U.S. pairs champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov underscored exactly what the American team could be missing at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday when they rallied to win the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Beijing.
Efimova and Mitrofanov were in third place, nearly five points back of China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, after the short program. But they rallied to win the free skate and finished with 205.34 points, while Sui and Han — who will be trying to defend their Olympic title when they get to Milan in less than two weeks — slipped to second with 200.99 points.
Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi of Japan fell from second to third with 197.46 points.
Efimova and Mitrofanov were the talk of the U.S. championships earlier this month, not only because of their performance in St. Louis but also because of their situation. While he was born in Wisconsin and raised in Texas, Efimova was born in Finland, and the only way that athletes can compete at the Winter Olympics is if they are citizens of the nation they are representing.
Efimova married Mitrofanov nearly two years ago and has a valid green card. But despite help from officials in Massachusetts, where they train at the Skating Club of Boston, she was unable to secure a passport before the U.S. had to select its Olympic team.
The rules are different for non-Olympic events, such as Four Continents and the world championships. Those events are run by the International Skating Union, not governed by the International Olympic Committee, so Efimova is allowed to represent the U.S. there.
Efimova and Mitrofanov would have been podium contenders in the pairs event in Milan. They also would have been able to help the Americans in the team event, where they are the defending champions. Instead, the U.S. will have to rely on national silver medalists Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea and fourth-place finishers Emily Chan and Spencer Howe in the team competition.
Earlier on Saturday, Kao Miura led a Japanese sweep of the short program at Four Continents, scoring 98.59 points in his final tune-up for the Milan Cortina Olympics. Kazuki Tomono was second with 97.19 points and Sota Yamamoto was third with 94.68.
Tomono and Yamamoto are not part of the Japanese team going to the Winter Games.
Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, Jin Boyang of China and Junhwan Cha of South Korea were right behind; all of them will be in the men’s competition in Milan. None of the U.S. team that’s headed to the Olympics is competing at Four Continents, leaving Tomoki Hiwatashi to lead the American contingent in eighth place with 80.88 points at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing.
The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships conclude Sunday with the men’s free skate.
