Cypriot-American figure skater Emilea Zingas, whose grandparents emigrated from Paphos in the 1970s, made Olympic history on Wednesday by finishing fifth at the Milano/Cortina 2026 Winter Games.
The 23-year-old and her partner Vadym Kolesnik became the only first-time Olympians to break into the top five in ice dancing, and were the youngest athletes in the top ten. They’d never competed at a major championship or World Championships before.
“I’m very proud of my Cypriot heritage. I’m happy to make my family proud with my athletic achievements,” Zingas told Euronews in the mixed zone at the Ice Skating Arena in Milan after their qualifying round.
The pair screamed with joy when their personal best score of 123.19 flashed on the screen above the Milano Ice Skating Arena on Wednesday night. Combined with their rhythm dance personal best of 83.53, they pushed their total to 206.72 points.
Paphos roots
Zingas was born on 22 April 2002 in Michigan to Chris and Marsha. Her father’s parents, Nick and Xenia Zingas, were born in Paphos, married around 1950, and emigrated to the United States in the early 1970s when Chris was still a child.
“My grandfather and grandmother are from Paphos. They opened an Italian restaurant in Detroit and ran it for 25 years. I was born in the US and have dual citizenship,” Zingas said.
Her father travelled from the US to watch, along with six or seven of her 13 first cousins on her father’s side. “I have 13 first cousins from my dad’s side and I think six or seven are here tonight and I thank them very much for that,” she said.
First Cypriot at Worlds
In February 2021, Zingas became the first athlete from the Cyprus Ice Skating Federation to qualify for the World Figure Skating Championships, competing in the women’s singles category in Stockholm.
“The athlete Emilea Zingas achieved the honorary qualification and participated in the World Figure Skating Championships in the Women (singles) category, which took place in Stockholm, Sweden from 22-28 March 2021. This is a great achievement for the Cyprus Ice Skating Federation and we express warm congratulations to the athlete for this success. Also, this competition was a qualifying event for the 2022 Olympic Games, but unfortunately the athlete did not get the much-desired qualification,” the Cyprus Ice Skating Federation announced at the time.
She was 18 when she tried and failed to qualify for the Beijing 2022 Olympics representing Cyprus.
The climb to Milano
Eight months ago, Zingas and Kolesnik’s dream was simply to reach their first Olympics. “I would say: ‘You’re lying.’ I would say: ‘That’s not true! I don’t know who told you that,'” Zingas told Olympics.com, laughing. “I didn’t think it was impossible, but it was almost impossible.”
The pair started skating together in 2022. By autumn 2024, their biggest achievement was fourth place at the 2024 Four Continents Championships.
Then everything changed. They reached the podium at both Grand Prix events they entered, qualified for the 2025 Grand Prix Final, won the 2026 ISU Four Continents title in January, and emerged as one of the revelations of Milano/Cortina 2026.
“The score shocked us, because we had many excellent performances this season and I don’t know if this was 100% our best and cleanest, but I think it was the most emotional,” Zingas said.
“But it had our soul,” Kolesnik added.
“Yes, and we put our heart into it,” Zingas continued. “It was the biggest emotion I’ve given on the ice so far this season. And it was just magical. I don’t know how else to describe it. I’m very happy that the judges felt the emotion we were trying to convey, and the audience too. The audience encouraged us so much. When we heard them shouting at the end of the programme, I thought: ‘This is it, let’s go!'”
Zingas closed with thanks to those who supported her: “I’m really proud of Vadym and I’m proud of everyone who helped us along the way. I feel so grateful. My parents are in the stands. Vadym’s family, our fans. Our coaches are standing by the stands, supporting us. We feel like we were prepared for this. We feel like we were all prepared for today.”
Kolesnik said the pair had no nerves about their Olympic debut and had “never been so peaceful with himself as in this competition”.
“I know it’s an Olympic stage and for many people, this is the moment of their lives,” Kolesnik added. “I just thought of it as a test for our next eight years, because this is only the beginning for us and we will achieve higher goals. So I wanted to have a good experience and I couldn’t ask for more. For a moment I felt like a rock star.”
(information from ekirikas.com)
