Having host the previous Olympics and the final qualifying event for Milano-Cortina, Beijing welcomes skaters from outside Europe for the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.

When is it on?

The ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships begin Thursday, 22 January with the women’s short programme and conclude Sunday, 25 January with the exhibition gala.

Who is skating?

After a silver medal at last season’s World Championships, Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ) is the leading light in the men’s event. He took medals at both of his Grand Prix assignments and qualified again for the Grand Prix Final where he finished sixth. Kao Miura (JPN) is competing in Beijing with the knowledge his place on the Japanese Olympic team is secure. He already has one Four Continents title to his name from back in 2023. He will be joined by teammate Kazuki Tomono (JPN) who missed out on a trip to Milano. Tomono finished second at the last pre-Olympic Four Continents in 2022. Junhwan Cha (KOR) was the victor in those unprecedented championships in Tallinn, Estonia. The 2023 World silver medallist has had an average season so far and will be hoping to build momentum ahead of the Olympics.

Ami Nakai (JPN) has had a spectacular debut senior international season so far with a Grand Prix victory in France over three-time World champion Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) and a silver medal at the Grand Prix Final. She will be challenged by compatriot Mone Chiba (JPN) both here and next month in Milan. The World silver medallist was the only woman to win both her Grand Prix events this season and ended up just in front of Nakai at Japanese Nationals last month. Jia Shin (KOR) is in her senior international debut season and captured the Korean National earlier this month. Sofia Samodelkina (KAZ) became the first woman from her country to take a Grand Prix medal when she placed second at NHK Trophy last November.

 Wenjing Sui and Cong Han (CHN) will carry the host’s hopes for these Four Continents as the 2022 Olympic champions continue their preparations to defend their title. Citizenship woes will keep Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov (USA) from competing in Milan so they will be gunning for a first major international title after successfully collecting a second national title in a row this month. Yuna After missing out on advancing to the free skating at last season’s Worlds, Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi (JPN) have been rapidly developing and picked up the final pairs spot at the ISU Skate to Milano Olympic Qualifier in the same venue.

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik (USA), who missed out on the podium at their last two outings at Four Continents, now find themselves in the position of favourites for the ice dance title after qualifying for the Grand Prix Final this season. 2022 Four Continents champions Caroline Green and Michael Parsons (USA) missed out on making the American Olympic team for the second consecutive Games and should make it to the podium again. Only three countries (Canada, Japan, United States of America) have ever taken a medal in the Four Continents ice dance event so Hannah Lim and Ye Quan (KOR) will try to make some history in Beijing.

Everything you need to know (and some things you did not) about the skaters, the competition schedule and results can be viewed here.

When is the skating on?

Evening and through the night in North America, early morning till lunchtime in Europe and afternoon till evening in Asia. The times listed for the Four Continents Championships are local and if you want to know what the time difference is between where you are and Beijing then this link is your friend.

Where can I watch the pretty skaters?

This season’s ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships can be viewed on the Skating ISU YouTube channel. Geographic restrictions may apply.

What are the hashtags?

#4ContsFigure #FigureSkating