# This Week in Skating / 2026 World Synchronized Skating Preview and Other News

An episode of [This Week in Skating Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1621874792), 7 Apr 2026, 17 min.

Audio: https://audio2.redcircle.com/episodes/00507e7c-d22e-493e-a3bb-0a609ee410c7/stream.mp3

In the second to last episode of season 4 of This Week in Skating, Gina previews the 2026 World Synchronized Skating Championships and discusses all the other news that happened in the skating world this week. Show Notes: https://www.thisweekinskating.com/2026/04/show-notes-april-7-2026/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

## Transcript

[0:00] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Hi everyone, I'm Vincent Joe.
[0:01] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Hi, I'm Kathy Reed.
[0:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And I'm Allison Reed.
[0:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Hi, I'm Ashley.
[0:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Hi, I'm Grace.
[0:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We're from the Haternets.
[0:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I am Martin Rezzi.
[0:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Hello everyone.
[0:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: How are you?
[0:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Thank you.
[0:14] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Thank you.
[0:15] \[SPEAKER_01\]: We're from the Haternets.
[0:25] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Welcome to this week in Skating, the weekly podcast bringing you the latest news from the world of figure skating.
[0:31] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Here are your hosts, Daphne, Gina, and Let's Sayah.
[0:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Welcome to this week in Skating.
[0:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's Gina here.
[0:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This is our second to last episode of season four.
[0:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Next week, all three of us will be back on to briefly recap the world's synchronized championships, and then we'll take a look back on the season.
[0:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In case you missed it, Robert Samuel's of the Washington Post joined us for our world's recap.
[1:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, Robert was in Prague for worlds and he shared with us his thoughts on the event.
[1:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So check out that episode if you haven't done so already.
[1:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, we recorded that episode with Robert prior to the ISU skating awards.
[1:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I'm going to start with the ISU skating awards heading into our general skating news.
[1:22] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So the ISU skating awards took place after the Gala of the World Championships, the most entertaining program went to Yuma Kageama and it was for his I-Wish short program.
[1:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Best costume went to Iliya Melonin and it went for his free skate costume which was designed by Satomi Ito.
[1:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Best newcomer went to Amin the Kai.
[1:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Skaters of the Year went to Lawrence for an air bowdry and Gionse's throne.
[1:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Best coach went to Philip de Gielmo.
[1:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Best choreographer went to Benoit, Rashad.
[2:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And the Trailblazer Award, which is a new award, given during the Gala went to Iliya, melanin.
[2:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Also some world championship news, the ISU announced they would not review the deduction apply to Lila Fear in Louis Gibson's free dance at Worlds.
[2:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They said the result is final and not subject to appeal.
[2:21] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Winging sweet was elected to the ISU Athletes Committee for Paris, and Tessa Teminin was elected for synchronized skating.
[2:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They join Adam Hagarra, who is the representative for singles, and Evan Bates, who is the representative for Ice Dance, as well as the representatives for speed skating and short track.
[2:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now with the end of the season, we have reached the point where we're going to hear about skaters who are going to continue next season.
[2:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We're going to hear about retirements.
[2:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We're going to hear about partner changes and we have a lot to share this week.
[2:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So continuing next season, Japan's UNAAO key, announced on Instagram she will continue next season.
[3:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: For retirements, Hannah Yoshida of Japan announced her retirement from competitive skating.
[3:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: British pair skater Luke Digby announced his retirement on Instagram Sunday, Luke and his partner Anna Stasia Vipen Law finished 15th at the 2026 Olympics.
[3:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: 13th at the World Championships.
[3:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In addition to sharing his appreciation for everyone who has impacted his journey, he mentioned he will marry his long-time girlfriend this summer.
[3:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In Estasia posted, I'll be taking some time off to rest and reset before continuing to pursue my career and exploring the possibility of a new partnership.
[3:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And Austria's Maurizio Zandron has retired from competitive skating as well.
[3:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Three long-time Canadian dance teams announced the end of their partnership.
[4:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Lily Hansen and Nathan Lickers were partners for 15 years.
[4:10] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Sandra and Gautier and Quintin Terrian partners for eight years, Alicia Fabri and Paul Air, they were also partners for eight years.
[4:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: All three of those teams have split.
[4:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Paul Air did post that he received his Mexican citizenship.
[4:28] \[SPEAKER_00\]: His mother is from Mexico City, and he grew up speaking Spanish as his first language.
[4:34] \[SPEAKER_00\]: He also lived in Mexico for a year, so we'll have to see if Paul is planning to use his Mexican citizenship for skating purposes.
[4:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now Lily Sandrin, Alicia, and Paul all posted on Instagram they are looking for new partners.
[4:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now those weren't the only partner changes splits.
[4:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We had more Michelle Deutsch and Ryan Hugh of United States have announced the end of their partnership.
[5:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Alyska Zakova and Philippe Mensl of the Czech Republic announced their split, Athena Roberts and Eric Ellis of Spain will no longer be skating together.
[5:16] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We have some new partnerships to mention, Lindsay Riem and Danny New Decker announced their new partnership on Instagram.
[5:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They are a pair's team for the United States.
[5:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Katie Shen and Connor O'Grady are a new pair's team for the U.S. as well.
[5:33] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Lutono Horchakovah and Jen Rickch Klemic are a new pair's team for the Czech Republic.
[5:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Other news, not related to partnerships, but Skate Japan News reported that Akira Kushita will focus solely on Ice Dance next season instead of both singles and Ice Dance.
[5:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: She and partner Kushira Shimada enter the second year of their Ice Dance partnership.
[5:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Amalia Zingus and Vadim Kolezhnik,
[6:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In Christina Carrera, an Anthony Pondomeranco, have been added to Stars on Ice for select shows.
[6:09] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Amelia and Vadim will be in 10 shows in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Missouri.
[6:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Christina and Anthony will be in 19 shows in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, Utah, Washington,
[6:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Texas and Mississippi.
[6:34] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now Jacob Sanchez will be a guest star participating in the Springfield Massachusetts show.
[6:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: When moving on to event results in coverage, there was a few events that took place this past week, the Helsinki Solo Ice Dance International.
[6:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Gold was won by Lucas Apel of the United States, silver was won by Elena Pange of Great Britain, and bronze was won by Shin Lee Case of the United States.
[7:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In the junior event, Gold was won by Emmaul Israelva,
[7:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Silver was won by serenic Reynolds and bronze was won by Jessica Burns.
[7:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You can find results from advance, intermediate, and basic novice in our show notes.
[7:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You can also check out our show notes for black sea ice cup, rooster cup lakes, trophy results.
[7:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We're moving on to upcoming events for the week, the world's synchronized skating championships is taking place in Selzberg, Austria from April 10 to the 11th.
[7:34] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The Helsinki Rock hats look to defend their title in Cellsburg.
[7:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They finish second at both their challenger events this season though.
[7:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They lost to Team Unique of Finland and lay supreme of Canada.
[7:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So it's going to be interesting to see if they can, in fact, take home the title in Cellsburg.
[7:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now Team Unique.
[7:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: finished second last year, worlds, they are also from Finland.
[8:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They won Britannica Cup, beating the Helsinki Rock hats, and they were third, and Marie Lundmark trophy, where the Rock hats finished ahead of them.
[8:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So these two teams from Finland have competed against each other, this season so far, and one team is finished ahead of the other, and another team is finished ahead of the other.
[8:25] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So it's,
[8:26] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It'll be interesting to see who will finish on top.
[8:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I think both teams have a good chance of being the gold medalist.
[8:34] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I definitely expect both teams to be on the podium.
[8:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, after finishing fourth at Worlds last year, Canada's Lace of Prime has been undefeated this season.
[8:45] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They won both of their challengers.
[8:47] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, Lace of Prime had won the last three World Championships prior to last year's event.
[8:55] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Think they are wanting to be back on that podium this year and again based on some of the Earlier competitions, they could be the world champions Given how they have done this season.
[9:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So
[9:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I think between those three teams it's going to be very interesting.
[9:16] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now you can't count out team USA.
[9:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They have two strong teams that will be competing in Austria and that one team would be the Hayden Nats.
[9:28] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The Hayden Nats took home medals at the last two world championships.
[9:33] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They still haven't gotten that world gold medal yet and so they're definitely in the hunt.
[9:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They could pose a threat to the other three teams.
[9:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I would love to see them on the podium again Make it their third straight year.
[9:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Um, we will just have to wait and see and of course the other team for the US is the skyliners They finished eighth last year at the World Championships
[9:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So another team that we could definitely watch out for may not be on the podium per se, but definitely will be one of the top teams Of course, you also have from Canada team Nova who will be competing as well.
[10:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Um, there are a total of 20th
[10:18] \[SPEAKER_00\]: two teams competing at the world championships.
[10:22] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It will be live streamed.
[10:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I believe it will be live streamed on YouTube.
[10:28] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So I definitely will be tuning in.
[10:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If you have never watched a synchronized event before, I highly recommend it, though.
[10:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I will say it is not as good as seeing it in person.
[10:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I had the opportunity of seeing the 2023
[10:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: world synchronized skating championships in Lake Placid.
[10:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It was something I had never experienced before.
[10:51] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The atmosphere is very different from a figure skating competition.
[10:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: No offense to figure skating fans.
[10:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The Sincro fans really know how to get into it.
[11:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There are no lawmakers.
[11:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They are screaming.
[11:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They are decked out in
[11:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: their team gear, you know, red white and blue for the US teams.
[11:14] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Canada was all decked out and red and white.
[11:18] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It was really a cool experience.
[11:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So if you have nothing to do this weekend, check out the world synchronized skating championships on YouTube, or if you're in Austria, why don't
[11:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: That's not the only event taking place this week.
[11:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We have the travel-led trophy and Norriska cup that is taking place in Slovenia from April 8th to the 12th.
[11:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We have the solo dance symphony Enya taking place in Enya Italy from April 11th to the 12th.
[11:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: April 9th to the 12th is the 2026 Florida Open that is part of the U.S. solo dance series and that is taking place in Orlando, Florida.
[12:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And April 8th to the 11th is the U.S. adult figure skating championships and that is in Duluth, Georgia.
[12:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: and Ashley Wagner, Adam Repon, and Sarah Hughes of the run through will be in Duluth, and they will be having a live show so we will put a link to that information in our show notes in case you are going to be in Duluth and want to check out their live show.
[12:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: While moving on to online updates, along with, um, you know, skaters announcing if they're continuing or retiring or partner changes and new partnerships,
[12:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We also have skaters announcing that they are switching coaches, and Nina Pizzeroni, who recently won the World Bronze Medal, posted on Instagram she is leaving her coach Anis Buckland, and she hasn't announced who she will be working with going forward.
[12:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: An April 3rd, Chelsea Lou posted an Instagram story of her and Ryan Bedard, doing a quadruple throw in practice, so it looks like Chelsea and Ryan are preparing for next season, and maybe we'll see a quadruple throw in competition.
[13:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And one article we would like to mention is from anything G.O.E.'
[13:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: 's, they had an article with Natalia michkatunik, and it's talking about her building the next generation of pair skaters.
[13:29] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Well, we have reached the end of our episode, but before I sign off, I'd like to shine a lens on our respective websites.
[13:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: At this week in Skating, we do have our store still online.
[13:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You can support our podcast while rocking some cool swag.
[13:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You can also get some items with iStands.com and figure skaters online logos on them.
[13:51] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And if you haven't done so already, join us on Patreon for access to add free episodes.
[13:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The episodes also go up few hours before they go up for the regular public.
[14:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So if you want your episode a little bit early, join us over on Patreon.
[14:09] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Over at iStans.com, the 2026 solo dance season is in full swing, so Daphne is adding result links every week.
[14:18] \[SPEAKER_00\]: She also has an interview with Alexa Crook and John Eisenhower.
[14:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They are a junior team from Germany, and Daphne says more interviews are on the way in the coming weeks.
[14:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Over at FSO, I have posted the preview for the U.S. and Canadian stars on ice tour.
[14:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There is quotes in there from Daniel Shei, as well as the producer of stars on ice.
[14:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So definitely check that out, and if you haven't done so, get your tickets for stars on ice.
[14:51] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Um, they may be hard to come by if you haven't gotten tickets already.
[14:55] \[SPEAKER_00\]: and I will have photos from the world synchronized skating championships and a recap coming later this week.
[15:02] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So as I said at the beginning of our show, this is the second to last episode of season four.
[15:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We will be back next week.
[15:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I will be recapping the world synchronized skating championships and then Mateo, Daphne and I will all be talking about our favorite moments from this past season.
[15:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: then after that episode we will be taking a break.
[15:28] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Right now the plan is for that break to go until at least June it may be longer, but we will definitely be back with interviews in that time frame.
[15:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Also, we will be back in time to talk about the ISU Congress, which takes place at the beginning of June.
[15:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But then we may be on a little bit longer of a break after that.
[15:53] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So definitely make sure you check out our episode next week before we sign off from our weekly episodes for a bit.
[16:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: But until then,
[16:05] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Thanks for tuning in to another episode of This Week in Skating.
[16:07] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Remember, you can keep up with us throughout the week by visiting our website at www.thisweekincading.com.
[16:14] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Connect with us on social media for additional updates.
[16:16] \[SPEAKER_01\]: You can find us on Twitter at This Week in Skating without the ease or Facebook Instagram and Threads at This Week in Skating.
[16:24] \[SPEAKER_01\]: You got a burning question or feedback for Gina Daphne or Mateo?
[16:28] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Reach out to us via social media or drop us an email at thisweekenscading at gmail.com.
[16:33] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And if you're really enjoying the show and want to support us further, consider joining our Patreon community at patreon.com slash this week in skating.
[16:40] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Until next time, have a nice week!

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