Vote: 2026 SKATING Magazine Readers' Choice Award

Each summer, figure skating fans are asked to vote for the eligible skater whom they believe is most deserving of the SKATING magazine Readers' Choice of the Year Award, also known as the Michelle Kwan Trophy, based on their accomplishments of the past season (2025-26).

Eligible skaters for the award are:

Top five championship-level skaters in each discipline at the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships
Medalists at the 2026 World Championships
Medalists at the 2026 World Junior Figure Skating Championships
Top three senior teams at the 2026 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships
Medalists at the 2026 World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships

The voting window ends July 20 at 11:59 p.m. MT. Fans may vote once during the voting period.

2026 Candidates

Hana Maria Aboian / Daniil Veselukhin

· 2026 World Junior champions
· 2026 U.S. junior champions
· 2025 Junior Grand Prix Final champions
· 2025 Junior Grand Prix (UAE) champions
· 2025 Junior Grand Prix (Thailand) champions

Emily Bratti / Ian Somerville

· 2026 U.S. Championships – 5th
· 2025 Santa Claus Cup – 1st
· 2025 Skate Canada International – 9th
· 2025 Grand Prix de France – 8th

Christina Carreira / Anthony Ponomarenko

· 2026 World Championships – 8th
· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – 11th
· 2026 U.S. Championships – bronze medalists
· 2025 Skate America – 5th
· 2025 Nebelhorn Trophy – silver medalists

Emily Chan / Spencer Howe

· 2026 World Championships – 16th
· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – 7th
· 2026 U.S. Championships – pewter medalists
· 2025 Skate America – 4th
· 2025 NHK Trophy – 6th

Madison Chock / Evan Bates

· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – silver medalists
· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – champions (team event)
· 2026 U.S. champions
· 2025 Grand Prix Final champions
· 2025 Skate America champions
· 2025 Cup of China champions

Alisa Efimova / Misha Mitrofanov

· 2026 World Championships – 6th
· 2026 Four Continents champions
· 2026 U.S. champions
· 2025 Finlandia Trophy – silver medalists
· 2025 Nebelhorn Trophy – bronze medalists

Sarah Everhardt

· 2026 World Championships – 11th
· 2026 Four Continents Championships – 8th
· 2026 U.S. Championships – 6th
· 2025 Tallinn Trophy – silver medalist
· 2025 NHK Trophy – 5th
· 2025 Skate Canada International – 7th

Amber Glenn

· 2026 World Championships – 6th
· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – 5th
· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – champions (team event)
· 2026 U.S. champion
· 2025 Grand Prix Final – 4th
· 2025 Cup of China champion
· 2025 Nebelhorn Trophy champion

Caroline Green / Michael Parsons

· 2026 World Championships – 12th
· 2026 Four Continents – silver medalists
· 2026 U.S. Championships – pewter medalists
· 2025 NHK Trophy – bronze medalists
· 2025 Nepela Memorial – bronze medalists

Haydenettes

· 2026 World silver medalists
· 2026 U.S. champions
· 2026 U.S. Synchronized Skating International Classic – silver medalists
· 2025 French Cup – silver medalists

Tomoki Hiwatashi

· 2026 Four Continents Championships – 7th
· 2026 U.S. Championships – 5th
· 2025 Cup of China – 4th
· 2025 Kinoshita Group Cup – bronze medalist

Gabriela Juarez-Rivas

· 2026 World Championships – bronze medalist
· 2026 U.S. Championships – 5th
· 2025 Grand Prix Final – 4th
· 2025 Finlandia Trophy – bronze medalist
· 2025 Nebelhorn Trophy champion

Ellie Kam / Danny O'Shea

· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – 9th
· 2026 Olympic champions (team event)
· 2026 U.S. silver medalists
· 2025 Finlandia Trophy – bronze medalists
· 2025 Skate Canada International – bronze medalists

Isabeau Levito

· 2026 World Championships – 5th
· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – 12th
· 2026 U.S. bronze medalist
· 2025 Skate Canada International – silver medalist
· 2025 Grand Prix de France – 4th
· 2025 Cranberry Cup International champion

Alysa Liu

· 2026 Olympic champion
· 2026 Olympic champion (team event)
· 2026 U.S. silver medalist
· 2025 Grand Prix Final champion
· 2025 Skate America champion
· 2025 Cup of China – silver medalist

Ilia Malinin

· 2026 World champion
· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – 8th
· 2026 Olympic champion (team event)
· 2026 U.S. champion
· 2025 Grand Prix Final champion
· 2025 Skate Canada International champion
· 2025 Grand Prix de France champion
· 2025 Lombardia Trophy champion

Katie McBeath / Daniil Parkman

· 2026 World Championships – 12th
· 2026 Four Continents Championships – 6th
· 2026 U.S. bronze medalists
· 2025 Grand Prix de France – 4th
· 2025 Nebelhorn Trophy – 5th

Miami University

· 2026 U.S. bronze medalists
· 2026 Hevelius Cup – 5th
· 2026 Britannia Cup – 4th

Maxim Naumov

· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – 20th
· 2026 U.S. bronze medalist
· 2025 IceChallenge champion
· 2025 Grand Prix de France – 9th

Jacob Sanchez

· 2026 World Championships – 12th
· 2026 World Junior Championships – 4th
· 2026 Four Continents Championships – 8th
· 2026 U.S. pewter medalist
· 2025 Cup of China – 7th

Audrey Shin / Balazs Nagy

· 2026 Four Continents Championships – 7th
· 2026 U.S. Championships – 5th
· 2025 Golden Spin of Zagreb champions
· 2025 Grand Prix de France – 5th

Skyliners Senior

· 2026 World Synchronized Championships – 6th
· 2026 U.S. silver medalists
· 2026 Riga Amber Cup – bronze medalists
· 2026 Lumiere Cup – bronze medalists

Skyliners Junior

· 2026 World Junior – bronze medalists
· 2026 U.S. silver medalists
· 2026 Britannia Cup – bronze medalists
· 2025 Santa Claus Cup – silver medalists

Bradie Tennell

· 2026 Four Continents Championships – 4th
· 2026 U.S. pewter medalist
· 2025 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion
· 2025 Finlandia Trophy – 4th
· 2025 Skate Canada International – 4th

Andrew Torgashev

· 2026 World Championships – 10th
· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – 12th
· 2026 U.S. silver medalist
· 2025 Grand Prix de France – 6th
· 2025 Nebelhorn Trophy – silver medalist

Emilea Zingas / Vadym Kolesnik

· 2026 World bronze medalists
· 2026 Olympic Winter Games – 5th
· 2026 Four Continents champions
· 2026 U.S. silver medalists
· 2025 Grand Prix Final – 6th
· 2025 Cup of China – silver medalists

Vote Now: 2026 SKATING Magazine Readers' Choice of the Year Award