2025-26 Retirements, Splits and New Partnerships

[macy]

i will miss them so much. so grateful i got to see them live at Boston worlds, their speed and command of the ice was truly unmatched. best of luck to them in their future, they have undoubtedly inspired many young teams in Japan. i hope maybe they will still do some shows.

 

[elektra blue]

Another retirement post, not unexpected for me

not a surprise but i'll be missing them

 

[ladyjane]

I might be reading this in the wrong way, but it feels like a retirement announcement. They don't want to call it that though.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates Aren’t Saying Goodbye—They’re Welcoming a New Era

The Olympic gold and silver medalists don’t have a plan to leave the ice anytime soon (they’re about to go on tour for Stars on Ice, after all). But we still had questions about what’s to come for the husband and wife ice dance duo.

www.cosmopolitan.com

You've got to read quite a bit, but certain remarks definitely point that way.

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

Some speculation came up today...Lucrezia Beccari changed her profile pic on insta so now it's just a pic of her instead of it being one of her and Matteo...if Matteo really quit I wouldn't be surprised though, he only kept skating because of his home Olympics plus he has a small child at home now...
Another one concerning Ioulia Chtchetinina and Michal Wozniak, the Polish fed posted something in their insta stories that sounded a lot like they said goodbye to them and thanked them for their skating...

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

Maybe someone can move that to the Retirement thread...oops

 

[4everchan]

I might be reading this in the wrong way, but it feels like a retirement announcement. They don't want to call it that though.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates Aren’t Saying Goodbye—They’re Welcoming a New Era

The Olympic gold and silver medalists don’t have a plan to leave the ice anytime soon (they’re about to go on tour for Stars on Ice, after all). But we still had questions about what’s to come for the husband and wife ice dance duo.

www.cosmopolitan.com

You've got to read quite a bit, but certain remarks definitely point that way.

sounds exactly like the retirements posts that say everything else they will be doing without ever mentioning the retirement word. It's been a trend for a while. I think it's fine to do that when you hope to remain involved in the sport with shows, choreo, costume designing, coaching and what not. Then you are not "retiring" but just "transitioning" which is what is being said here.

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

Ioulia Chtchetinina retirement confirmed

 

[Diana Delafield]

sounds exactly like the retirements posts that say everything else they will be doing without ever mentioning the retirement word. It's been a trend for a while. I think it's fine to do that when you hope to remain involved in the sport with shows, choreo, costume designing, coaching and what not. Then you are not "retiring" but just "transitioning" which is what is being said here.

Also the writer says the interview took place just a week after the end of the Olympics. There may have been still some hesitation about saying they were retiring from competition forever, not just withdrawing from World's. They'd have to let their minds come back down to earth and real life, and that wouldn't happen that quickly.

 

[bartlebooth]

Nice words from Ioulia. She has had a long and complicated career under various flags and she achieved her goals.
I'll miss her infectious smile, but it feels right that she is retiring "at peace and on her own terms". Good luck for her future endeavours (and Michal's as well)!

 

[ladyjane]

That's what I am going to miss the most as well: the greatest smile around. But, as she says, she is retiring on her own terms. I wish Ioulia well (and Michal too of course).

 

[cocteautwin]

As Polish I'm so grateful for Ioulia and Michał's partnership. They were bright together and they brought many emotional and happy moments, our best team since Dorota and Matiusz Siudek retired. I wish her all the best in anything she does.
No info from Michał atm, I wonder if he considers another partnership, he's still young enough to go for another quad so maybe federation will convince him at least to be available for trials. Although he's a married guy so may have different plans or desires for now.

 

[Ruthypegs]

As Polish I'm so grateful for Ioulia and Michał's partnership. They were so bright together and they brought many emotional and happy moments, our best team since Dorota and Matiusz Siudek retired. I wish her all the best in anything she does.
No info from Michał atm, I wonder if he considers another partnership, he's still young enough to go for another quad so maybe federation will convince him at least to be available for trials. Although he's a married guy so may have different plans or desires for now.

Ana Vaipan-Law might be looking for a new partner if she decides to continue....

 

[labgoat]

Ioulia Chtchetinina retirement confirmed

Ioulia & Mychal have always been a bright light for me. Their love of skating showed in their wide open smiles and spirited choreography. I will miss them but know that their bright personalities will shine in whatever they do next. Every time I hear Moderation I think of her bright fuchsia dress and their entertaining program.

 

[paulusfr]

Some speculation came up today...Lucrezia Beccari changed her profile pic on insta so now it's just a pic of her instead of it being one of her and Matteo...if Matteo really quit I wouldn't be surprised though, he only kept skating because of his home Olympics plus he has a small child at home now...

He did an interview a few months ago https://www.corriereromagna.it/spor...-vincere-e-meglio-lasciare-il-passo-DE1886702
Basically it is said that for him the Olympics "had to be about winning, or at least fighting for a medal." They "could have easily gone", but "it wouldn’t have made sense" since they wouldn’t be competitive, so he chose to skip it.
As for the future he said they’re "deciding with his police sports group what to do." He might keep skating, but "at 38 it’s not so easy," or move into "some kind of coordinator role for athletes."

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

As Polish I'm so grateful for Ioulia and Michał's partnership. They were so bright together and they brought many emotional and happy moments, our best team since Dorota and Matiusz Siudek retired. I wish her all the best in anything she does.
No info from Michał atm, I wonder if he considers another partnership, he's still young enough to go for another quad so maybe federation will convince him at least to be available for trials. Although he's a married guy so may have different plans or desires for now.

Funnily enough, when there was speculation in the competition thread during Worlds about what Michał would do if Ioulia called it a day, I suggested that his wife could be a candidate:

Post in thread '2026 World Figure Skating Championships | Pairs' Free Skate'

Mar 26, 2026

That was lovely and, if in fact one is returning, somebody should quickly snap up the remaining partner

Michal's wife, former multiple Polish Ladies Champion Elżbieta Gabryszak, is doing Solo Dance at the moment...

CaroLiza_fan

• CaroLiza_fan

• 

Elżbieta Gabryszak is currently competing in Solo Dance. But with a successful background in Singles skating, she might fancy giving Pairs a try. Especially if it was with her hubby.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[cocteautwin]

Funnily enough, when there was speculation in the competition thread during Worlds about what Michał would do if Ioulia called it a day, I suggested that his wife could be a candidate:

Post in thread '2026 World Figure Skating Championships | Pairs' Free Skate'

Mar 26, 2026

That was lovely and, if in fact one is returning, somebody should quickly snap up the remaining partner

Michal's wife, former multiple Polish Ladies Champion Elżbieta Gabryszak, is doing Solo Dance at the moment...

CaroLiza_fan

• CaroLiza_fan

• 

Elżbieta Gabryszak is currently competing in Solo Dance. But with a successful background in Singles skating, she might fancy giving Pairs a try. Especially if it was with her hubby.

CaroLiza_fan

If we're allowed to go wild my first thought was Katia Kurakova. After worlds she was not sure if she wants to continue but maybe trying pairs could be an interesting option for her. Not sure if they could be a good match but I'm just thinking

 

[FlyingFeather]

Ioulia Chtchetinina retirement confirmed

My favorite pair gone. But I am happy for her, for them both actually. They finished their joint career on their terms and while still enjoying it, which is all too rare in this sport.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I might be reading this in the wrong way, but it feels like a retirement announcement. They don't want to call it that though...

You've got to read quite a bit, but certain remarks definitely point that way.

I would bet on C/B going their merry retirement way, while continuing to appear in shows. Their hearts might still desire to compete, but I doubt Evan's body is in the best shape to go another four years. However, I would not be too surprised if they decided to give the Golden Waltz RD a run.

A lot of athletes despise vocalizing 'retirement,' thus some never officially 'retire.'

 

[La Rhumba]

Isla has also been competing in Singles alongside skating with Joel in Pairs. So, I wonder if she will carry on doing the odd Singles competition while focussing on her education.

I know @La Rhumba has long had high hopes for her as a Singles skater.

CaroLiza_fan

I do think Isla's Skating future is in Pairs or as a Show Skater, as the triples were just too hard for her. I wish her all the best anyway.

 

[macy]

I might be reading this in the wrong way, but it feels like a retirement announcement. They don't want to call it that though.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates Aren’t Saying Goodbye—They’re Welcoming a New Era

The Olympic gold and silver medalists don’t have a plan to leave the ice anytime soon (they’re about to go on tour for Stars on Ice, after all). But we still had questions about what’s to come for the husband and wife ice dance duo.

www.cosmopolitan.com

You've got to read quite a bit, but certain remarks definitely point that way.

i'm definitely taking this as a retirement announcement. Madison basically says they're done in this passage:

Madison: I don’t think retirement is the word, because we’re definitely still gonna continue and be involved in skating. I think maybe we’re just transitioning to a different phase of our skating career. We decided to pull out of Worlds. We were really happy with how we performed at the Olympics and wanted to leave on that feeling. It felt like we had our four greatest performances at the Olympics, and we feel just complete with that experience.

that to me sounds like they won't be on competitive ice again.