2025-26 Pairs General Discussion: Who Wants to Lift Forever?

[Karen-W]

Did Miura/Kihara and Conti/Macii actually say they are skipping Worlds and/or retiring? I missed that.

P.S. In post-Oly free skate remarks that I read, Hase/Volodin also didn't commit to another 4 years, instead giving the standard "We'll talk about it" response.

I'm guessing that Miura/Kihara will skip Worlds - what else do they have to win/prove?

I'm also guessing that Conti/Macii will skip Worlds this year due to her knee injury.

I put Hase/Volodin in the same category as Efimova/Mitrofanov - taking it one season at a time for now.

 

[Belsornia]

I'd guess that several of the mid-pack teams will be sitting down after Worlds (and maybe a holiday) and considering whether they want to put their bodies and their bank accounts through it for another four years. And likely some of them will decide that they're content with their careers and having achieved the big ambition of becoming Olympians they're ready to move on.

I'm wondering about Hocke/Kunkel too. They're still pretty young but they've had some injury issues and she's been competing at this level for a long time. And we know that the lack of funding has been an issue for them - Is Hase/Volodin's medal likely to have improved the situation for the DEU?

 

[Sylvia]

2026 Worlds pairs entries as of today (Feb. 25) - from the Kiss & Cry forum: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/entries.113750/

PAIRS (24)
1 Karina AKOPOVA / Nikita RAKHMANIN ARM
2 Anastasiia GOLUBEVA / Hektor GIOTOPOULOS MOORE AUS
3 Gabriella IZZO / Luc MAIERHOFER AUT
4 Kelly Ann LAURIN / Loucas ETHIER CAN
5 Lia PEREIRA / Trennt MICHAUD CAN
Ava KEMP / Yohnatan ELIZAROV S CAN
6 Jiaxuan ZHANG / Yihang HUANG CHN
7 Anna VALESI / Martin BIDAR CZE
8 Camille KOVALEV / Pavel KOVALEV FRA
Aurelie FAULA / Theo BELLE S FRA
9 Anastasia VAIPAN-LAW / Luke DIGBY GBR
10 Anastasiia METELKINA / Luka BERULAVA GEO
11 Minerva Fabienne HASE / Nikita VOLODIN GER
12 Annika HOCKE / Robert KUNKEL GER
13 Maria PAVLOVA / Alexei SVIATCHENKO HUN
14 Irma CALDARA / Riccardo MAGLIO ITA
15 Sara CONTI / Niccolo MACII ITA
16 Riku MIURA / Ryuichi KIHARA JPN
17 Yuna NAGAOKA / Sumitada MORIGUCHI JPN
18 Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA NED
19 Ioulia CHTCHETININA / Michal WOZNIAK POL
20 Oxana VOUILLAMOZ / Tom BOUVART SUI
21 Sofiia HOLICHENKO / Artem DARENSKYI UKR
22 Alisa EFIMOVA / Misha MITROFANOV USA
23 Ellie KAM / Danny O'SHEA USA
24 Katie MCBEATH / Daniil PARKMAN USA
Emily CHAN / Spencer Akira HOWE S2 USA
Valentina PLAZAS / Maximiliano FERNANDEZ S3 USA
Audrey SHIN / Balazs NAGY S1 USA

 

[Karen-W]

I'm a little surprised to see Miura/Kihara on the entries list. Also a bit surprised at Conti/Macii considering her injury. No surprise at all that Zhang/Huang are going instead of Sui/Han.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

So are Lucrezia and Matteo done .. I know they’ve been heavily injured, but are they done Do we think?

 

[Karen-W]

So are Lucrezia and Matteo done .. I know they’ve been heavily injured, but are they done Do we think?

They are done.

 

[Sylvia]

Not a surprise... (reposting from the Japanese news thread re. Miura/Kihara's WD from Worlds):

Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara have withdrawn from Worlds - JSF notice: https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/WFC26_Riku Miura_Ryuichi Kihara.pdf

Google translation:

Comment from Miura and Kihara:
We have decided to withdraw from the World Championships.
Our main goal this season is the Olympics, and even before the season began, we hadn't given any thought to whether or not we would compete in the World Championships.
After winning the gold medal at the Olympics, we concluded that it would be difficult to return to pre-Olympic physical and mental condition for the World Championships so soon after, and have therefore decided to withdraw.
We will make an announcement regarding our future plans after the season is over.
We appreciate your continued support of Rikuryu.

 

[Jonas]

Uber excited to see how Herrera & Khobta develop during this next Olympiad!!! What a great pairing!!! Barely a year together plus she being (as far as I know) so new to pairs -- they've already finished top 5 at Jr. Worlds!!!

Your thoughts...

 

[Sylvia]

Medal for Herrera/Khobta!ETA: BRONZE!

I always liked Hannah as a singles skater - she had great spring in her jumps. She did a JGP back in 2022 for the USA (9th in Riga) as well as several other Junior B internationals:

Hannah Herrera - National Team: Figure Skating - U.S. Figure Skating

Hannah Herrera (40) She/Her - 2022-23 SEASON NOTES SP Music: "Voilà" by Barbara Pravi FS Music: "A Los Amigos" by Forever Tango IJS PERSONAL BESTS International

usfigureskating.org

 

[Jonas]

Plenty of eye candy on that Jr. Worlds podium!

Your thoughts...

 

[Karen-W]

Uber excited to see how Herrera & Khobta develop during this next Olympiad!!! What a great pairing!!! Barely a year together plus she being (as far as I know) so new to pairs -- they've already finished top 5 at Jr. Worlds!!!

Your thoughts...

Same! They have so much potential! Their 3tw is already spectacular. It will be exciting to see where they are in 6 months when the JGP season kicks into gear. I can see them doing the JGP and some senior Challengers next season with an eye on going to Euros. NM - Hannah ages out of junior pairs at the end of the season, so seniors it is for them.

Also - entry #s for next season:

Jr Worlds 2027 -
3 entries - CAN, CHN, USA
2 entries - UKR, FRA, ITA
1 entry - all other federations

JGP 2026-27 -
3 entries in 4 events - CAN, UKR, CHN, USA
2 entries in 4 events - FRA, ITA, ESP, SVK, GBR, SUI
1 entry in 4 events - HUN, CZE
1 entry in 3 events - all other federations
JGP host feds - 3 entries in their event (CHN, LAT, TUR, POL)

 

[marshallpond]

Saw a tweet that Maxime Deschamps was hired as a coach at CPA Dollard FSC in Montreal. Wonder if this means he's done competing? Or just coach on the side and continue training/competing with Deanna?

 

[Sylvia]

Saw a tweet that Maxime Deschamps was hired as a coach at CPA Dollard FSC in Montreal.

Link to the post: https://www.facebook.com/permalink....gSVQbM46deHuby67kkVmov4Kw2l&id=61563692464602

We are extremely proud to announce that Maxime Deschamps is joining our Sport-Études program as a coach!
Freshly back from the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Maxime brings extensive international competitive experience at the highest level. A true example of perseverance and excellence, he will undoubtedly inspire our young skaters to reach their full potential.
Alongside his elite athletic career, Maxime has already established himself as a figure skating coach, making him a tremendous asset to our program.
Welcome to the team, Maxime!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Uber excited to see how Herrera & Khobta develop during this next Olympiad!!! What a great pairing!!! Barely a year together plus she being (as far as I know) so new to pairs -- they've already finished top 5 at Jr. Worlds!!!

Your thoughts...

Here are my thoughts as I was watching

Wasn’t she a US single skater for many years?

It’s so weird seeing a 21 and a 22-year-old compete in juniors with this new age rule change. I mean Alysa is younger than both of them and been on the senior circuit for four years. Five years? If this was Tara Lipinski or Sarah Hughes they both be retired from the senior Scene.

When I was 21 I was already out of college. Lol. so weird to be skating juniors when I could legit be a father lol.

 

[Sylvia]

Wasn’t she a US single skater for many years?

Yes, Hannah Herrera placed 6th in Junior at 2023 U.S. Nationals and competed in 1 JGP and several other junior internationals:

Hannah Herrera - National Team: Figure Skating - U.S. Figure Skating

Hannah Herrera (40) She/Her - 2022-23 SEASON NOTES SP Music: "Voilà" by Barbara Pravi FS Music: "A Los Amigos" by Forever Tango IJS PERSONAL BESTS International

usfigureskating.org

It’s so weird seeing a 21 and a 22-year-old compete in juniors with this new age rule change.

But it's worked out well for Hannah who only started pairs 8 months ago and - with a very experienced partner - has a Junior World bronze! She and Khobta have to move up to Senior next season since she is 21 now. Coach Drew Meekins has created a GFM for Ivan to help with his expenses to stay in the USA for training:

Donate to Help displaced Ukrainian skater Ivan Khobta stay in the U.S., organized by Drew Meekins

Help displaced Ukrainian figure skater and 2026 World Junior … Drew Meekins needs your support for Help displaced Ukrainian skater Ivan Khobta stay in the U.S.

www.gofundme.com