Photo Credit: Melanie Heaney/U.S. Figure Skating
Only a few days after the conclusion of the 2024 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships, 18 U.S. athletes travel to the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2024 Jan. 29-Feb. 4 in Shanghai, China.
Competing in the women’s division are Ava Ziegler, Lindsay Thorngren and Elyce Lin-Gracey. All will be making their Four Continents debut.
In her breakout season, Ziegler will be competing at Four Continents after winning the gold at 2023 NHK Trophy, her first ever Grand Prix medal.
Standing next to Ziegler on the podium at NHK Trophy was Thorngren, who also secured her first Grand Prix medal with the silver.
The youngest of the women’s team members at 16 years old, Lin-Gracey will be competing in just her third international event as a senior. This season, Lin-Gracey earned silver at Junior Grand Prix Armenia before claiming bronze skating as a senior at Warsaw Cup.
In the men’s event, three U.S. athletes will take the ice: Maxim Naumov, Andrew Torgashev and Tomoki Hiwatashi.
2024 U.S. men’s pewter medalist Maxim Naumov will compete shortly after securing his second consecutive senior U.S. podium finish in Columbus, Ohio, while Torgashev will make his Four Continents debut in Shanghai.
Hiwatashi will compete in his fourth Four Continents Championships, recording a top-10 finish in each of his appearances.
Newly crowned U.S. champions Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea will lead Team USA in the pairs competition. The 2023 World Championship Team members aims to earn their first podium finish after taking sixth at this event last year.
Joining them are 2024 U.S. bronze medalists Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez, who will be competing in their second Four Continents Championships. They finished just off the podium in fourth at both their Grand Prix events and ended their 2023 calendar year with a silver medal at Golden Spin of Zagreb.
Making their Four Continents debut are Chelsea Liu and Balazs Nagy, who earned bronze at Skate America. The pair teamed up in May 2023 and Four Continents will mark just their fifth competition together.
In the ice dance event, multiple U.S. teams will have their eyes set on the podium. ‘
The 2024 U.S. silver medalists, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko will be vying for their second Four Continents medal after securing bronze in 2022. The duo just missed a medal in each of their Grand Prix assignments.
Looking to rebound from a disappointing finish at the U.S. Championships, Caroline Green and Michael Parsons will also be on the hunt for their second Four Continents medal after earning gold in 2022.
Rounding out the roster for Team USA are Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, who are the 2023 Golden Spin of Zagreb silver medalists.
Competition begins Thursday, Feb. 1 with the women’s, men’s and pairs short programs. The following day, ice dance kicks off with the rhythm dance, and the first medals will be awarded following the women’s free skate. On Saturday, Feb. 3, champions will be crowned in the pairs and women’s events. The event then concludes on Sunday, Feb. 4 with the free dance.
Four Continents is an annual competition that began in 1999 with skaters representing the four world regions of Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.
All events will be streamed live on Peacock, and can be accessed on Peacock for 72 hours following their conclusion. To view the full TV schedule, visit the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.
Click here for the full event schedule and results.
U.S. ENTRIES AT ISU FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024
Athlete | Hometown | Training Town
Women
Elyse Lin-Gracey | Arcadia, Calif. | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Lindsay Thorngren | Montclair, N.J. | Hackensack, N.J.
Ava Ziegler | Dover, N.J. | Newburgh, N.Y.
Men
Tomoki Hiwatashi | Hoffman Estates, Ill. | Uji, Japan
Maxim Naumov | Norwood, Mass. | Norwood, Mass.
Andrew Torgashev | Lake Forest, Fla. | Irvine, Calif.
Pairs
Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea | Colorado Springs, Colo.; Colorado Springs, Colo. | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Chelsea Liu and Balazs Nagy | Irvine, Calif.; Budapest, Hungary | Irvine, Calif.
Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez | Pembroke Pines, Fla.; Miami Fla. | Canton, Mich.
Ice Dance
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko | Saint Clair, Mich.; San Jose, Calif. | London, Ontario
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons | Rockville, Md.; Derwood, Md. | Canton, Mich.
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik | Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.; Kharkiv, Ukraine | Nove, Mich.
