Emilea Zingas

Emilea Zingas (Greek: Εμίλια Ζίνγκας; born April 22, 2002) is a Cypriot-American figure skater. Competing in ice dance with Vadym Kolesnik, she is a 2026 World Championship bronze medalist, a 2026 Four Continents champion, two-time Grand Prix medalist, a five-time Challenger Series medalist, the 2026 U.S. National silver medalist, and the 2023, 2025 U.S. national pewter medalist.

Zingas and Kolesnik represented the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Zingas previously represented Cyprus in women's singles, and was the 2020 Santa Claus Cup silver medalist and the 2021 Challenge Cup bronze medalist. She was the first Cypriot skater to qualify for the World Championships.

Personal life Zingas was born on April 22, 2002, in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan to parents Chris, an orthopedic surgeon, and Marsha, a dermatopathologist.

Zingas graduated from Grosse Pointe South High School in 2020, and currently studies neuroscience at Wayne State University.

Career Early career Zingas began skating as a preschooler and started training at age seven with Paula Visingardi and ballet professional Maria Moscato. Later she also took lessons from Lindsay O'Donoghue and Brooke Castile O'Keefe in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.

The following month Zingas/Kolesnik won the bronze at 2025 Finlandia Trophy, qualifying for the 2025–26 Grand Prix Final. "I’m in shock! I think we’re still shaking a little," said Zingas after the free dance. "Just because before the skate, I wanted it so badly. I wasn’t thinking too much about the Final until we got here, and everybody started asking us questions about it and stuff. And I love Japan; I so much wanted to go to Japan." "This is an extremely special event for us," said Zingas. "Last year at this time, we experienced some disappointment at the U.S. Championships, and honestly, I feel grateful for that moment because it taught me to know what I want and taught me how I don’t want to feel after a national championship."

Before leaving for the Winter Olympics, Kolesnik and Zingas set up a GoFundMe page to raise enough money to fly Kolesnik's family members from Ukraine to Milan, so that they could watch him and Zingas compete. The duo ultimately raised over twenty-five thousand dollars, surpassing their page's goal. As a result, Kolesnik was able to fly his aunt, Snezhana, and sister-in-law, Irina, two family members that he had not been able to see in four years due to the Russo-Ukrainian war. However, Kolesnik's mother was forced to stay behind in the U.S due to concerns of immigration policies under Trump's second administration.

On 9 February, Zingas/Kolesnik competed in the rhythm dance segment at the 2026 Winter Olympics, placing sixth in that segment and scoring a personal best.

Two days later, Zingas/Kolesnik placed fifth in the free dance segment, earning another personal best and finishing fifth overall. "I mean, this is crazy! We’re top five at the Olympics!" said Zingas. "This is absolutely insane! If you told me one year ago today that I’d be top five at the Olympics, I would have said, ‘No, it’s a lie. It’s a straight-up lie.’"

The following month, Zingas/Kolesnik competed at the 2026 World Figure Skating Championships where they won the bronze in their debut at this event after earning all-new personal best scores. “My brain is still processing what’s happening,” said Zingas. “All I can say is that I’m just so full of joy, and it’s a miracle night for us. I’m so excited, and I’m so grateful to be sitting up here with these guys. It feels so real, surreal.”

Programs

Ice dance with Vadym Kolesnik (for the United States) Season Rhythm dance Free dance Exhibition 2022–2023 Boléro

Composed by Maurice Ravel choreo. by Benoît Richaud

Women's singles (for Cyprus) Season Short program Free skating 2021–2022