Cypriot-origin American figure skater Emilea Zingas made history at the Milano/Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, securing fifth place alongside partner Vadym Kolesnik in their Olympic debut. The pair became the only newcomers to finish inside the top five and were also the youngest athletes among the top ten competitors.
Remarkably, neither athlete had previously competed in a major championship or World Figure Skating Championships before achieving their breakthrough at the Olympics moment on Wednesday, 11 February.
Family roots in Cyprus
Emilea Zingas, born on 22 April 2002 in Michigan to Chris and Marsha, has strong family ties to Cyprus. Her paternal grandparents, Nik and Xenia Zingas, were born in Paphos before emigrating to the United States in the early 1970s, where they opened and operated an Italian restaurant in Detroit for 25 years.
Speaking after her qualifying performance in Milan, Emilea expressed pride in her Cypriot heritage and gratitude for the support of relatives who travelled from both the United States and Cyprus to watch her compete.
“I am very proud of my Cypriot origin and happy to make my family proud through my sporting achievements,” she said, noting that several of her 13 first cousins were present at the arena.
Road to the Olympics
In February 2021, Emilea Zingas became the first athlete of the Cyprus Skating Federation to qualify for the World Figure Skating Championships in the women’s singles event in Stockholm. That competition also served as an Olympic qualifier for Beijing 2022, where she narrowly missed securing participation at just 18 years old.
Her journey since then has been rapid. Emilea and Kolesnik began skating together in 2022, finishing fourth at the 2024 Four Continents Championships before achieving podium finishes in both Grand Prix events, qualifying for the 2025 Grand Prix Final, and winning the 2026 ISU Four Continents title in January.
Record-breaking Olympic performance
At the Milano Ice Skating Arena, the duo delivered an emotional free dance that produced a personal best score of 123.19. Combined with their rhythm dance record of 83.53, they achieved a total personal best of 206.72 points, sealing fifth place in the Zingas Olympics debut.
“The score shocked us,” Emilea said, adding that while it may not have been their cleanest performance, it carried the strongest emotion of the season.
“It had our soul,” Kolesnik added.
Emilea Zingas described the programme as magical and credited the judges and crowd for responding to the emotion they aimed to convey. She also thanked their families, coaches and supporters, saying the moment felt like the culmination of long preparation.
Kolesnik noted the pair felt unusually calm for their Olympic debut and viewed the competition as the beginning of a longer journey.
“This is only the start for us,” he said, describing the experience as unforgettable.
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