Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov embrace fourth-place showing in World Figure Skating pairs
Efimova saw a roaring standing ovation and gifts being rained down on the ice.
The Norwood-based pair performed the best free skate of their career at their first World Championships in front of a hometown crowd. It was a moment most athletes never have, and in just the second year of their partnership, they had done it.
Scoring a 135.59, Efimova and Mitrofanov ended up fourth in the free skate, elevating them to sixth place overall, the top ranked US pair.
Advertisement
The US pair of Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov were fourth in the free skate program, elevating them to sixth overall and ranking them as the top US pair.
Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images
The event was won by Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who won their second-consecutive title by just .71 of a point over Germans Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, 219.79-219.08. Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii of Italy earned bronze.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
'This means everything,' said Mitrofanov. 'All the hard work that we've been putting in paid off. We were very happy to make everyone proud at the Garden today.'
Skating 12th of 20 pairs, Efimova and Mitrofanov's free skate score led the night until the final three skaters of the event. Their finish, combined with the seventh-place result of fellow American pair Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, gives the US the opportunity to qualify a third pairs team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan/Cortina. It would be the first time since 1994 the US would send three pairs to the Olympics.
Qualifying a third Olympic team had been a goal of Efimova and Mitrofanov once they won the national title in January, even though they are currently not eligible to represent the US in Olympic competition due to Efimova's Finnish citizenship. (The pair is currently working on citizenship options.)
'It was something that we really wanted to strive for, whether or not it could be us,' said Mitrofanov.
Moments later, while still talking to the media, Efimova and Mitrofanov learned that they had achieved that goal. Efimova gasped.
Advertisement
'We did it,' Mitrofanov sighed while wrapping Efimova in a hug.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
19 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Can schools like St. Bonaventure and FIU thrive in college athletics without the big bucks?
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — As schools prepare to begin sharing millions with their athletes, there is no avoiding the reality that if you're not a Power Four school, you're at a disadvantage. With major conferences running the show, St. Bonaventure and Florida International don't even have a seat at the table. FIU and St. Bonaventure aren't necessarily worried about a head-to-head fight over top players with deeper-pocketed schools. The priority has become survival and finding a balance between athletics ambition and financial sustainability. Adrian Wojnarowski spoke candidly about the challenges he faced during his inaugural season as the general manager of the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team. Solidifying a recruiting class that would improve the team and embrace the school culture was not easy. After July 1, when lucrative paychecks will pretty much become mandatory for blue-chip prospects, it's not going to get any easier. With some 2,000 undergraduate students, the Bonnies are outnumbered in resources and revenue when competing even against other Atlantic 10 teams like VCU, Dayton, and Saint Louis. Wojnarowski, ESPN's former lead NBA reporter, thinks he has identified a formula for locating the ideal prospect. To him, St. Bonaventure is a landing spot for international players adjusting to a new culture and college life, transfers who may have fallen short at a high major and need development, or those looking to move up to a mid-major. He admits the school upstate New York could be a pit stop on a player's journey. 'I want them to see that our environment, our coaching staff, our small school, especially for international players coming over, what I really try to sell is your adjustment to American college life," he said at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and Affiliates Convention this week. 'I think for a lot of kids, it's easier in a school with 1,900 students than a school with 19,000. And you'll come to have two great years with us, and then you'll probably end up at schools with 19,000 or 29,000,' he said. "And so you're selling, for us, we're your first step on the way to somewhere else, or the other one to me is we're the place to come when you've got to get the basketball right.' If the plan goes awry and a recruit slips away, one thing the former NBA insider refuses to do is blame the money. 'Fundraising is hard, creating new revenue streams is hard, but the one thing that I try to stay away from with us is not saying, 'Oh, we didn't get him because they offered more money,' and using that as a crutch all the time. I really examine when we lost a player,' Wojnarowski said. 'Are we being honest with ourselves in saying that we did everything outside the economics to make our case to this person?' FIU has more than 40,000 undergraduates, but the athletic department is using a similar philosophy, pinpointing advantages and opportunities to come from the settlement instead of the negatives. Similar to St. Bonaventure, FIU doesn't expect to come close to the $20.5 million revenue-sharing cap available over the next year. For a competitive edge, unlocking new revenue streams is fundamental. 'To compete, from a revenue standpoint, you have to think outside the box of your conventional fundraising and targeting donors,' senior associate athletic director Joseph Corey said. 'That's why you're looking at concerts being held at different venues, different festivals to generate extra revenue to bring in, different revenue streams, and not just fundraising going after the same donors. You've got to go beyond that in order to be able to compete.' Being based in Miami has its perks. Proximity to celebrities is one of them. In August, FIU secured a 10-year partnership with Pitbull, the singer and rapper who coins himself 'Mr. 305.' 'We did the partnership with Pitbull – Pitbull Stadium. He's on tour, but part of the deal was that he would be collaborating with us and doing events for us from a fundraising standpoint," Corey said. "You've got to think outside the box. Especially in a city like Miami, it's about the experience too.' Schools unlocking creative revenue streams is something that can be expected. FIU competes in Conference USA alongside teams like Liberty, Louisiana Tech, UTEP, Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State. The football team went 3-5 in 2024, finishing sixth in the conference. The men's basketball team finished last with a 3-15 conference record. It's hard to sell donors on losing teams. 'Let's call it what it is, FIU's not going to be able to keep up with the Alabama's of the world, the Georgia's, Michigan, or Texas, but what can we do? We can be the best in our conference. That is our goal,' Corey said. 'Let's be the best in our conference and really compete there because once you're at the top of your conference, that means more revenue in other areas. Everyone wants to donate to a winner.'
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Three-Star TE Isaac Jensen commits to Missouri Tigers
Three-Star TE Isaac Jensen commits to Missouri Tigers originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Missouri Tigers head coach Elijah Drinkwitz added another piece to his 2026 high school recruiting class on Monday when three-star tight end Isaac Jensen announced his commitment to the Tigers. Advertisement "MIZ! Let's work!" he said in a commitment post shared with On3's Hayes Fawcett and his followers on X. Listed by 247Sports at 6'6" 230lbs, Jensen hails from Millard South High School just outside of Omaha, Nebraska, and he is no stranger to winning. During his first three seasons with the Patriots, Jensen has helped Millard South to a 28-8 record and the 2024 Nebraska Class A Football State Championship. Jensen is the second recruit from the group of prospects that visited Columbia last weekend to choose Mizzou, with Florida-based four-star wide receiver Jabari Brady announcing his commitment to the program on June 7th while still being on campus. Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz is building on a small 2026 recruiting class with his latest addition of a three-star tight end out of Omaha, Nebraska. © Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images Even though Jensen has committed, that doesn't mean that the Tigers are done recruiting the tight end position. Advertisement Michael Swain of 247Sports reported last month that Mizzou is expected to take two tight ends in the 2026 high school class. This is no surprise, as the Tigers have a tight end room that tapers off once you get past junior starter Brett Norfleet, with no clear number two. The next uncommitted tight end set to venture to Columbia for an official visit is Kansas City product Kevin Sullivan on June 20th. Sullivan is set to visit with the Tigers last, after taking official visits to Kansas, Iowa State and Vanderbilt. It remains to be seen how Jensen's commitment will impact Missouri's pursuit of Sullivan, but his recruitment will be another one to watch for Mizzou fans. Monday's news brings the Tigers' 2026 high school class to four, with Jensen joining the aforementioned Jabari Brady along with four-star linebacker Keenan Harris and four-star quarterback Gavin Sidwar. Related: Four-Star Sunshine State WR Announces Commitment to Mizzou Related: Upcoming Recruiting Visits Could Boost Mizzou Football's 2026 Class This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What FIFA said about ICE operations at Club World Cup matches
The FIFA Club World Cup is set to kick off at a time when the U.S. is actively deploying military personnel to confront protestors and assist in immigration enforcement. It's the kind of situation that reasonably would have fans wary about attending the event. And it will be impossible to ignore as ICE and CBP agents will have a presence at the actual Club World Cup venues. According to NBC Miami, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that ICE agents will be at Hard Rock Stadium for Saturday's opener. Though the department claimed it would be there to provide additional security, ICE did include an ominous reminder "that all non-American citizens need to carry proof of their legal status." FIFA president Gianni Infantino was asked about the prospect of ICE agents carrying out immigration operations at Club World Cup matches, and Infantino did not see a problem with it — emphasizing the need for security. He said: "No, I don't have any concerns about anything in the sense that we are very attentive on any security question. Of course, the most important for us is to guarantee security for all the fans who come to the games. This is our priority. This is the priority of all the authorities who are here. And we want everyone who comes to the games to pass a good moment." He also added that he didn't want anyone to come to the games and create problems. Hard Rock Stadium was notably the scene of the ugly situation at the 2024 Copa America final where fans breached gates for Argentina's win over Colombia. Police and stadium personnel were so overwhelmed that they stopped checking tickets and ultimately closed the gates. Infantino wants to avoid that situation, sure, but immigration enforcement at the stadium doesn't work towards that goal. This article originally appeared on For The Win: What FIFA said about ICE operations at Club World Cup matches
