Armenian-American figure skating coach Rafael Arutyunyan has been inducted into the prestigious U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026, alongside his student and 2022 Olympic champion Nathan Chen. International Judging System (IJS) architect Joseph Inman is also being inducted as part of the Class of 2026. The induction marks the 50th anniversary of the Hall of Fame and recognizes three individuals whose impact on the sport has been significant, reports Zartonk Media.
Richard Dalley, Chair of the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, stated: “The Class of 2026 holds the prestigious distinction of being the golden class of inductees as we celebrate the Hall of Fame’s 50th anniversary. In every category, this group features legendary recipients whose impact and legacy elevate the significance of this milestone celebration.”
The U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame induction ceremony and reception for the Class of 2026 will take place on January 9 at the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis. The event will be hosted by Boitano’s Lounge.
Rafael Arutyunyan | Outstanding Professional
In his 50th year as a figure skating coach, Rafael Arutyunyan enters the Hall of Fame with a storied career that spans continents and generations of champions. The announcement marks a significant milestone in his remarkable 50th coaching career, which has shaped generations of champions and helped define modern figure skating. He has coached some of the most decorated athletes in the sport, including 2022 Olympic champion Nathan Chen and reigning two-time World champion Ilia Malinin.
Arutyunyan is a former Soviet national competitor who coached the Russia National Team from 1996 to 2000 before moving to California in 2000. He became a United States citizen in 2019. Over his career, he has been named PSA and U.S. Figure Skating Coach of the Year four times and received the 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Coach of the Year award for figure skating. He was inducted into the Professional Skaters Hall of Fame in 2020.
His coaching legacy includes U.S. champions Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen, Ashley Wagner, Adam Rippon, Mariah Bell, and the pairs team of Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier. His international champions include Mao Asada of Japan, Jeffrey Buttle of Canada, Alexander Abt of Russia, and Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic. Arutyunyan currently serves as the head coach of the high performance team at Great Park Ice and Five Point Arena in Irvine, California.
Other Honorees in the Class of 2026
Nathan Chen | Outstanding Athlete
Reigning Olympic champion Nathan Chen, who single-handedly delivered the current era of quadruple jumps, will be inducted to the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He is widely credited with transforming modern figure skating by advancing the quad revolution. Chen was the first athlete to land five different quad jumps in competition, the first to land five quads in a single program, and the first to land six quads in an Olympic free skate. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time U.S. champion. His record combined score of 335.30 from the 2019 Grand Prix Final still stands. Chen graduated from Yale University in 2024 with the Statistics and Data Science Outstanding Thesis Award and is pursuing a career in medicine.
Joseph Inman | Outstanding Contributor
Joseph Inman enters the Hall as an architect of the International Judging System. After the 2002 Olympic pairs judging scandal, the International Olympic Committee directed the ISU to replace the 6.0 system. Inman was appointed to a small Ad Hoc committee to design the new objective scoring structure. A classically trained pianist and percussionist educated at The Juilliard School, he developed the program components of the system. He later served as one of four members of the first ISU Officials Assessment Commission, responsible for reviewing judges’ marks and identifying any potential bias or impropriety. Inman judged and served as referee and technical controller from 1986 to 2018 and spent twenty-one years as a Master Sergeant in the United States Army band.
Rafael Arutyunyan’s place in the Class of 2026 is a source of pride for Armenians worldwide, reflecting a lifetime of excellence that helped shape modern figure skating. His induction, alongside Nathan Chen and Joseph Inman, stands as a powerful milestone in the Hall of Fame’s 50th anniversary and a celebration of the lasting impact these figures have made on the sport.
