Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko perform at 2025 Skate America. Carreira wears a burgundy dress with sheer sleeves, flowing skirt panels and intricate teal embellishments, paired with white figure skates and teal earrings. Ponomarenko wears a gray, asymmetrical long-sleeved shirt with black geometric detailing and black pants. He holds Carreira around the waist as she extends one arm outward and raises the other near her head, both displaying expressive facial expressions.

Melanie Heaney/U.S. Figure Skating

U.S. National Team Launches Grand Prix Campaign in France

Nine athletes comprise U.S. delegation in Angers

10/20/2026 12:00:00 PM

By: Abby Farrell

2026 Grand Prix de France kicks off a new quad and the 2026 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series this week with the event slated to take place Oct. 23-25 in Angers, France.

2026 Olympians Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko will lead the charge for the United States.

The team, on the hunt for the top ice dance spot in the United States this season, will take the ice in France fresh off an international gold at the 2026 Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Also competing in the ice dance event are Eva Pate and Logan Bye and Leah Neset and Artem Markelov.

Pate and Bye, who train in Novi. Michigan, launched their season by securing a silver medal at the 2026  Lake Placid Ice Dance International. They followed that performance with a top-10 finish at the 2026 Nepela Memorial last month.

Neset and Markelov, who are competing in their third Grand Prix Series this season, joined Pate and Bye on the podium at the 2026 Lake Placid Ice Dance International, earning the bronze medal. The team most recently placed fifth at Nebelhorn Trophy.

Sarah Everhardt will represent the stars and stripes in the women's event.

The 2025 Four Continents bronze medalist enters her third season on the Grand Prix circuit, eyeing her highest finish in the Series. Everhardt returns to Grand Prix de France for the first time since 2024, where she clinched a fifth-place result.

Jacob Sanchez will look to build on a breakout 2025-26 season in the men's discipline. Last year, the New York native and 2024 Junior Grand Prix Final champion impressed audiences by taking home the pewter medal at the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.

Joining him in the men's event is Jimmy Ma. The 2025 Four Continents bronze medalist, Ma will be competing in his seventh season on the Grand Prix circuit. He began this season with a ninth-place finish at Nebelhorn Trophy

Competition kicks off Friday at noon ET with the rhythm dance and women's short program. The men's short program starts a full day of action on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. ET, followed by the free dance. The day finishes with the pairs short program and women's free skate. Competition wraps up Sunday, beginning at 6:30 a.m. ET with the pairs and men's free skates.

Peacock will livestream every skater with all events available for 72 hours following their conclusion.

The Grand Prix Series, which started in 1995, consists of six international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. Each athlete or team is eligible to score points in up to two of the six scheduled events. The top six point-earners in each discipline qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2026, set for Dec. 10-13 in Chongqing, China.

For a full schedule, results, news and more, visit the 2026 Grand Prix Series Competition Central.

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