U.S. Men 2025-26 Discussion - Quad God and the Mere Mortals

[ice coverage]

What catchy name would YOU give to the USA men's figure skating trio?

Team USA on Instagram: "The 2020 Reunion Tour, The Talon Trio or The Troublemakers. 🤔 What should the U.S. Olympic Men’s Figure Skating Team be called? #WinterOlympics"

1,720 likes, 21 comments - teamusa on January 22, 2026: "The 2020 Reunion Tour, The Talon Trio or The Troublemakers. 🤔 What should the U.S. Olympic Men’s Figure Skating Team be called? #WinterOlympics".

www.instagram.com

" Tallinn Trio " surely is what Torgashev actually was saying -- because Tallinn hosted 2020 Junior Worlds, where Max, Andrew, and Ilia were USA's competitors in men. (Similar concept to Ilia's choice of "2020 Reunion Tour".)

Too bad that Team USA social media person misunderstood and wrote "Talon" instead of "Tallinn."

On a happier note, I like the sense of kinship among the three guys!

 

[Vagabond]

"Beluga, Osetra, and Sevruga."

 

[barbk]

The Trying Triad?

 

[Allskate]

The Quad God and his Disciples?

 

[Sylvia]

" Tallinn Trio " surely is what Torgashev actually was saying -- because Tallinn hosted 2020 Junior Worlds, where Max, Andrew, and Ilia were USA's competitors in men. (Similar concept to Ilia's choice of "2020 Reunion Tour".)

Too bad that Team USA social media person misunderstood and wrote "Talon" instead of "Tallinn."

No wonder I was by Andrew's (USFS') "Talon Trio" - thank you for clearing that up for me!

I posted this short 1:45 clip in Maxim's fan thread yesterday (CNN's Coy Wire is the journalist):

The Lead with Jake Tapper on Instagram: "Maxim Naumov is preparing to compete in the Olympics one year after losing his parents in a tragic plane crash: 'Lacing up those skates for the first time was one of the most difficult things I've ever done in

560 likes, 4 comments - theleadcnn on January 22, 2026: "Maxim Naumov is preparing to compete in the Olympics one year after losing his parents in a tragic plane crash: 'Lacing up those skates for the first time was one of the most difficult things I've ever done in my life... the path to...

www.instagram.com

 

[Capt. DeSoto]

I'd like to start a new fan/cheer thread for Jacob - any creative or witty thread title ideas?

Quad God Squad Mod?

I was trying to think of something focused on Jacob, but this popped into my mind based on their friendship.

 

[Allskate]

BTW, I'd like to start a new fan/cheer thread for Jacob - any creative or witty thread title ideas?

Jacob is Climbing the Ladder?

 

[BittyBug]

I posted this short 1:45 clip in Maxim's fan thread yesterday (CNN's Coy Wire is the journalist):

The Lead with Jake Tapper on Instagram: "Maxim Naumov is preparing to compete in the Olympics one year after losing his parents in a tragic plane crash: 'Lacing up those skates for the first time was one of the most difficult things I've ever done in

560 likes, 4 comments - theleadcnn on January 22, 2026: "Maxim Naumov is preparing to compete in the Olympics one year after losing his parents in a tragic plane crash: 'Lacing up those skates for the first time was one of the most difficult things I've ever done in my life... the path to...

www.instagram.com

“The path to healing was in doing the difficult things.”

 

[YukiNieve]

From Jackie's Xweet on Men's FS for Four Continents:

Confirmed with Tomoki Hiwatashi that he said this was his last competition - that was a retirement announcement in the kiss & cry

https://x.com/rockerskating/status/2015326475717910683

 

[YukiNieve]

Tomoki won the juvenile, intermediate, novice, and junior levels of the U.S. Nationals.

Are there any other U.S. men who have done that? I am wondering.

Throwback...

https://x.com/YukiNieve/status/2015345685810258016/photo/2

 

[kwanfan1818]

It makes sense for Hiwatashi to retire with this, but it’s still

 

[YukiNieve]

From Mainichi Newspaper:
Former World Junior Champion Tomoki Hiwatashi Announces Retirement from Amateur Competitions

After his performance, he reflected, “I thought to myself that making a little mistake even right up until the very end (of my amateur career) is just like me. But I was able to skate happily, and I feel that it was a skating career I could be incredibly satisfied with. I'm glad I could finish on such a good note.”

He plans to start working for a trading company in Chicago, USA. “I also want to stay involved in skating,” he said, adding that while working, he aims to obtain certification as a technical specialist in the future.

フィギュア・元世界ジュニア王者の樋渡知樹が現役引退表明 | 毎日新聞

フィギュアスケート男子で2019年世界ジュニア王者の樋渡知樹（26）＝米国＝が、今季限りでの現役引退を表明した。25日まで北京で開催されていた4大陸選手権に出場し、この日のフリーは159・66点、合計240・54点で7位。

mainichi.jp

 

[her grace]

Congrats, Hiwatashi on a wonderful career! My favorite moment was his shock in the kiss & cry after winning Jr. Worlds.

 

[Sylvia]

Tomoki won the juvenile, intermediate, novice, and junior levels of the U.S. Nationals.

Are there any other U.S. men who have done that? I am wondering.

I just did a quick check online and don't believe so? (ETA: see @ice coverage's post below mine - sorry, Parker!)

Joshua Farris came closest - he won juvenile (2006), intermediate (2008) & novice (2009) national titles and junior silver (Jason won the gold in 2010).

 

[ice coverage]

Tomoki won the juvenile, intermediate, novice, and junior levels of the U.S. Nationals.

Are there any other U.S. men who have done that? I am just wondering.

Parker Pennington won the same four U.S. titles:

1995 juvenile
1996 intermediate
1998 novice
2001 junior
https://usfigureskating.org/documents/2025/9/11/Historical_Information_through_24-25.pdf (see pp. 54-56)​

"Where Are They Now" article from Skating magazine (from 2017?) about Pennington:

https://skatingmagazine.usfigureskating.org/article/Skating_201708-09_03​

Congratulations to Tomoki for a great career!

 

[Sylvia]

Jacob got 2 ISU personal bests at 4CC - 161.68 (7th in FS) and 240.25 (total for 8th overall) - and his opening 3A+3T in the FS received up to +4 GOE! I saw some 4S attempts by him in Nationals practices and he is training alongside Caleb Farrington who has a 4T and was landing 3As in Nationals practices (I posted clips of 3A+3T & 4T+3T earlier in this thread, ICYMI).

His ISU Quick Quotes after the FS:
Today, I'm really happy with my performance. I felt really good out there today—really comfortable and confident.
Yesterday was pretty nervous, but today I was sure I was going to nail everything. I really put in the work with my
mental game today to make sure I could believe in myself. (the story of program) The story of my program has three
stages, and I feel like it really represents me. This season hasn't been easy - it started pretty rough. I had a previous
free skate [Dune] before this one. The story in the beginning is kind of sad and somber, very slow, a little depressing even.
The second part is inspiring, building up, and then the last part is just the peak of the program. I feel like I'm flying
when I'm skating to that part of the music. It represents my development both off and on the ice this season.

Mixed Zone photo & quotes:

Golden Skate on Instagram: "Jacob Sanchez 🇺🇸 161.68/240.25 I’m really happy that I was able to skate the way I did today. I felt really comfortable, really confident. Yesterday I was really nervous. And I’m so happy that I was able to put in the wor

167 likes, 2 comments - goldsk8 on January 25, 2026: "Jacob Sanchez 🇺🇸 161.68/240.25 I’m really happy that I was able to skate the way I did today. I felt really comfortable, really confident. Yesterday I was really nervous. And I’m so happy that I was able to put in the work after the warm-up...

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

Jan. 12 posts in this thread:

I also noticed that Jacob Sanchez got Jr. Worlds along w/Four Continents (as expected). Blackwell, IIRC, is age eligible next season, and would benefit greatly from gaining points from an ISU Championship. Another illogical decision here, IMO.

I was surprised too...i figured Jacob finishing high enough to get 4CC would mean Patrick would get JW along with Lucius. I imagine USFS is thinking in terms of maximizing JGP spots for next season, and Jacob has so far proven to be more consistent than Patrick.

Thoughts after 4CC?

 

[Debbie S]

Thoughts after 4CC?

Well, Jacob did prove his consistency. And if he skates like that at JW, he'll definitely help the U.S. maximize JGP spots. I still say it's good to spread the big assignments around, but more JGP spots will enable USFS to spread opportunities around for the up-and-comers, which will include Patrick, not to mention hopefully getting 3 spots at JW in 2027.

And if Jacob does medal/win at JW, the points will help his WS ranking heading into next season.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Sanchez earned 402 WS points at 4C's for his 8th place finish. His next lowest points amount is 365. He'll earn incremental WS points for 2025-26 for a podium finish: 40 for bronze, 85 for silver, and 135 for gold.

At the end of the season, any points from 2023-24 will drop, and points from the 2024-25 season will be factored by 70%. Usually there's some shuffling around the rankings by the time the dust settles after refactoring. Hopefully the Feds will get formal retirement and split notices, and the ISU will be able to remove those skaters/teams from the WS lists sooner than later.

 

[her grace]

Thoughts after 4CC?

Sanchez is essentially in the same position as he was pre-4CC: a good skater who is fairly consistent who doesn't have a quad.

I don't see him beating either Seo (KOR) or Nakata (JPN) at Jr. Worlds unless they meltdown--not to mention that both countries have back-ups with quads--so the USA is going to have to aim to be the third-best country.

Other countries who are in the mix for that position: Li (NZL), Krouglov (BEL), Gartung (GER). Dark horses: Vaclavik, L. (SVK), Tian (CHN), Long (CAN).

 

[haribobo]

Of those who are possible or likely to continue, Ilia, Andrew, and Sanchez will be in a good enough place with SB score to get 2 or probably 2 spots. Maxim Naumov is currently around 7th on what would be the alternate list, but I imagine he can move up a few places with his scores at Olympics and Worlds if he is called up to compete.

Liam Kapeikis, Lucius Kazanecki (JW score TBD), and Patrick Blackwell will be in the top 15 of Alternate list as things currently stand. Jimmy Ma and Daniel Martynov are likely to be top 75 but not really high enough for alternates list, and Kai Kovar is at 101 currently.

 

[Karen-W]

Usually in the singles disciplines, skaters from host feds who are in the SB Top 40 will get 2 GP assignments right out of the gate. See Sadovsky 27, Dai 28, Economides 29, Jin 35 & Pitot 40 for the men; and Aoki 25 & Serna 42 for the women - Sanchez 36 was the only one in the SB Top 40 who only got 1 GP. Looking ahead to next season - Sanchez & Torgashev should be fine for 2 GPs straight out of the gate; Kapeikis & Blackwell are going to be relying on SkAm host invitations, IMO; Naumov & Kazanecki have the chance to improve their SBs still, but if they don't, they're also going to be scrapping & hoping for a SkAm host assignment & then getting themselves out there along with Kapeikis & Blackwell at Cranberry and the other early Challengers to to jump up the Alternates List.

 

[Allskate]

Jacob got 2 ISU personal bests at 4CC - 161.68 (7th in FS) and 240.25 (total for 8th overall) - and his opening 3A+3T in the FS received up to +4 GOE! I saw some 4S attempts by him in Nationals practices and he is training alongside Caleb Farrington who has a 4T and was landing 3As in Nationals practices (I posted clips of 3A+3T & 4T+3T earlier in this thread, ICYMI).

I think Jacob is having a very good season considering it his first season as a senior. His triple axel definitely has been improving over the course of the season. Nationals was an improvement, and Four Continents was more of an improvement, with full rotations and clean landings on all of them. It would be great if he could continue with this at Junior Worlds, maybe bring up all of his levels to 4s, and hopefully land the combos cleanly.

Unfortunately, quads count for so much of the technical score (and, IMO, even some of the PCS) in men's skating. How did Jacob look on the quad attempts you saw?

 

[skateboy]

Usually in the singles disciplines, skaters from host feds who are in the SB Top 40 will get 2 GP assignments right out of the gate. See Sadovsky 27, Dai 28, Economides 29, Jin 35 & Pitot 40 for the men; and Aoki 25 & Serna 42 for the women - Sanchez 36 was the only one in the SB Top 40 who only got 1 GP. Looking ahead to next season - Sanchez & Torgashev should be fine for 2 GPs straight out of the gate; Kapeikis & Blackwell are going to be relying on SkAm host invitations, IMO; Naumov & Kazanecki have the chance to improve their SBs still, but if they don't, they're also going to be scrapping & hoping for a SkAm host assignment & then getting themselves out there along with Kapeikis & Blackwell at Cranberry and the other early Challengers to to jump up the Alternates List.

It will be interesting to see who retires and who stays next season (and for the next quad).

Sadovsky strikes me as someone who's retiring. Most skaters don't do a Jason Brown. Tomoki is retiring at 26. Sota Yamamoto is 26 and may not want to go until age 30. Even Torgashev and Naumov would be approaching 30 by the next Olympics.

 

[Karen-W]

It will be interesting to see who retires and who stays next season (and for the next quad).

Sadovsky strikes me as someone who's retiring. Most skaters don't do a Jason Brown. Tomoki is retiring at 26. Sota Yamamoto is 26 and may not want to go until age 30. Even Torgashev and Naumov would be approaching 30 by the next Olympics.

Honestly, if I were Torgashev & Naumov, I'd probably hang up my skates and call it good after making it to the Olympics. There's a bunch of hungry young guys coming up the ranks for the US men who I think will overtake them by 2028 - Sanchez, Kazanecki, Farrington, Blackwell and Martynov. They're still learning how to put it all together in competition, but there is some good talent from those guys who are 17-19 years old right now and once they put it together... Look out.

 

[skateboy]

Honestly, if I were Torgashev & Naumov, I'd probably hang up my skates and call it good after making it to the Olympics.

Or at least stay in just for another year or two. Too many singles skaters end up in an "age bubble," where they hang on for a quadrennial, but their bodies/desire/passion quits two years before that.

 

[Karen-W]

Or at least stay in just for another year or two. Too many singles skaters end up in an "age bubble," where they hang on for a quadrennial, but their bodies/desire/passion quits two years before that.

The problem is that once you're a couple years in, you're halfway to the next Olympics and you convince yourself you can push your body just a little more & make it again.

 

[Allskate]

Honestly, if I were Torgashev & Naumov, I'd probably hang up my skates and call it good after making it to the Olympics. There's a bunch of hungry young guys coming up the ranks for the US men who I think will overtake them by 2028 - Sanchez, Kazanecki, Farrington, Blackwell and Martynov. They're still learning how to put it all together in competition, but there is some good talent from those guys who are 17-19 years old right now and once they put it together... Look out.

Or, they might just do what Jimmy Ma did. Continue to do something they like even though their chances of making the World and Olympic teams aren't that great. Or continue to search for their ultimate great performances in international competition. (If Andrew doesn't skate great at the Olympics and Worlds, I can imagine him not wanting to retire on that note. He's physically capable of better.) Their decisions might also depend on what kind of money-making opportunities come out of all the Olympics coverage. Keegan was able to make some money from his skating for the first few years after he initially retired. I don't know if it's more than he would have received if he had stayed in.

 

[Vagabond]

I think that the personal considerations for Naumov are different from those for other skaters. I would be much less surprised to see Torgashev than Naumov stay on for at least another season. Naumov may well want to get on with other things, whether or not they include coaching.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I remember when Keegan Murphy went back to competition when Canadian Nationals were held in Vancouver, because his students were very excited by the idea. There have been a few skaters over the years who've gone into coaching who've returned for the same reason.

I could see Naumov's little ones thinking it would be a good idea for him to compete, especially if it's based at his rink, and they can watch. Especially with all of the losses and trauma they experienced as a community.