Team USA is heading into the Beijing Winter Olympics with a strong lineup of figure skaters — but just who will make the team is still up in the air. (So to speak.)
The 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be held Jan. 6-9 in Nashville, Tennessee, and help determine who goes to the Winter Games. You can watch live on NBC and USA Network, or stream on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com. (See the full schedule below.)
The championship is not an Olympic trial, so don't expect any athletes to "win" a spot to the 2022 Winter Olympics. Instead, a committee will name 16 athletes to the Olympic team, taking past competitions into account, no later than Monday, January 10th.
Who are the skaters to cheer as we head to Beijing? We asked Johnny Weir, two-time Olympian and NBC Correspondent, what we can expect.
Who are the skaters to watch from the U.S. this year?
Team USA is chock full of talent and most excitingly, it is an Olympic season so they’ll all be bringing their best! The women are led by four strong competitors competing for three spots in Beijing, Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, Mariah Bell and Karen Chen.
The top three men are all Olympians already, Jason Brown, Vincent Zhou and the favorite for the Olympic gold Nathan Chen.
The pairs competition is so unpredictable that it will be very exciting to see which two teams rise to the occasion for a trip to a Beijing, and the ice dance competition is led by two teams who could find themselves on the podium at the Olympics, Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue and Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
Any special performances or tricks we should keep an eye on?
There are two U.S. women who have upped the ante technically to be more competitive with the very strong athletes from Russia, Japan and South Korea. Alysa Liu and Amber Glenn will each be attempting triple axels, the most difficult triple jump.
Nathan Chen could possibly attempt six quadruple jumps in his free skate while Vincent Zhou will attempt five, a whole new world of technical wizardry.
Who are their biggest competition?
The Olympics are going to be unlike anything we’ve seen before because the level, across all disciplines, is so high.
The strongest women’s team in the world by far, is the Russian team. They are led by 15 year old phenom Kamila Valieva who is favored for Olympic gold with effortless quadruple jumps and beautiful skating. The Russian women are so strong though, that any one of the three could win the Olympics, and it is extremely possible that Russia will earn all three medals.
The men's competition is headlined by Nathan Chen and his main rival, two-time and reigning Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan who is every bit as unique and excellent as he was when he won his first Olympic title in 2014.
The best pairs in the world come from Russia and China and will more than likely hold the top five placements at the Olympics. China’s only gold medal hope at their home Olympics, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, will face stiff competition from three Russian teams and their own Chinese teammates. How to watch U.S. Figure Skating Championship Events
Thursday, Jan. 6
- Pairs’ Short 5-7 p.m. ET, USA Network, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com
- Women’s Short 8:30-10:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBCOlympics.com
Friday, Jan. 7
- Rhythm Dance 4-6 p.m. ET, USA, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com
- Women’s Free 8-11 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com
Saturday, Jan. 8
- Men’s Short 4-6 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com
- Pairs’ Free & Free Dance 7-10 p.m. ET, USA, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com
Sunday, Jan. 9
- Men’s Free 2-4 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com
