ESTERO, Fla. — 12-year-old figure skating twins from my community are achieving remarkable success with their sights set on the biggest stage in sports.
WATCH: Fox 4's Eric Lovelace watched the twins practice:
Nicholas and Sophia Kartashov have been skating for eight years. Early on, they developed a deep passion for their sport that set them apart from their peers.
"I was different from many kids because they weren't dedicated to a sport like I was," Sophia said.
The siblings enjoy training together, finding ways to keep the mood light during intense practice sessions.
"It's mostly funny when I skate with my brother and he makes some jokes, it gives it a light mood," Sophia said.
Their hard work is paying off with impressive results. The twins earned a bronze medal in the novice ice dance division at the 2026 US Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis.
"For such a high caliber of competition to place third, I find that the highest accomplishment we have," Nicholas said.
But their dreams extend far beyond this achievement.
"I want to, of course like a lot of people win the Olympics," Nicholas said.
Their training regimen matches their ambitious goals, practicing about four hours a day, five days a week.
The twins look forward to competing more internationally, but for now, their focus remains on consistent improvement.
"I want to see improvement every year, I don't want to see same mistake in different competitions," Nicholas said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
