The South is known for its hospitality, and the Georgia Figure Skating Club made everyone feel welcomed at the 2026 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships presented by Prevagen in Duluth.

A total of 490 skaters from across the country took part in the 31st annual event, held April 8-11 at the Atlanta IceForum. This marked the first time the event was held in the Peach state.

Sindura Akkineni, Georgia FSC president since July, said it was a team effort all the way. 

"Having this competition here, it was an amazing experience overall from the planning and getting all the help from all the local skaters," Akkineni said. "Me being the president only for a few months when I was handed this task of hosting adult nationals, everyone pitched in; even in planning phases, they showed up and did everything that needed to be done."

Akkineni credited local organizing committee chairs Ginger Whatley and Marilyn Nolte for their hard work and attention to detail in helping make the event a success.

"Seeing all the adults getting excited and volunteering and helping and having fun out there skating, it means a lot," Akkineni said. 

Here's a look at the 11 championship events.

Championship Masters Junior-Senior Women
Struthwolf-Leato 'just happy' to compete

Kristina Struthwolf-Leato successfully defended her title, winning her fifth consecutive and sixth championship masters junior-senior women's title.

Performing to selections from Les Miserables, she generated a score of 70.88. She landed 10 double jumps, three in combination, and earned a Level 4 grade for a spin. Struthwolf-Leato felt fortunate to have earned the junior-senior women's podium again title.

"This time especially, I'm just happy to be here because I tweaked my back two or three weeks ago," the Utah skater said. "Last Thursday I was laying on the floor at our house and I didn't not think I would be skating at all. So Monday I just tried jumping and it was really scary, but I knew I needed to try to see if I could do anything. Yesterday was the first time I was able to skate without any pain, so even just being here is a win."

Her performance was a bit delayed as the skater in front of her experienced a nosebleed and an additional ice resurface was required.

"It didn't really affect me," Struthwolf-Leato said. "I always just expect the unexpected and I can laugh things off pretty easily."

Rosie Canter earned the silver medal and Thita Lamsam, the only skater to attempt a triple jump (a toe loop), claimed the bronze, while Heather Collick took home the pewter medal. 

Championship Masters Junior-Senior Men
Jahoda captures title in event debut

Edward Jahoda, a software engineer, made the most of his debut at the Adult Championships, winning the championship masters junior-senior men's title with a score of 54.16.

"It was fun to be out there. I was hoping to skate better than at sectionals and I did that," Jahoda said. "Training has been really fun the last few months."

Jahoda, who hails from Washington state, performed to a "Cinema Paradiso" medley. A tall skater, Jahoda demonstrated good height on his jumps and showcased clean lines. He had one fall but otherwise rallied for a solid skate.

Coached by Corrie Martin and Darin Hosier at Kraken Skating Academy in Seattle, Jahoda said the music choice fit his skating well.

"My coach and I were looking for something that was kind of soft and that would complement my style of skating, and [Cinema Paradiso] just sounded really nice."

His second and third jumping passes, he said, were the "problematic ones."

"After the second one I said this is good, and after the third one I said let's have some fun," he said.

Stephen Kucera earned the silver medal, while Eduardo Vidal claimed the bronze.

Championship Masters Intermediate-Novice Women 

Yagihashi makes a splash at first adult nationals

Miu Yagihashi brought fans to their feet with her elegant program to music from "Romeo and Juliet."

The 21-year-old from California moved seamlessly from one element to the next, radiating joy along the way. She produced a record-setting score of 59.21 to claim the championship masters intermediate-novice women's title in her Adult Championships debut.

Her program, inspired by Marin Honda's performance at the 2016 World Junior Championships to the same music, was flawless and included three Level 4 spins and six double jumps, three in combination.

"I used to compete in Japan and, after I moved here, I had to quit to learn English and catch up with schoolwork," Yagihashi said. "But now that I'm in college and started coaching, I missed skating and that made me want to come back. I found out about the adult series."

The audience's response to her skating, she said, was something she hadn't experienced before.

"It felt amazing," she said.

Yagihashi is coached by Isaac Jun, who also led Joshua Deckman to the championship adult gold men's title.

"He's an amazing coach," Yagihashi said. "We teach Learn to Skate USA classes together. I trust him. I like the way he teaches and skates, and I'm inspired to skate like him."

Molly Linder carted home the silver medal. Emily Stark and Allison DeSantis claimed the bronze and pewter medals, respectively.

Championship Masters Intermediate-Novice Men
Dresbach enjoys triumphant return

Sasha Dresbach returned to the Adult Championships after a two-year break and captured the championship masters intermediate-novice men's title. 

The victory is his third at the competition; he previously won championship adult gold men (2023) and championship adult silver men (2022). Dresbach is now the only adult athlete to have won titles in three different championship-level events.

Skating to music from the Avatar 2 soundtrack, Dresbach posted a score of 40.04. He ended with his highest-scoring element, a Level 4 change of foot combination spin.

"I felt good out there," Dresbach said. "I felt the program flowed nicely. I left some points out there, but overall, no way I could be disappointed with it."

Dresbach, who trains in Illinois under coach and choreographer Ashley Bergholtz, didn't have a good experience at the 2024 adult championships and decided he needed a break.

"That year did not go well," he said. "My mindset was bad. I kept telling myself you need to be perfect, keep winning. Thinking of all the wrong things. I was having fun socializing and supporting other people, but with my skating, I was miserable. I knew then I needed to take a break before coming back to competition."

Dresbach's return to the adult championships was special as he reunited with many friends.

"I missed everyone, and they said they missed me, too," he said. "It feels amazing."

Past champion Michael Rubke earned the silver medal, with Ken Ho and Christopher Williams securing the bronze and pewter medals, respectively.

Championship Adult Gold Women
Li delivers 'swan' song

Vicky Li received some bad news as she left her home in Houston and traveled to Georgia for the adult championships: Her home rink, Ice Skate Memorial City, will close for good this summer.

The rink inside the Memorial City Mall has been a fixture since 2003. 

Uncertain now of her skating future — the nearest rink is now 45 minutes away — Li delivered her swan song, so to speak, winning the championship adult gold women's title with 41.83 points.

"It feels amazing," Li said. "When I was a kid, I always dreamed of going to nationals one day. This is the perfect chance for me after coming back to skating from when I was a kid."

Inspired by classical ballet Swan Lake, Li returned to her childhood days.

"I performed this as an artistic event when I was little with my coach Inna [Shaposhnikova.] So it's like us going back in time and doing a new rendition of it now that I'm older." 

An elegant and sophisticated performer, Li captured the audience's attention with her swan-inspired costume, especially with her two Level 3 spins.

Her performance was starkly different from than the one she called a "train wreck" last year.

"This year was a lot better," she said. "I wished there were two things I could have done better, but I'm happy with what I placed and it's still surreal to me."

She placed second last year in her Adult Championships debut.

Leslie Duskin earned the silver medal. Georgia's own Marinice Bauman claimed the bronze medal, while Rose Weinstein collected the pewter.

Championship Adult Gold Men 

Deckman makes statement with huge score

Competing at his first Adult Championships, 22-year-old Joshua Deckman left an impression.

The California-based skater posted a winning score of 44.01 to secure the championship adult gold men's title.

His fast, powerful skate to "New World Symphony" included high jumps and spins with excellent positions. 

"I was quite nervous through the entire thing," Deckman said. "I didn't quite do as well as I wanted to – put my foot down on a couple of jumps – but overall, I was quite surprised with the high score."

Deckman's coach thought the skater had the skills to compete at the Adult Championships.

"I said, 'sure.' I Thought it might be a once-in-a-lifetime thing so let's go for it," Deckman said.

Deckman started skating as a 6-year-old and quit at 13 but came back to the sport at age 20. 

Past champion Rafael Quintanar secured the silver medal, while defending champion Eric Cook placed third. Jose Ortiz earned the pewter medal.

Championship Adult Dance
Beggs and Hubbell emerge victorious

Jodi Beggs and Keiffer Hubbell put their own spin on a program from the past to secure the championship adult dance title. 

After finishing second in the Westminster Waltz, the Detroit-area skaters delivered an effervescent, light and airy program to "Perfect Day" by Kirsty MacColl and Evan Dando. 

Winners of the free dance, they finished with an overall score of 82.13.

"I'm always anxious about competing and I'm a little bit of a perfectionist so I always worry," Beggs said. "But I was pretty happy with how things went and glad people enjoyed what we put together."

The concept of their program, Beggs said, was inspired from a program that Canadians Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier performed 15 years ago. 

"The announcers then described their program as that of just a young couple having a very nice day," Beggs said. 

"Our program is sort of a deadpan sarcastic version of a young couple having a nice day," Beggs said. "That's more of my vibe, but we took inspiration from Vanessa and Paul's program and our outfits are similar to their outfits."

The team's win was the first in two seasons together, and it was Hubbell's first after competing several years in championship masters pairs event. With sister Madison Hubbell, Keiffer earned U.S. pewter medals in ice dance ice dance in 2009 and 2011.

Hubbell and Beggs gave their performance in Georgia a thumbs up.

"I've never won nationals before! The footwork and the twizzle segment went well for us," Hubbell said. "That's the skating and that's the glide and it went well."

"I like the assisted jumps because with the last one we could hear the crowd reaction," Beggs added. 

Defending champions Jennifer Freedman and Oleg Voyko captured the silver medal, with Amy Lepis and Michael Ricigliano securing bronze and Katri Gilbert and Peter Sasmore earning the pewter.

Championships Masters Pairs
Cheng and Solovyev reach for the stars

Diana Cheng and Kirill Solovyev soared to their first championship masters pairs title, producing a score of 45.59.

The team, which also competed in the championship adult dance event, performed to "Shenzou" from the Gravity movie soundtrack.

"We were inspired by all the space exploration," Cheng said. "[Solovyev's] son did an internship at NASA at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. I work with the planetarium director at Towson University, and we both love space. We also thought it would be so cool, because Artemis II just landed yesterday. We love being part of the whole space exploration and adding that to the music and skating."

They executed each of their planned elements and earned a program-high score of 3.50 points for their choreographic step sequence.

They finished fifth in championship adult dance.

Last year, Cheng and Solovyev became the first team to medal in both events, placing second in pairs and third in dance.

Courtney Ozog and Paul Mata took home the silver medal, while Suzanne Bassett and Heath Rogers garnered the bronze. Tara Cioppa and Stephen Trzaska earned the pewter medal.

Championship Adult Combined Solo Dance 

Wahlquist earns redemption 

Tori Wahlquist put last year's disappointment at the U.S. Adult Championships, as well as some recent injuries, behind her to capture the championship adult solo dance title.

Coached by Erica Schletty and Sam Kaplun in Stillwater, Minnesota, Wahlquist won the Westminster Waltz and placed third in the free dance en route to an overall score of 88.55. 

Flying across the ice with fluidity and command, Wahlquist made a mistake on her twizzle but fought hard to make the rest of the performance memorable.

"I had one mistake, a little bobble, but other than that it went well," she said. "I got into my tango theme and had a lot of fun, especially considering what I've gone through the last six months."

At the end of 2025, Wahlquist had surgery and was off the ice for six weeks. She had just nine weeks of training leading up to this competition.

"It's super rewarding that hard work can pay off in that short amount of time," she said.

She also felt redemption from last year's event, in which she received no credit for one element and experienced some confusion interpreting the rulebook. 

"I didn't get the points I could have gotten, but this year everything got called," Wahlquist said. 

First-time competitor Channah Weiner won the free dance and finished .06 points behind Wahlquist. Weiner's clubmate, Grace Stuever, grabbed the bronze medal, making her the only athlete who has reached the podium in every championship adult solo dance event since its inception in 2023. Carly Harris-Koleczko took home the pewter.

Championships Adult Silver Women
Leahy takes 'cheapskate' way to top of podium

Shannon Leahy admits she doesn't fork out the big bucks when it comes to her skating, but her first-place finish in the championship adult silver women's event speaks to time well spent on the ice.

The Maryland-based skater posted a score of 28.38 to earn the title.

"All my money goes to my kids, so I try to do this for fun," Leahy, who was the oldest skater in the division at age 46, said. "I make my own costumes. I bought this one on Ebay for $15."

Self-coached and choreographed, Leahy performed to music from the 1990s movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

"It was my high school gymnastics music, and I still love it," she said, adding, "I feel like since I can't do the Axels like the young kids, I try to focus on the spins and highlighting the music with the choreography."

Her opening and closing spins were her highest point-earners.

Leahy skated from ages 8 to 11 but couldn't pass any of her figures tests, and the sport was getting too expensive. She came back to skating at age 42. Leahy last competed at the Adult Championships in 2023 in the bronze age group II division.

Riley Tate and Alexis Semanskee finished less than one point behind the winner, earning silver and bronze, respectively. Emily Kochan earned the pewter medal.

Championship Adult Silver Men
Martinez lights up the ice 

Competing at their first U.S. Adult Championships, Michael Martinez delivered an amped-up performance to "Higher" by Michael Bublé.

The 23-year-old's high-energy, charismatic routine earned them the championship adult silver men's title with a score of 26.24. 

"It felt amazing," Martinez, who hails from California, said. "I just wanted a clean skate and give people a performance; that was what I cared about the most, that people enjoy it and it was awesome to watch.

"I heard the crowd and that fueled me, gave me the energy. It was nice to hear all those cheers, the most I've had at any competition."

Martinez's single Lutz-single loop-single Axel sequence earned a program-high 2.47 points.

In his three years of skating, Martinez said he's enjoyed making friends and having a solid support system around him.

"It's all about having fun," he added.

Defending event champion Ken Nguyen finished second. Brian Padgett claimed third place, while Luke Brown took fourth.

Click here for full results from the 2026 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships presented by Prevagen.