# Misha Mitrofanov

Misha Mitrofanov (born June 12, 1997) is an American pair skater. With his current partner, Alisa Efimova, he is the 2025 U.S. national champion and 2024 Skate America bronze medalist.
With his former skating partner, Audrey Lu, he is the 2022 Four Continents champion, 2021 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion, 2018 U.S. International Classic silver medalist, and 2022 U.S. national bronze medalist.

## Personal life

Mitrofanov was born on June 12, 1997, in Madison, Wisconsin. He is the eldest of two children born to Yelena, a real estate agent, and Gennadiy, a natural gas and oil marketer. He has a sister, Nina. After graduating (in May 2016) from Spring Creek Academy in Plano, Texas, he began studying sports medicine at the University of Texas at Dallas. He earned a bachelor's degree in healthcare studies in 2023. Mitrofanov has expressed interest in opening his own mechanic shop after finishing his competitive figure skating career.

## Career
### Early years

Mitrofanov began learning to skate in 2001 at the age of four after doctors encouraged his parents to enter him into sports as a way to improve the weak immune system he had been born with. He was coached by Alexei Mantsorov from 2005 to 2014. Skating in the novice pairs' category, he placed 8th at the 2015 U.S. Championships with Emily Chan, and 6th at the 2016 U.S. Championships with Ashlee Raymond.

### Partnership with Lu
#### 2016–17 season

Mitrofanov teamed up with Audrey Lu in May 2016. Making their international debut, the pair placed 12th at an ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) event in the Czech Republic in September 2016. Their season came to an end in November, after Mitrofanov dislocated his shoulder at the Midwestern Sectional Championships. He underwent shoulder surgery and resumed training after six months.

#### 2017–18 season

Lu/Mitrofanov placed 5th at both of their JGP assignments. In January, they won the junior pairs' title at the 2018 U.S. Championships; they ranked first in both segments and outscored the silver medalists by 17.74 points. In March, the pair placed 5th (6th in the short program, 4th in the free skate) at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

#### 2018–19 season

Making their senior international debut, Lu/Mitrofanov won silver at the 2018 CS U.S. International Classic in mid-September, and then placed fifth at the 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. They were invited to two Grand Prix events, the 2018 NHK Trophy and 2018 Internationaux de France, where they placed seventh and sixth, respectively. Debuting at senior Nationals at the 2019 U.S. Championships, they placed sixth.

#### 2019–20 season

Lu/Mitrofanov began the season with a fifth-place finish at the 2019 CS U.S. Classic. On the Grand Prix, they were eighth at the 2019 Rostelecom Cup. They concluded the season at the 2020 U.S. Championships, where they finished sixth.

#### 2020–21 season

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting international travel, Lu/Mitrofanov were assigned to attend the 2020 Skate America, the Grand Prix having been arranged primarily based on training location. They placed third in the short program, 3.31 points ahead of national pewter medalists Cain-Gribble/LeDuc. Coming fourth in the free skate, their lead from the short program was nevertheless enough to remain in third place overall, winning the bronze medal.
Competing at the 2021 U.S. Championships, Lu/Mitrofanov placed third in the short program with a clean skate. They were fourth in the free skate, dropping to fourth place overall and winning the pewter medal.

#### 2021–22 season: Four Continents champion

After beginning the season with some minor America competitions, Lu/Mitrofanov competed on the Grand Prix at the 2021 NHK Trophy, finishing in fifth place. They went on to finish in fourth at the 2021 Rostelecom Cup, after which Lu said they were "satisfied" with the results on the Grand Prix that year. They next competed at the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they won the gold medal, their first Challenger title.
Lu/Mitrofanov won the bronze medal at the 2022 U.S. Championships. Mitrofanov said they were "very happy and grateful" for the event and its large audience. As a result of their placement, they were assigned to compete at the 2022 Four Continents Championships in Tallinn, and named second alternates to the American Olympic team. Lu/Mitrofanov won both segments of the Four Continents competition to take the gold medal.
Mitrofanov briefly skated with Hazel Collier for the ice show, An Evening with Champions.

### Partnership with Efimova
#### 2023–24 season

Upon learning about her split with previous partner, Ruben Blommaert, Mitrofanov, messaged Finnish-Russian pair skater, Alisa Efimova on Instagram, asking if she would be interested in having a pair skating tryout with him. Efimova went on to contact Mitrofanov's longtime coaches, Aleksey Letov and Olga Ganicheva, asking if they would be interested in coaching her, to which they agreed. Following a successful tryout, Efimova moved to Norwood, Massachusetts, to train at the Skating Club of Boston with Mitrofanov. Mitrofanov later recalled, "There were some elements where we had different timing. But on other elements, it clicked almost right away, and it felt very nice. It just felt like [being] at home." It was announced in June 2023 that the pair team would represent the United States.
Following a silver medal win at the domestic U.S. Pairs Final, Efimova and Mitrofanov qualified for the 2024 U.S. National Championships. At the event, the pair placed fifth in the short program, but won the free skate, allowing them to move up to second place overall.

#### 2024–25 season

Efimova and Mitrofanov began their season by competing on the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series. They won the silver medal at the 2024 CS John Nicks Pairs Competition before going on to finish fourth at the 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy.
Debuting together on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, the pair won the bronze medal at 2024 Skate America and finished fourth at the 2024 Grand Prix de France.

## Programs
### Pair skating with Alisa Efimova

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2023–24 | Vladimir's Blues by Max Richter Tourner dans le vide by Indila choreo. by Olga Ganicheva | Iron 2021 by Woodkid choreo. by Olga Ganicheva | |
| 2024–25 | Ameksa (District 78 Remix) by Taalbi Brothers & District 78 Uccen (DWTS Remix) by Taalbi Brothers choreo. by Renée Roca | Je suis malade by Serge Lama performed by Forestella choreo. by Renée Roca | Money, Money, Money by ABBA Papa, Can You Hear Me? (from Yentl) by Michel Legrand performed by Barbara Streisand |

### Pair skating with Audrey Lu

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2021–22 | Toxic Survivor by 2WEI | Ancient Lands by Ronan Hardiman In Too Deep Illusions by Thomas Bergersen | |
| 2020–21 | The Show Must Go On (from Moulin Rouge!) | Charlie Chaplin medley | |
| 2019–20 | Skyfall by Adele | Notre-Dame de Paris by Riccardo Cocciante, Luc Plamondon, Will Jennings | |
| 2018–19 | Masquerade: Waltz by Aram Khachaturian | El Tango de Roxanne Come What May (from Moulin Rouge!) | |
| 2017–18 | Once Upon a December (from Anastasia) by Deana Carter | Memory (from Cats) by Andrew Lloyd Webber The Music of the Night (from The Phantom of the Opera) by Andrew Lloyd Webber | The Prayer by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli |
| 2016–17 | O Fortuna (from Carmina Burana) by Carl Orff | Memory (from Cats) by Andrew Lloyd Webber The Music of the Night (from The Phantom of the Opera) by Andrew Lloyd Webber | |

## Competitive highlights

* GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
* JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
* CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series

### Pair skating with Alisa Efimova

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| World Championships | | TBD |
| Four Continents Championships | | 5th |
| U.S. Championships | 2nd | 1st |
| GP France | | 4th |
| GP Skate America | | 3rd |
| CS John Nicks Pairs | | 2nd |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | | 4th |

### Pair skating with Audrey Lu

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 |
| Four Continents Championships | | | | 1st |
| U.S. Championships | 6th | 6th | 4th | 3rd |
| GP France | 6th | | | |
| GP NHK Trophy | 7th | | | 5th |
| GP Rostelecom Cup | | 8th | | 4th |
| GP Skate America | | | 3rd | |
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | | | | 1st |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 5th | | | |
| CS U.S. Classic | 2nd | 5th | | |
| Challenge Cup | | 2nd | | |
| Cranberry Cup | | | | 6th |
| John Nicks Pairs | | | | 3rd |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2016–17 | 2017–18 |
| World Junior Championships | | 5th |
| U.S. Championships | | 1st |
| JGP Belarus | | 5th |
| JGP Czech Republic | 12th | |
| JGP Poland | | 5th |

## Detailed results
### Pair skating with Alisa Efimova

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 191.51 | 2024 Skate America |
| Short program | TSS | 63.44 | 2024 CS John Nicks Pairs Competition |
| Short program | TES | 34.51 | 2024 CS John Nicks Pairs Competition |
| Short program | PCS | 28.93 | 2024 CS John Nicks Pairs Competition |
| Free skating | TSS | 128.46 | 2024 Skate America |
| Free skating | TES | 67.50 | 2024 Skate America |
| Free skating | PCS | 60.96 | 2024 Skate America |
Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Jan 22–28, 2024 | 2024 U.S. Championships | 5 | 60.48 | 1 | 126.43 | 2 | 186.91 |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 3–4, 2024 | 2024 CS John Nicks Pairs Competition | 4 | 63.44 | 1 | 125.44 | 2 | 188.88 |
| Sep 18–21, 2024 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 4 | 65.03 | 6 | 113.00 | 4 | 178.03 |
| Oct 18–20, 2024 | 2024 Skate America | 5 | 63.05 | 3 | 128.46 | 3 | 191.51 |
| Oct 31 – Nov 3, 2024 | 2024 Grand Prix de France | 4 | 64.08 | 4 | 107.84 | 4 | 171.92 |
| Jan 20–26, 2025 | 2025 U.S. Championships | 3 | 69.03 | 1 | 142.87 | 1 | 211.90 |
| Feb 19–23, 2025 | 2025 Four Continents Championships | 5 | 67.59 | 5 | 124.48 | 5 | 192.07 |
| Mar 25–30, 2025 | 2025 World Championships | | | | | | |

### Pair skating with Audrey Lu
#### Senior level

2018–2019 season :
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| January 19–27, 2019 | 2019 U.S. Championships | 5 66.21 | 6 116.21 | 6 182.42 |
| November 23–25, 2019 | 2018 Internationaux de France | 6 56.71 | 7 100.57 | 6 157.28 |
| November 9–11, 2018 | 2018 NHK Trophy | 7 52.35 | 7 96.90 | 7 149.25 |
| September 26–29, 2018 | 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 6 49.47 | 4 107.75 | 5 157.22 |
| September 12–16, 2018 | 2018 CS U.S. Classic | 2 57.25 | 2 86.68 | 2 143.93 |
| 2019–2020 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| February 20–23, 2020 | 2020 International Challenge Cup | 2 62.94 | 2 110.54 | 2 173.48 |
| January 20–26, 2020 | 2020 U.S. Championships | 5 65.06 | 6 116.43 | 6 181.49 |
| November 15–17, 2019 | 2019 Rostelecom Cup | 8 54.03 | 8 99.58 | 8 153.61 |
| September 17–22, 2019 | 2019 CS U.S. Classic | 5 63.87 | 5 104.63 | 5 168.50 |
| 2020–2021 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| January 11–21, 2021 | 2021 U.S. Championships | 3 69.56 | 4 128.41 | 4 197.97 |
| October 23–24, 2020 | 2020 Skate America | 3 67.52 | 4 122.13 | 3 189.65 |
| 2021–2022 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| January 18–23, 2022 | 2022 Four Continents Championships | 1 68.35 | 1 120.75 | 1 189.10 |
| January 3–9, 2022 | 2022 U.S. Championships | 3 68.11 | 3 123.43 | 3 191.54 |
| December 7–11, 2021 | 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 3 66.41 | 2 128.91 | 1 195.32 |
| November 12–14, 2021 | 2021 NHK Trophy | 5 64.95 | 5 125.08 | 5 190.03 |
| November 26–28, 2021 | 2021 Rostelecom Cup | 4 64.97 | 4 121.19 | 4 186.16 |
| September 9–10, 2021 | 2021 John Nicks Pairs Challenge | 4 66.16 | 3 129.04 | 3 195.20 |
| August 11–15, 2021 | 2021 Cranberry Cup International | 5 60.75 | 9 98.06 | 6 158.81 |

#### Junior level

2016–2017 season :
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| August 31–September 3, 2016 | 2016 JGP Czech Republic | 12 44.71 | 12 78.48 | 12 123.19 |
| 2017–2018 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| March 5–11, 2018 | 2018 World Junior Championships | 6 54.38 | 4 105.71 | 5 160.09 |
| December 29–January 8, 2018 | 2018 U.S. Junior Championships | 1 60.80 | 1 112.51 | 1 173.31 |
| October 4–7, 2017 | 2017 JGP Poland | 6 51.53 | 5 99.12 | 5 150.65 |
| September 20–23, 2017 | 2017 JGP Belarus | 4 52.94 | 6 79.19 | 5 132.13 |