Citizenship delay keeps skating pair from Olympics

Alisa Efimova lacked U.S. citizenship, so she and partner Misha Mitrofanov were ineligible for the Milan Olympics despite qualifying at U.S. nationals; they will compete at Four Continents and the world championships instead.

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov skated well enough at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships to qualify for the Winter Games, but they were ineligible for the Olympic team because Efimova is not a U.S. citizen. Efimova was born in Finland, has represented other countries in the past, and moved to the United States in 2023; she holds a green card and faced a multi-year wait for citizenship. Their home rink sought help from U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey to speed the process, but the Olympic roster was submitted before citizenship was resolved. The pair will travel to Beijing for the Four Continents and then prepare for the world championships in Prague. Known facts: - Efimova is not a U.S. citizen, which made the pair ineligible for the Olympic roster submitted Saturday. - The pair qualified at U.S. nationals but were not named to the U.S. Olympic team; the two U.S. pairs spots were assigned to other finishers at nationals. - Efimova and Mitrofanov will compete at the Four Continents next week and then at the world championships in Prague. - Their home rink worked with Senators Warren and Markey to seek a faster citizenship process, but no change to the Olympic roster was made before submission. Summary: The pair's ineligibility means the two-time national champions will not be on the U.S. Olympic roster and the U.S. pairs entries for Milan were filled by other national finishers. They will compete at Four Continents and the world championships. Undetermined at this time.