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Why one of America's best figure skating pairs may not make Winter Olympics

Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY January 8, 2026 at 3:01 AM

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ST. LOUIS — Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov wowed in their short program at the 2026 U.S. figure skating championships, finishing Jan. 7 comfortably in first place heading into Friday's free skate.

It’s positioned them well to defend their 2025 U.S. championship, and winning back-to-back nationals would typically be enough to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Except that doesn’t look like it will be a reality.

Despite their stellar performances on the ice, Efimova and Mitrofanov are not eligible to make Team USA right now because Efimova hasn’t obtained her U.S. citizenship. They face a tight deadline, with the Milano Cortina Games beginning in early February.

“The status right now, we're still not eligible for the Olympics,” Mitrofanov told reporters. “We are hoping that maybe a last minute miracle might happen.”

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1 / 10See the emotions: Figure skaters compete to represent the USKatie McBeath and Daniil Parkman perform in the pairs short program during the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Enterprise Center on Jan. 7, 2026 in St. Louis, Mo.

Efimova is from Finland and began skating with Mitrofanov – an American citizen from Wisconsin – in 2023. They have skated for the U.S. since. It wasn’t long until they became a couple and the two married in February 2024. That July, Efimova obtained her green card approval.

However, the Olympic Charter states any competitor must be a citizen of the country they want to represent in order to participate in the Olympic Games. Efimova tried to expedite her citizenship request so she could be approved in time for the Games.

But the couple remains in limbo — and the U.S. Olympic figure skating team will be revealed in just four days. With time starting to run out, Mitrofanov said “it has been more difficult than normal” the last few weeks.

“We had to do a little bit more paperwork and everything like that. There has been a great push for it. Hopefully things happen, but it is out of our control,” he said. “All we do is focus on our skating, focus on what we're able to do, which is on the ice.”

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Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov perform in the pairs short program during the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Enterprise Center.

Efimova and Mitrofanov looked flawless in their short program at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. They scored 75.31, more than seven points ahead of Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy in second place. Should they find themselves back on the podium, it would be the third straight year Efimova and Mitrofanov have done so at nationals.

“We are very proud of this program. This has been by far our best program so far, but we're still continuing to strive for a better score and better points,” Mitrofanov said.

The status of Efimova also affects Team USA as a whole. The couple could end up being the best chance the U.S. has at performing well in pairs at the Winter Olympics, something that has escaped the Americans for some time.

Team USA has never won a gold medal in pairs skating and hasn’t won a medal in the event since 1988, when Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard won bronze.

Efimova and Mitrofanov could also be key players for the Americans in the team event of the Olympics, which the U.S. infamously won in 2022 after the doping scandal of Russian skater Kamila Valieva resulted in the Russian Olympic Committee dropping their first place finish.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alisa Efimova, Misha Mitrofanov need 'miracle' to qualify for Olympics

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Source: “AOL Sports”