Efimova is awaiting a ruling on her American citizenship after obtaining her green card approval in July 2024. If she doesn’t obtain it, the pair will not be eligible for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Pairs figure skating standings
Here are the pairs standings after Wednesday’s short program. The winners will be decided after Friday’s free skate, which starts at 3 p.m.
- Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov: 75.31 total segment score, 41.58 technical score, 33.73 program components score. The defending champions put on the most impressive performance of the night.
- Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy: 67.67 total segment score, 36.99 technical score and 30.68 program component score. The pair skated with confidence, and Shin put her face in her hands in disbelief after putting together the strong showing.
- Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea: 67.13 total segment score, 36.12 technical score, 32.01 program components score. They had one point deducted.
- Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez: 67.03 total segment score, 37.91 technical score, 29.12 program components score.
- Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman: 66.81 total segment score, 36.78 technical score, 30.03 program components score.
- Olivia Flores and Luke Wang: 63.58 total segment score, 35.57 technical score and 28.01 program components score. This marked the pair’s senior national team debut. Wang pumped both his fists and Flores flashed a huge smile when they finished their program.
- Chelsea Liu and Ryan Bedard: 62.34 total segment score, 35.27 technical score and 27.07 program components score. Liu came off the ice coughing, battling through illness this week to be able to compete. The pair just came together in July 2025 and have put on some solid showings early on.
- Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe: 59.29 total segment score, 32.83 technical score, 29.46 program components score. Chan had three mishaps in succession, each worse than the one before. She had a wonky landing on a attempted triple toe, unable to complete a full final rotation. She fell on a transition and fell on an attempted throw.
- Naomi Williams and Lachlan Lewer: 55.09 total segment score, 30.97 technical score and 25.12 program components score. They had a one-point deduction for a fall. The pair, in their third season together, did a chest bump and laughed before starting their program.
- Linzy Fitzpatrick and Keyton Bearinger: 54.56 total segment score, 30.41 technical score and 24.15 program components score. The pair had to wait seemingly longer than usual — 8 minutes — for their scores to be announced.
Judges for women’s short program
- Judge No. 1: Mr. Richard Perez
- Judge No. 2: Ms. Jennifer Thompson
- Judge No. 3: Mr. Jeffrey Charbonneau
- Judge No. 4: Ms. Stefanie Mathewson
- Judge No. 5: Ms. Deborah Currie
- Judge No. 6: Ms. Karen Perreault
- Judge No. 7: Ms. Joy Jin
- Judge No. 8: Ms. Dawn Eyerly
- Judge No. 9: Ms. Katherine Specht
Here is the technical panel.
- Referee: Ms. Peggy Graham
- Technical Controller: Mr. Robert Rosenbluth
- Technical Specialist: Ms. Julie Newman
- Technical Specialist: Ms. Cynthia Stevenson
Skaters from 2025 plane crash honored
Before the event began, U.S. Figure Skating honored the 28 athletes, coaches and parents that were killed in the January 2025 plane crash. On Jan. 29, 2025 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, an Army helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5342, resulting in 67 deaths.
The skaters, coaches and parents were returning from a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, which was held in conjunction with the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
A moment of silence was held and the skaters were shown on the jumbotron inside the arena.
When does Ilia Malinin compete?
The ‘Quad God’ himself takes the first on Thursday night for his short program.
Pairs short program judges
Here were the nine judges for pairs short program.
- Judge No. 1: Mr. Hal Marron
- Judge No. 2: Ms. Stefanie Mathewson
- Judge No. 3: Ms. Sheren Chiang
- Judge No. 4: Ms. Dawn Eyerly
- Judge No. 5: Ms. Lorrie Parker
- Judge No. 6: Ms. Gale Tanger
- Judge No. 7: Ms. Katherine Specht
- Judge No. 8: Ms. Danielle Hartsell Minnis
- Judge No. 9: Ms. Karen Perreault
Here is the technical panel.
- Referee: Mr. Aristeo Brito
- Technical Controller: Ms. Deveny Deck
- Technical Specialist: Mr. Steven Hsu
- Technical Specialist: Ms. Dana Graham
Types of figure skating jumps
- Toe jump: A skater drives the toe pick of their non-takeoff foot into the ice to launch themselves into the air and generate momentum into the jump.
- Toe loop: A skater takes off backward and lands on the same back edge of their blade.
- Lutz: A skater moving backward jumps off the back outside edge of their skate and uses the toe-pick of their other skate to catapult into the air in the opposite direction and lands on the back outside edge of the picking leg.
- 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 takes off not with their toe pick but off the edge of their skate.
- 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 while traveling backward. The axel is the hardest jump because of the extra half-revolution that comes with a forward takeoff and a backward landing.
- 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.
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.
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.