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U.S. Figure Skating

Jimmy Ma strikes a pose on the ice with his left arm extended in the air and his right arm on his hip. He is a young Asian man with short black hair wearing a black long sleeve top with sheer sleeves and jewel detailing down the front and black pants.
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National Team: Figure Skating Abby Farrell

Team USA Athletes in Medal Position to Open Four Continents Championships

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, Jimmy Ma lead U.S. in second in ice dance, pairs and men's events, respectively

Five Team USA athletes are in medal position in three disciplines after the first day of competition at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2025 in Seoul, South Korea.

Three-time Four Continents champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates and the reigning bronze medalists Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea finished second in the rhythm dance and pairs short program, respectively, while Jimmy Ma placed second in the men's short program. 

Chock and Bates' performance to "Hawaii 5-0," "Let's Twist Again" and "Rock Around the Clock" by Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers; "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees; "Blame it on the Boogie" by The Jackson 5; Y.M.C.A." by the Village People; and "Last Dance" by Donna Summer opened with Level 4 sequential twizzles and concluded with a Level 4 rotational lift. Their skate earned highest marks for its midline step sequence.

The 2025 U.S. ice dance champions finished with 86.21 points, just 1.01 points behind Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada who currently sit in first place.

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko finished just outside of the top three in fourth place on day one, scoring 79.30 points. The reigning Four Continents ice dance bronze medalists executed a Level 4 sequential twizzle and Level 4 rotational lift in their rhythm dance set to "Rip It Up" and "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard and "I Just Want to Make Love to You" by Etta James.

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik's performance to a Bee Gees medley featured a Level 4 sequential twizzle and Level 4 rotational lift that contributed 18.69 combined points toward a segment score of 74.63.

Leading the way for the U.S. in the pairs event, Kam and O'Shea secured a second-place finish in the pairs short program segment with a new international personal best score of 70.32.

The reigning Four Continents bronze medalists are within reach of a second consecutive podium finish at the event after earning Level 4 marks on five elements, including a triple twist lift at the beginning of their program worth 7.37 points. Their skate to "Rain, in Your Black Eyes" by Ezio Bosso also earned positive grades of execution on all but one element.

Also representing Team USA were Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who placed fifth with a new international personal best short program score of 67.59.

The 2025 U.S. champions skated to "Ameksa" and "Uccen" by Taalbi Brothers and executed four Level 4 elements, including a Level 4 backward outside edge death spiral and Level 4 pairs lift that were both awarded over five points each. Their triple loop throw tallied 6.14 points.

Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy ended day one of their Four Continents debut in 10th, collecting 51.70 points. Their highest scoring element was a Level 4 lift at the end of the program.

In the men's event, Ma will enter Saturday's free skate in second place after earning a short program score of 82.52.

His skate to "Mexican Phonk Eki" by NUEKI and TOLCHONOV opened with a quadruple toe loop followed by a triple Axel, which collected 9.50 and 9.83 points, respectively. Ma's highest scoring element was a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination worth 11.45 points, and he also received positive GOEs on all but one element.

Tomoki Hiwatashi placed 15th with a score of 65.88 and Camden Pulkinen finished 0.09 points behind Hiwatashi in 16th, earning a score of 65.79.

Tomorrow, the first medals of the competition will be awarded following the pairs free skate and the women will take the ice for the first time for the short program in Seoul.

For full results from the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2025, click here.
 
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Players Mentioned

  Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko

#16   Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko

April 3, 2000 | Jan. 5, 2001
Senior/Ice Dance
Montreal, Quebec | San Jose, Calif.
  Ellie Kam and Danny O

#57   Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea

Dec. 20, 2004 | Feb. 13, 1991
Senior/Pairs
Yokota Air Base (Japan) | Pontiac, Mich.
  Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik

#129   Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik

April 22, 2002 | Oct. 27, 2001
Senior/Ice Dance
Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. | Kharkiv, Ukraine
Tomoki Hiwatashi

#52 Tomoki Hiwatashi

Jan. 20, 2000
Senior/Men
Englewood, N.J.
Jimmy Ma

#76 Jimmy Ma

Oct. 11, 1995
Senior/Men
Queens, N.Y.
  Madison Chock and Evan Bates

#19   Madison Chock and Evan Bates

July 2, 1992 | Feb. 23, 1989
Senior/Ice Dance
Redondo Beach, Calif. | Ann Arbor, Mich.
Camden Pulkinen

#100 Camden Pulkinen

March 25, 2000
Senior/Men
Scottsdale, Ariz.
  Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov

#28   Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov

June 8, 1999 | June 12, 1997
Senior/Pairs
Kouvola, Finland | Madison, Wis.
  Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy

#108   Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy

March 12, 2004 | July 9, 1998
Senior/Pairs
Islip, N.Y. | Budapest, Hungary

Players Mentioned

  Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko

#16   Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko

Senior/Ice Dance
Montreal, Quebec | San Jose, Calif.
April 3, 2000 | Jan. 5, 2001
  Ellie Kam and Danny O

#57   Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea

Senior/Pairs
Yokota Air Base (Japan) | Pontiac, Mich.
Dec. 20, 2004 | Feb. 13, 1991
  Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik

#129   Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik

Senior/Ice Dance
Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. | Kharkiv, Ukraine
April 22, 2002 | Oct. 27, 2001
Tomoki Hiwatashi

#52 Tomoki Hiwatashi

Senior/Men
Englewood, N.J.
Jan. 20, 2000
Jimmy Ma

#76 Jimmy Ma

Senior/Men
Queens, N.Y.
Oct. 11, 1995
  Madison Chock and Evan Bates

#19   Madison Chock and Evan Bates

Senior/Ice Dance
Redondo Beach, Calif. | Ann Arbor, Mich.
July 2, 1992 | Feb. 23, 1989
Camden Pulkinen

#100 Camden Pulkinen

Senior/Men
Scottsdale, Ariz.
March 25, 2000
  Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov

#28   Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov

Senior/Pairs
Kouvola, Finland | Madison, Wis.
June 8, 1999 | June 12, 1997
  Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy

#108   Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy

Senior/Pairs
Islip, N.Y. | Budapest, Hungary
March 12, 2004 | July 9, 1998