The air inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis was basically electric this past week. If you’ve ever been to a major skating event, you know that specific smell—cold ice mixed with a weird amount of hairspray and nervous energy. But the U.S. Figure Skating Championships just finished up, and honestly, the vibe was different this time. It wasn't just about who gets a trophy; it was about who gets a plane ticket to Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
People think "Nationals" is just another competition. It's not. It is a brutal, high-stakes pressure cooker where a single slipped edge can delete four years of 5:00 AM practices. This year in St. Louis, we saw some of the most technical skating in history, but we also saw some massive heartbreaks that the TV cameras sort of glossed over.
Why the U.S. Figure Skating Championships Matter More Than You Think
A lot of casual fans assume the winner of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships automatically goes to the Olympics. That is actually a huge misconception. Unlike track and field, where it's usually "top three and you’re in," U.S. Figure Skating uses a "body of work" criteria.
Basically, a committee looks at your whole season. They look at your Grand Prix scores, your world ranking, and your consistency. You could win the gold medal in St. Louis and still get left off the Olympic team if your earlier season was a total disaster. Conversely, a skater like Ilia Malinin can afford a few mistakes because everyone knows he’s the "Quad God" and a heavy favorite for Olympic gold.
This creates a weird dynamic. Skaters aren't just competing against the person in the next locker room; they’re competing against their own past scores. It’s stressful. You can see it in their eyes when they finish a program—they aren't looking at the crowd; they’re looking at the judges' table, trying to read the room.
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The Ilia Malinin Factor: Playing It Safe?
Ilia Malinin is a freak of nature. I mean that in the best way possible. The guy has a quadruple Axel that looks easier than most people’s morning coffee run. Entering the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, everyone expected him to just blow the doors off the place.
But he did something interesting this week. In his free skate, he actually scaled back. He told reporters afterward that he was breaking in new boots—skaters hate doing that right before a big meet—and decided to play it safe to save his energy for the Olympics. Even a "safe" Malinin is still light years ahead of most humans. He won his fourth consecutive national title, but he didn't go for the maximum six or seven quads he's capable of.
He landed three. Only three! For anyone else, that’s a career-best. For him, it’s a Tuesday.
The Women’s Event: Amber Glenn’s Historic Run
If you want to talk about "human-quality" stories, look at Amber Glenn. She’s 26 now, which in figure skating years is basically being a senior citizen. Most skaters peak at 17 and are retired by 21. Amber has been the "almost" girl for a decade.
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By winning her third straight title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, she became the first woman to do that since the legendary Michelle Kwan back in 1999. Think about that for a second. We’ve had dozens of "prodigies" come and go since then, but it was the veteran who figured out the mental game.
- The Triple Axel: Amber is one of the few American women consistently landing this.
- The Power: She skates with a "prowling" quality. She covers more ice in two strides than most people do in ten.
- The Mental Game: She’s been very open about her mental health struggles, which honestly makes her win feel more "real" than the polished, robotic performances we used to see in the 90s.
She was joined on the podium by Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito. Liu’s comeback is sort of a miracle in itself. She retired, lived a normal teenager life for a couple of years, realized she missed the ice, and came back to take silver. It’s a very different Liu than the one we saw in 2022. She looks like she’s actually having fun now.
The Tragedy and Triumph of Maxim Naumov
One of the most emotional moments that didn't get enough primetime coverage involved Maxim Naumov. He finished third, finally breaking his "fourth-place curse" from the last three years. But the backstory is heavy.
His parents, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were world-class skaters themselves. They tragically died in a plane crash just a year ago, right after the 2025 championships. Maxim skated this week with a photo of himself as a toddler on the ice with them. When he landed his final jump, the release of emotion was massive. He made the Olympic team, and honestly, there wasn't a dry eye in the building.
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Sports are usually about stats, but this was about survival.
Ice Dance: The Chock and Bates Dynasty
Madison Chock and Evan Bates are married now. They’ve been skating together since 2011. They just won their seventh U.S. title, which is a record.
Ice dance is a weird discipline because it's so subjective. It's about "vibes" and "connection" as much as it is about deep edges and twizzles. Because they’ve been together so long, their unison is almost spooky. They move like one person. While the rest of the world is chasing them, they seem to be competing in a different league entirely. They’re the heavy favorites for gold in Milan, and this week in St. Louis was basically a victory lap for them.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Skaters
If you’re following the road to Milan or even thinking about getting on the ice yourself, here is the reality of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and the current state of the sport:
- Don't ignore the "Body of Work": If you're a skater, don't put all your eggs in the Nationals basket. Regional and sectional scores matter for your ranking.
- Equipment is everything: Malinin’s struggle with his boots is a lesson. Never, ever try to break in new skates right before a "peak" event. Give yourself at least 4-6 weeks of "ugly" skating to get the leather supple.
- Watch the "Secondary" Events: Everyone watches the free skate, but the short program is where the real technical precision happens. If you want to learn how to jump properly, watch the short program replays on Peacock; the mistakes are much more visible when the skaters aren't exhausted.
- The "Art" matters again: After years of focusing only on quads, the judging system is starting to reward "Presentation" (PCS) more heavily again. Look at Isabeau Levito—she doesn't have the biggest jumps, but her edge work is so superior that she stays on the podium.
The 2026 Olympic team is now set. Malinin, Torgashev, and Naumov for the men. Glenn, Liu, and Levito for the women. Chock/Bates and Carreira/Ponomarenko leading the dance. It’s a formidable squad. If you missed the live action, go back and watch the "Practice Cams" if they're still available. You learn more about a skater’s grit by watching them fall five times in practice and get back up than you do by watching their perfect four-minute televised program.