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Ava Ziegler leaves the national figure skating competition to concentrate on Four Continents
Grand Prix winner Ava Ziegler has withdrawn from the upcoming Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but she is still expected to participate in the Four Continents Championships in China the following week.
According to a statement from Ziegler’s team through U.S. Figure Skating, “Ava Ziegler has withdrawn from the U.S. Championships as her team advised she should prioritize her time to focus on Four Continents in China. This was a difficult decision; however, her team believes it is in her best interest with both major competitions so close together.”
Typically, in non-Olympic years, Four Continents, an international competition for skaters in non-European countries, is held two weeks after nationals. However, this year there is only a one-week gap, prompting U.S. Figure Skating to name its team for Four Continents before nationals rather than after nationals.
Nationals marks the last competition before the team is selected for the world championships in March. However, there is a possibility that final decisions regarding one or more spots could be made after the Four Continents Championships.
Ziegler remains eligible for consideration for one of the two women’s spots on the world team, even without participating in the nationals.
Ziegler, a 17-year-old hailing from New Jersey, holds the second-best total score among American women this season, following the reigning national champion Isabeau Levito.
In November, Ziegler achieved victory in an international Grand Prix event in Japan, making an impressive leap from fifth place after the short program by delivering a stellar performance in the free skate.
Last January, in her senior U.S. Championships debut, Ziegler finished ninth. However, she broke the U.S. women’s record for the quickest ascent to a Grand Prix title, achieving this milestone in only her second Grand Prix start.
Initially left without any Grand Prix assignments for this season—ninth place at nationals being potentially too low for the top-level Grand Prix—Ziegler was later added to the field in Japan after another skater withdrew in August.
After Levito and Ziegler, the next highest-ranked American women in this season’s nationals field are fellow New Jersey native Lindsay Thorngren and 2023 World team member Amber Glenn.
Bradie Tennell, a two-time U.S. champion who was the runner-up to Levito last year, is sidelined for the season due to an ankle injury sustained in the fall.
