01/24/26 11:02:00
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01/24 11:01 CST Efimova and Mitrofanov's Four Continents win shows what US team
could be missing at the Olympics
Efimova and Mitrofanov's Four Continents win shows what US team could be
missing at the Olympics
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
U.S. pairs champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov underscored exactly
what the American team could be missing at the Milan Cortina Olympics on
Saturday when they rallied to win the Four Continents Figure Skating
Championships in Beijing.
Efimova and Mitrofanov were in third place, nearly five points back of China's
Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, after the short program. But they rallied to win the
free skate and finished with 205.34 points, while Sui and Han --- who will be
trying to defend their Olympic title when they get to Milan in less than two
weeks --- slipped to second with 200.99 points.
Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi of Japan fell from second to third with
197.46 points.
Efimova and Mitrofanov were the talk of the U.S. championships earlier this
month, not only because of their performance in St. Louis but also because of
their situation. While he was born in Wisconsin and raised in Texas, Efimova
was born in Finland, and the only way that athletes can compete at the Winter
Olympics is if they are citizens of the nation they are representing.
Efimova married Mitrofanov nearly two years ago and has a valid green card. But
despite help from officials in Massachusetts, where they train at the Skating
Club of Boston, she was unable to secure a passport before the U.S. had to
select its Olympic team.
The rules are different for non-Olympic events, such as Four Continents and the
world championships. Those events are run by the International Skating Union,
not governed by the International Olympic Committee, so Efimova is allowed to
represent the U.S. there.
Efimova and Mitrofanov would have been podium contenders in the pairs event in
Milan. They also would have been able to help the Americans in the team event,
where they are the defending champions. Instead, the U.S. will have to rely on
national silver medalists Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea and fourth-place finishers
Emily Chan and Spencer Howe in the team competition.
Earlier on Saturday, Kao Miura led a Japanese sweep of the short program at
Four Continents, scoring 98.59 points in his final tune-up for the Milan
Cortina Olympics. Kazuki Tomono was second with 97.19 points and Sota Yamamoto
was third with 94.68.
Tomono and Yamamoto are not part of the Japanese team going to the Winter Games.
Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, Jin Boyang of China and Junhwan Cha of South
Korea were right behind; all of them will be in the men's competition in Milan.
None of the U.S. team that's headed to the Olympics is competing at Four
Continents, leaving Tomoki Hiwatashi to lead the American contingent in eighth
place with 80.88 points at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing.
The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships conclude Sunday with the men's
free skate.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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