The Race for the Podium: Carreira, Ponomarenko, and Lajoie, Lagha Headline the Battle for Ice Dance's Top Three

The 2026-2027 ISU Grand Prix season is approaching, and the Ice Dance World Standings are undergoing a massive generational shift. With veterans like Madison Chock and Evan Bates, as well as Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, stepping away from the top of the leaderboard following the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics, the race for the podium is wide open.[2]

While Great Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson have seized the World No. 1 ranking, the battle for the second and third spots in the ISU World Standings has become the most compelling storyline of the summer.[2]

Leading the charge for the United States are Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko. The duo currently sits high in the standings with 2,827 points, buoyed by a career-best fifth-place finish at the 2025 World Championships and back-to-back silver medals at the U.S. National Championships.[1]

Carreira and Ponomarenko's ascent has been years in the making. After a lengthy immigration process, Carreira obtained her U.S. citizenship in late 2025, clearing the way for their Olympic debut in Italy. Now, they are positioned as the veteran anchors of the American ice dance contingent.[1]

Hot on their heels are Canada's Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha. The 2019 World Junior Champions have steadily climbed the senior ranks, securing a fifth-place finish at the 2024 World Championships and a bronze at the 2025 Four Continents Championships.

Lajoie and Lagha are eager to reclaim momentum after a 2024 season interrupted by Lajoie's concussion. With Gilles and Poirier out of the immediate picture, Lajoie and Lagha are poised to become Canada's top-ranked team, bringing their signature speed and intricate lifts to the forefront.[3]

Adding fuel to the standings race are the newly minted ISU World bronze medalists, Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik of the United States. Their meteoric rise has completely disrupted the math for the top three, turning the North American rivalry into a three-way sprint.

The ISU's recent release of the 2026 Grand Prix assignments guarantees head-to-head showdowns that will directly impact the standings. Carreira and Ponomarenko are slated to face off against Zingas and Kolesnik at the NHK Trophy in Japan, a matchup that could determine the top American seed.[2]

Meanwhile, Lajoie and Lagha will also feature at the NHK Trophy, creating a high-stakes triple-threat event where ranking points will be heavily contested.

The ultimate goal for all three teams is securing a top-six spot to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final in Chongqing, China, this December. A medal at the Final offers a massive points boost that could permanently lock in a World Standings podium spot heading into the 2027 World Championships.[2]

Beyond the North American powerhouses, European teams are also vying for the remaining top-10 standings points. France's Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud, along with Lithuania's Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius, are positioned to play spoiler on the Grand Prix circuit.[3]

For fans of ice dance, this standings reset represents a thrilling new era. The technical precision and artistic innovation of this younger generation are pushing the sport forward, ensuring that the race to Chongqing will be decided by razor-thin margins.[2]