Olympic skaters Zingas and Kolesnik lead US ice dance sweep at Four Continents

Olympic ice dancers Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik tuned up for the Milan Cortina Games in the best possible way Friday.

The up-and-coming duo won the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, leading the first U.S. ice dance sweep at the event since 2005. Zingas and Kolesnik ended with 202.86 points after the free dance to top Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, while Oona Brown and Gage Brown rounded out the podium.

Zingas and Kolesnik are not among the favorites at the upcoming Winter Games in Italy, though their performance in the last major international competition before the Olympics underscores the strength of the American squad.

Their teammates and reigning world champions, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, are favored to win the Olympic gold medal.

In the women's competition at Four Continents, rising star Yuna Aoki led a Japanese podium sweep with 217.39 points after her free skate. Ami Nakai, the leader after the short program, wound up second while Mone Chiba finished third.

There are usually few Olympians at Four Continents in an Olympic year because it takes place so close to the opening ceremony, but the short travel distance from Japan to China made it a natural tune-up event for the Japanese women. They are considered the stiffest competition for the American team of Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito when they arrive in Milan in two weeks.

None of those U.S. women were at Four Continents. Bradie Tennell, the first alternate for the Olympic team, ended up fourth while Sarah Everhardt finished eighth and Starr Andrews finished 15th in what is likely her final singles competitions.

Andrews is planning to switch to pairs competition next season.

Four Continents continues Saturday with the pairs free skate and the men's short program.

In pairs, the Chinese team of reigning Olympic champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong led after the short program. Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi of Japan were second and the American team of Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov were in third.

Efimova and Mitrofanov are the American champions but are unable to compete at the Olympics because she is not a U.S. citizen.

The men, who will conclude Four Continents with their free skate Sunday, feature several skaters who will be headed from Beijing to Milan. Among them are Kao Miura of Japan, Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan and Junhwan Cha of South Korea.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Bradie Tennell of the United States competes in the Women Free Skating of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Oona Brown and Gage Brown of the United States compete during the Ice Dance Free Dance in the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Caroline Green and Michael Parsons of the United States compete during the Ice Dance Free Dance in the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik of the United States compete during the Ice Dance Free Dance in the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

From left silver medalists Caroline Green and Michael Parsons of the United States and gold medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik of the United States celebrate after the Ice Dance Free Dance of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two days of talks involving representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the United States wrapped up Saturday with “constructive” discussions on “possible parameters" for ending the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Negotiators will return to the United Arab Emirates for the next round on Feb. 1, according to a U.S. official who described the meetings as upbeat and positive.

The talks are the first known instance that officials from the Trump administration have sat down with both countries as part of Washington’s push for progress to end Moscow’s nearly 4-year-old invasion.

“All parties agreed to report to their capitals on each aspect of the negotiations and to coordinate further steps with their leaders,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

The meetings covered a broad range of military and economic matters and included the possibility of a ceasefire before a deal, said the official. There was not yet an agreement on a final framework for oversight and operation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is occupied by Russia and is the largest in Europe.

The power generated from the plant will be shared “on an equitable basis,” according to the official, but control of it was still undecided.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said there was “an understanding of the need for American monitoring and control of the process of ending the war and ensuring real security.”

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated alongside Ukrainian officials, including chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov. Russia sent military intelligence and army representatives, according to Zelenskyy.

While Zelenskyy said in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday that a potential peace deal was “nearly ready,” certain sensitive sticking points — most notably those related to territorial issues — remain unresolved.

The U.S. official said Russian and Ukrainian officials likely would need to hold further talks in Russia or Ukraine before there was a chance of Zelenskyy meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, or even a joint session with President Donald Trump. There seemed to be momentum to reach the stage of leader meetings, according to the official, who spoke to reporters in Washington on condition of anonymity to describe the private talks in Abu Dhabi.

Just hours before the three-way talks began Friday, Putin discussed a Ukraine settlement with Witkoff and Kushner during marathon overnight talks. The Kremlin insists that to reach a peace deal, Kyiv must withdraw its troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but has not fully captured.

The second day of talks came as Russian drone attacks killed one person and wounded four in the capital, Kyiv, according to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. In Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, drone attacks wounded 27 people, Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov said Saturday.

“Cynically, Putin ordered a brutal massive missile strike against Ukraine right while delegations are meeting in Abu Dhabi to advance the America-led peace process,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X. “His missiles hit not only our people, but also the negotiation table.”

Morton reported from London and Price from Washington.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

A resident leaves her home in a damaged building following a Russian drone attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

A paramedic gives first aid to a resident who was injured in a Russian airstrike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)