Ice Dancers Zingas & Kolesnik on Trust, Grit, and Betting on Yourself

Right before Emilea Zingas and Vadim Kolesnik take the ice, they say the same thing to each other every time:

You got this.

It’s simple. It’s grounding. And it reflects exactly how they approach competition. The duo has confidence in their physical ability — built through relentless repetition. There’s confidence in performance — learning how to embody characters and tell a story on the ice. And then there’s the deepest layer: confidence in each other.

That trust didn’t happen overnight. “We’ve been skating together for four years, which is relatively young,” Emilea explained. “But we had kind of an innate chemistry. Vadym earned my trust pretty quickly. He always made me feel comfortable, gave me space to ask questions, and had patience when I was struggling.”

Trust is something they’ve trained. Alongside a sports psychologist, they’ve built consistent routines and mental techniques to prepare for competition. Right before they take the ice, they keep it simple: 

“Our mantra is simple: you got this, do your job, and tell the story.”

Do your job.
Skate for each other.
Tell the story.

It’s not flashy. It just works.

Dreams Built on Grit 

For both of them, skating is more than a sport. It’s freedom.

“When I get on the ice, I don’t feel anything that’s dragging me down,” Emilea shared. “It’s the moment where I’m finally free and can do something I love every day. It’s always been something I lean on to reconnect with myself.”

Even the hardest days carry meaning.

“We run our program three or four times a day in practice some days,” Vadym said. “Some days your arms feel like they’re going to fall off and your legs are shaking. But we almost enjoy that feeling, because if you don’t feel that tiredness, you didn’t get your job done for the day. So when we go out there, we know we can get through it no matter how tired we are. We just want to do what we do every single day and show the world how much we love skating.”

Betting on Yourself

The Olympics, for both, has been the dream since childhood.

“It’s been my dream since I was five or six,” Emilea said. “Every young figure skater wants to be at the Olympic Games. Now we can finally say, ‘Yeah, we’re going to the Olympics.’ It feels really good.”

Vadym echoed that same long-held vision: “I remember watching the Olympics in 2014, and from that moment on, I always wanted to be an Olympian.”

But their path wasn’t free of doubt.

“There were so many moments where I thought, ‘I don’t think I can do this,’” Emilea admitted. “People told me, ‘You will never be successful as an ice dancer.’ And I said, you know what? You can say that, but I’m going to try.”

What carried her through was stubborn belief.

“You have to take a risk on yourself,” she said. “Have the courage to take that chance. Don’t let what other people say make you doubt yourself.”

Vadym added his own hard-earned truth: “There are going to be difficult parts. Life is not just bright and shiny. No matter how hard it is, just power through. If you work really hard and put the grind in, you’ll get there.”

Their story isn’t just about ice dance. It’s about partnership. About discipline. About believing in yourself before anyone else does. And about showing up, every single day, to chase just 1% progress.

As Emilea and Vadym punch their ticket to the Olympic Games, their message to young athletes everywhere is simple and powerful:

Take the risk on yourself. Trust your preparation. Trust your partner. Tell your story.

And never stop believing that your dream is possible.

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