U.S. ice dance teams swept the top of the leaderboard after the rhythm dance on Thursday at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2026 in Beijing, China.

Two-time and reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov lead the pairs contingent, placing third in the short program. The trio of U.S. women all finished in the top eight in the short program.

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik — who were recently nominated to the 2026 U.S. Olympic Team — rode their momentum from the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships with a polished routine to "Poison" and "Something in Your Eyes" by Bell Biv Devoe.

The reigning U.S. silver medalists delivered on every element, receiving Level 4s for their sequential twizzles and rotational lift. Their choreographic rhythm sequence at the end of their program garnered a GOE of 4.93. They posted a score of 79.97, less than a half point below their international personal best.

The Michigan-based team is competing for the third consecutive year at the Four Continents Championships and seeking their first podium finish at the event.

Reigning U.S. pewter medalists Caroline Green and Michael Parsons also continued to their late-season charge by placing second in the segment with a score of 78.66.

The 2022 Four Continents champions, Green and Parsons shone brightly in their rhythm dance to a dance pop classic. They received Level 4s for their sequential twizzles and rotational lift. Their pattern dance type step sequence generated a program-high 11.57 points.

Siblings Oona Brown and Gage Brown rounded out the rhythm dance sweep by placing third with 74.24 points.

Sixth at the 2026 U.S. Championships, the Browns performed to an iconic, high-energy hip-hop party anthem, "Jump Around" by House of Pain. Their pattern dance type step sequence earned them a program-high 11.11 points.

In the pairs event, Efimova and Mitrofanov continued their upward trajectory with a nearly clean performance (they received a slight deduction on their side-by-side triple toe loops) in the short program.

Performing to "Cloak and Dagger" by Eternal Eclipse, they breezed through their routine, earning Level 4s for their death spiral, Axel lift, step sequence and spin.

Efimova and Mitrofanov posted an international personal best score of 71.85, less than .10 points from the second-place team.

Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy finished sixth with 63.11 points, performing to music from Moulin Rouge!

Program highlights included their routine-ending reverse lasso lift that produced 8.52 points and a Level 4 change foot combination spin.

They arrived in Beijing having placed fifth at the 2026 U.S. Championships.

Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman, the reigning U.S. bronze medalists, placed seventh in the short program with a score of 59.68.

Their Axel lift and change foot combination spin received Level 4s, but they had a fall on their side-by-side jump.

Sarah Everhardt, Bradie Tennell and Starr Andrews finished fifth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in the women's short program.

The reigning Four Continents bronze medalist, Everhardt produced a score of 67.51 performing to "Reel Around the Sun" by Bill Whelan. She earned Level 4s for her three spins. Though her opening triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination received a (quarter) under-rotation call, it was her highest-scoring element with 9.76 points.

Tennell, the reigning U.S. pewter medalist, placed seventh with 66.16 points. She performed an elegant program to "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey.

The 2025 Four Continents silver medalist, Tennell earned Level 4s for her change foot combination spin and step sequence. Her opening triple-triple combination was the only element to receive a negative GOE

Tennell, a two-time U.S. champion, is competing at her fifth Four Continents event.

Andrews, who is competing for the last time as a singles skater, performed a clean program and placed eighth in the segment with a score of 65.82, less than one point off her previous-best international score.

Performing to Beyoncé's "Who Run the World (Girls)", Andrews moved seamlessly across the ice and earned Level 4s for her three spins and step sequence. Her opening triple toe-triple toe combination tallied 9.18 points.

Andrews plans to transition to pairs skating next season.

On Friday, the free dance and women's free skate takes place. All events will be streamed live on Peacock, and can be accessed on Peacock for 72 hours following their conclusion. NBC Sports will be showing Four Continents on E! Jan. 22-24 and NBC on Feb. 1. 

To see the full schedule, results and more, visit the Four Continents Competition Central.