2025-26 US Pairs Discussion - Milano-Bound By Way of Beijing & St. Louis

[TanithandBenFan]

We have proof of life from Chelsea and Ryan!

Chelsea Liu & Ryan Bedard on Instagram: "Our favorite pic from Nats ‘26 🫶🏼 • • • Looking forward to sharing some updates soon and excited for the new season! #figureskating #teamusa #fyp #iceskating #happy"

92 likes, 2 comments - teamliubedard on May 25, 2026: "Our favorite pic from Nats ‘26 🫶🏼 • • • Looking forward to sharing some updates soon and excited for the new season! #figureskating #teamusa #fyp #iceskating #happy".

www.instagram.com

 

[Rob]

So to summarize the 2026 pairs and musical chairs so far, we have:

Efimova/Mitrofanov
Andrews/Parkman
Liu/Bedard
Plazas/Fernandez
Williams/Lewer
Fitzpatrick/Bearinger

Maybe:
Shin/Howe (pic)
McBeath/Nagy or McBeath/Siianytsia (pic/rumor)
Kam/O’Shea haven’t made announcement but rumor of tryout of Stellato/O’Shea
O. Flores filmed skating with Mark Sadusky

Loose:
Wang
Chan

Didn’t include juniors moving up. What have I missed?

 

[Wyliefan]

There was also a Chan/Siianytsia rumor at some point.

 

[Jayar]

Where is Timmy Chapman in all of this? Is Sophia Baram looking? Can someone convince Emmanuel Savary to skate pairs?

 

[Karen-W]

Where is Timmy Chapman in all of this? Is Sophia Baram looking? Can someone convince Emmanuel Savary to skate pairs?

He's still at SCoB and looking. He's part of the group that are leading the ISU Singles & Pairs Seminar in Bangkok this week. He & Emily did a pairs combo spin demonstration that showed up on my IG earlier this morning - and I have to say, they actually look pretty good together, thought that doesn't mean much if they aren't well-matched as jumpers.

Haven't heard anything regarding Sonia Baram unfortunately.

 

[miffy]

Pair everyone up! We don’t want any leftovers. It’s going to be so exciting to see all the new pairs compete

 

[Theatregirl1122]

USA Today reported Danny saying that we would only be skating with Ellie if he continued.

It’s in this article:

Gold, Olympic stardom hasn’t changed Alysa Liu | Exclusive

Alysa Liu is navigating fame, but she remains the same person that simply just loves what she does, and she's eager to compete again.

www.usatoday.com

 

[just tuned in]

Can someone convince Emmanuel Savary to skate pairs?

Emmanuel will not skate pairs. I have it on good authority.

 

[just tuned in]

So to summarize the 2026 pairs and musical chairs so far, we have:

Efimova/Mitrofanov
Andrews/Parkman
Liu/Bedard
Plazas/Fernandez
Williams/Lewer
Fitzpatrick/Bearinger

Maybe:
Shin/Howe (pic)
McBeath/Nagy or McBeath/Siianytsia (pic/rumor)
Kam/O’Shea haven’t made announcement but rumor of tryout of Stellato/O’Shea
O. Flores filmed skating with Mark Sadusky

Loose:
Wang
Chan

Didn’t include juniors moving up. What have I missed?

Sydney Cooke and Matthew Kennedy, now at SCoB: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT2ru0NDnr4/

 

[ChillSkate]

Have we had confirmation that Efimova & Mitrafanov are continuing? Does anyone know if they are training?

 

[Karen-W]

Have we had confirmation that Efimova & Mitrafanov are continuing? Does anyone know if they are training?

Yes, they have said they're going to continue for at least one more season. And, at this point, there doesn't seem to be any reason for them to not aim for 2030 given the game of musical chairs the rest of the US pairs teams are playing.

 

[Karen-W]

Starr posted a clip of her first throw triple on IG -

Starr Andrews x Daniil Parkman on Instagram: "One milestone down, many more to go. First triple throw in the books✨ • • #triplethrow #teamwork #teamstarrman #pairskating #iceskating"

2,406 likes, 56 comments - teamstarrman on May 29, 2026: "One milestone down, many more to go. First triple throw in the books✨ • • #triplethrow #teamwork #teamstarrman #pairskating #iceskating".

www.instagram.com

Team Todd&Jenni posted three additional throw clips on their IG story, one of which was Katie McBeath & Balazs Nagy -

Instagram

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www.instagram.com

Olivia Jung & Carter Griffin, Teryn Kim & Laz Lune are the other two teams.

 

[Wyliefan]

Teryn is new to pairs, isn't she?

 

[Karen-W]

Teryn is new to pairs, isn't she?

I think so.

Both Jung/Griffin and Kim/Lune are junior age-eligible. Lune is 22, so only one year of eligibility left, but Kim turned 16 last month, so they'll be senior age-eligible next year when he ages out of juniors. Jung is 13 and Griffin is 20 so they have several years left in juniors.

 

[Private Citizen]

Team Todd&Jenni posted three additional throw clips on their IG story, one of which was Katie McBeath & Balazs Nagy -

Instagram

Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

www.instagram.com

It's a shame he has so many issues because that is a NICE throw triple loop.

What side-by-side triples does Katie have? IIRC she and Parkman were doing toes and occasionally trying a flip? Can she do a triple salchow consistently? I suspect SBS jumps will be the "make or break" in this partnership.

 

[bladesofgorey]

13 and 20 is a kind of a disturbing gap.

 

[barbk]

It's a shame he has so many issues because that is a NICE throw triple loop.

What side-by-side triples does Katie have? IIRC she and Parkman were doing toes and occasionally trying a flip? Can she do a triple salchow consistently? I suspect SBS jumps will be the "make or break" in this partnership.

Pretty much for every US pairs team for just about forever.

 

[dancing_on_ice]

13 and 20 is a kind of a disturbing gap.

pretty par for the course, sadly, among younger pair teams, and also certainly not unusual for the GPI coaching camp. When Sonia Baram and Daniel Tioumentsev won Junior Worlds in 2023, she was 14 and he was 20 (he turned 21 a week later). It was a whole thing back then since they would've had to sit out several seasons where he was too old for junior eligibility and she was too young for senior eligibility with the age increase. The ISU actually did end up introducing a rule that grandfathered in a few pairs teams into juniors that would've applied to them, but they split without taking advantage of it.

When the ISU raised the max age for junior pairs men to 23 and women to 21, they introduced a rule that the age gap could not be more than 7 years. Somewhat amusingly, Elizabeth Hansen and William Church competed on the 2024 JGP Series just under that max age gap cap. She was born October 14, 2010 and he was born October 29, 2003. Just two weeks less than that max 7 year cap which would've stopped them from competing.

 

[marshallpond]

13 and 20 is a kind of a disturbing gap.

Jung was with Lune last year when they competed in Novice -- she was 12/13 and Lune was 22 -- that's an even bigger gap. Hopefully, Carter and Jung stay together, as Carter has been changing partners every year.

 

[ice coverage]

For me, Katie has been a longtime favorite, who has the It factor and obvious charisma. It is a joy to see her love of skating.

McBeath/Nagy have been added to USFS ISP list.

 

[Karen-W]

McBeath/Nagy have been added to USFS ISP list.

Well, there's confirmation and that means they're eligible for GP selection thanks to McBark's 12th place finish at Worlds this year.

 

[Karen-W]

Chan & Howe are no longer listed on the USFS' ISP.

 

[BittyBug]

They are kaput.

 

[miffy]

Chan & Howe are no longer listed on the USFS' ISP.

(((((Karen)))))

I wonder what their plans are and if either/both will continue.

 

[kirkbiggestfan]

Last week in Bangkok, they were actually quite civil and doing training, demos for the local skaters. I am sure they agreed to that committment and had to honor it.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

(((((Karen)))))

I wonder what their plans are and if either/both will continue.

I think we know Spencer’s plans!
(From above in the thread)

Int’l Ice Academy of Colorado on Instagram: "Honored to have Olympians Spencer Akira Howe and Audrey Shin training with us at Monument Ice Rinks! ⛸️🇺🇸 Spencer, a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, continues to inspire the next gene

416 likes, 0 comments - intliceacademyofcolorado on May 23, 2026: "Honored to have Olympians Spencer Akira Howe and Audrey Shin training with us at Monument Ice Rinks! ⛸️🇺🇸 Spencer, a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, continues to inspire the next generation on and off the...

www.instagram.com

 

[miffy]

I think we know Spencer’s plans!
(From above in the thread)

Int’l Ice Academy of Colorado on Instagram: "Honored to have Olympians Spencer Akira Howe and Audrey Shin training with us at Monument Ice Rinks! ⛸️🇺🇸 Spencer, a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, continues to inspire the next gene

416 likes, 0 comments - intliceacademyofcolorado on May 23, 2026: "Honored to have Olympians Spencer Akira Howe and Audrey Shin training with us at Monument Ice Rinks! ⛸️🇺🇸 Spencer, a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, continues to inspire the next generation on and off the...

www.instagram.com

Oh yes, I forgot!

So Howe is skating with Shin who skated with Nagy who’s skating with McBeath who skated with Parkman who’s skating with Andrews who is new to pairs. So we just need a partner for Chan now?

 

[Karen-W]

Oh yes, I forgot!

So Howe is skating with Shin who skated with Nagy who’s skating with McBeath who skated with Parkman who’s skating with Andrews who is new to pairs. So we just need a partner for Chan now?

Yes - and last week during the Thailand ISU Seminar she did some demos with Timothy Chapman & they looked pretty decent together for what was shown. No idea if that's a viable potential partnership or not, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Chelsea and Ryan posted a practice clip from Anaheim Ice. Any idea who might be coaching them there?

Chelsea Liu & Ryan Bedard on Instagram: "New element unlocked: choreographic pair spin🌪️ #teamusa #iceskating #fyp #reels #trending"

229 likes, 12 comments - teamliubedard on June 5, 2026: "New element unlocked: choreographic pair spin🌪️ #teamusa #iceskating #fyp #reels #trending".

www.instagram.com

 

[just tuned in]

Yes - and last week during the Thailand ISU Seminar she did some demos with Timothy Chapman & they looked pretty decent together for what was shown. No idea if that's a viable potential partnership or not, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

If Emily Chan skates with Tommy Chapman, they would be ChaCha.