US Figure Skating Championships 2017: TV Schedule, Top Contenders and Event Info

The road to the Winter Olympics still has many miles to go, but some of the top athletes are likely to be involved at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Kansas City, which begin this Saturday.

The event features some of the best American skaters, including those with high hopes of skating for the United States at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

However, while star skaters Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner and Jason Brown will be in Kansas City, Polina Edmunds and Adam Rippon will not be competing due to injury.

Date	Skating Event	Time (ET)	Network
Jan. 19	Pairs' Short	5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.	NBCSN
Jan. 19	Ladies' Short	9:30 p.m.-midnight	NBCSN
Jan. 20	Short Dance	6 p.m.-8 p.m.	NBCSN
Jan. 20	Men's Short	8:30 p.m.-midnight	UniHD
Jan. 21	Pairs' Free and Free Dance	3 p.m.-6 p.m.	NBC
Jan. 21	Ladies' Free	8 p.m.-11 p.m.	NBC
Jan. 22	Men's Free	4 p.m.-6 p.m.	NBC

Edmunds has a bone bruise in her foot that has kept her out all season. Rippon is out with a broken left foot.

Both skaters are focused on returning to action in the future. "I hope the officials, the fans and the judges won't forget about me in the next few months," Rippon told the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). "I feel like I made huge strides and I've been coming into my own."

Gold has been at or near the top of U.S. figure skating for years. The 21-year-old from Redondo Beach, California, won the U.S. championships in 2014 and 2016. She was also part of the team that won bronze at the 2014 Olympics, and she took silver at the U.S. championships in 2013 and 2015.

The 25-year-old Wagner was also a member of the team that took home bronze from the 2014 Olympics. Wagner pushed hard for gold at the 2016 World Championships, but she had to settle for silver. That's her best showing at a major international event.

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Wagner won back-to-back U.S. championships in 2012 and 2013, and she took the national championship in 2015. She is the first U.S. skater to win three titles since Michelle Kwan finished her legendary career in 2005.

Gold struggled at the recent Golden Spin Challenger Series in Zagreb, Croatia, where she made a series of errors and finished sixth.

Gold tried to keep a positive attitude in an interview with freelance writer Nick McCarvel. "I'm just getting all the bad stuff out," Gold said (h/t IceNetwork.com). "And there's been a lot of bad. I want to finish the season on fire. I'm getting out that bad juju. I'm due for some really amazing skating."

Brown will headline the men's championship. In the 2014 and 2015 U.S. championships, he won silver and gold, respectively. He also won an Olympic bronze medal as part of the U.S. team in 2014.

The event will be televised on the NBC family of networks from Jan. 19 through Jan. 22.