What we learned from the Milano 2026 Team Skating Event
And what it means for the individual event, plus some other storylines to watch
The first medals in figure skating have been handed out already, and Team USA is golden once again. And this time they didn’t have to wait more than two years to collect their medals.
If you missed the action this weekend, the United States held off Japan by a single point, thanks in large part to a career-best performance from Ellie Kam, who landed her throws and partnered with Danny O’Shea to finish fourth in the pairs free skate, rather than the fifth-place finish that was expected of them (and what they’d gotten in the short program). That helped make up for an uncharacteristically shaky performance from Amber Glenn, who ended up in third in the women’s free skate, behind Kaori Sakamoto of Japan and Anastasiia Gubanova of Georgia.
While the Team Event is already over, there’s a lot that happened over the weekend that will inform what we know heading into the individual events, which start Monday with the rhythm dance. So let’s start there.
Piper and Paul might need help to medal
If you had asked me a week ago what I most wanted to see in Milan, my list would have looked like this:
Medals for Amber Glenn and Alysa Liu (CHECK… but I still want at least one of them on the individual podium)
A medal for Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier
That second one is looking at little less secure now. In case you’d forgotten, Piper and Paul finished in fourth at the Grand Prix Final, behind the British duo of Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson. There was some hope that the Canadian duo might’ve received a boost from their appearance in the Netflix documentary Glitter & Gold (which, if you haven’t watched yet, you definitely should), but they remained behind Fear & Gibson in the rhythm dance segment of the team event.
Great Britain didn’t qualify for the free skate/dance portion of the event, and with Canada highly unlikely to medal based on the standings from the first round, Piper & Paul ceded the free dance to Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, so we don’t have a sense of how they might’ve done in that one. The other top individual medal contender in dance, aka Team Sinister from France, also didn’t see their country qualify for the free, so the only comparison point for Piper and Paul would’ve been going up against Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who took first place in both dance programs in the team event.
There was a lot of online chatter than Piper & Paul seemed underscored in the team rhythm dance and Lilah and Lewis seemed overscored. But it’s going to be incredibly close between the two teams for the third spot on the podium — assuming Chock/Bates and Team Sinister take the top two spots.
Ilia Malinin is NOT a machine
For the second consecutive international event, going back to the Grand Prix Final in December, the QuadG0d did not place first in the short program, finishing a solid 10 points behind Yuma Kagiyama of Japan, the reigning silver medalist. At the GP Final, he recovered from his rough short program to dominate the free skate, finishing an incredible 45 points ahead of Kagiyama to take gold. And while he did finish first in the free skate in Sunday’s team event, he was just six points clear of Shun Sato, who skated in place of Kagiyama.
So does this mean Malinin is in danger of not winning gold in the individual event? He seemed like as much of a lock as there had ever been, but people said the same thing about Nathan Chen in 2018, and that didn’t work out. He seems to have opened the door for Kagiyama or Sato… but let’s not overreact. Malinin is still the favorite in the individual event. He didn’t break out the full array of his jumps in the team event, and now that he’s skated twice in Milan, it’s possible the Olympic jitters are behind him.
I’d still be stunned if anyone but Malinin won gold in the individual event, but his relative struggles in the team event compared to his own personal high standards were a good reminder that ice is slippery and anything can happen.
Could the U.S. women’s drought extend another four years?
If you haven’t heard yet, you’re going to hear a lot in the next week or so that no U.S. woman has been on the podium at the Olympics since Sasha Cohen in 2006, and no U.S. woman has won gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002. Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, who won bronze in the individual event in 2022 in Beijing, made a major statement, finishing atop the leaderboard in both the short program and free skate in the team event.
Unlike in ice dance, where the top medal contenders were all at least taking part in the rhythm dance, we can’t get a full sense of the possible results in the individual event based on the team event. In addition to Sakamoto, we got a look at Americans Alysa Liu (who finished second in the short program) and Amber Glenn (who, as mentioned in the intro, was a surprising third in the free skate).
Because Sakamoto skated both legs for Japan, we didn’t get a look at Ami Nakai or Mone Chiba, both of whom could end up on the podium. Gubanova, who bested Glenn in the free, and Lara Naki Gutmann of Italy were the only ones who finished in the top five at last month’s European Championships to skate in the team event. I also still have strong (but maybe misplaced) belief in Sofia Samodelkina.
Again, like I said with Ilia, it’s not panic time yet. There’s still a good chance Alysa or Amber is on the podium next week. Maybe both of them. Maybe Isabeau Levito will be there too. But nothing is guaranteed (well, except everyone crying when Alysa skates “Promise” and when Kaori skates “Time to Say Goodbye”).
Some other things to know for this week
First, here’s the schedule:
Monday: Rhythm dance, 1:20 p.m. ET
Tuesday: Men’s short program, 12:30 p.m. ET
Wednesday: Free dance, 1:30 p.m. ET
Friday: Men’s free skate, 1 p.m. ET
Sunday: Pairs short program, 1:45 p.m. ET
Feb. 16: Pairs free skate, 2 p.m. ET
Feb. 17: Women’s short program, 12:45 p.m. ET
Feb. 19: Women’s free skate, 1 p.m. ET
Remember, not everyone qualifies for the free skate, so if there’s someone a bit further down the rankings you feel like you have to see, make sure to tune in for the short program/rhythm dance. That probably applies extra for the men, as fan favorites Maxim Naumov (USA), Andreas Nordeback (SWE), Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté (ESP) and Donovan Carrillo (MEX) are all in the first group, which would suggest they’re among the least likely to advance to the free skate (the groups are based on the world standing from the past two seasons). Guarino Sabaté has secured the music rights to use his Minions program, so you won’t want to miss that.
Some of the other programs I’m most excited to see, with a focus on those who aren’t medal contenders (and those who aren’t Americans — just assume I’m locked in on every American’s program, most especially Amber Glenn’s short program which is a religious experience unto itself):
Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez’s “Freedom” rhythm dance. I’ve seen this twice in person this season and it’s such a joy. I also truly hope Phebe and James qualify for the free dance, because their “Romeo & Juliet” free dance is a masterpiece.
Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha’s Jock Jams rhythm dance. As soon as I saw this at Skate America, I couldn’t help but think about how the crowd in Europe would react to it, and now we’re going to find out today. So exciting.
All of Natalie Taschlerova and Filip Taschler’s programs. The Czech siblings do three entirely different styles for their rhythm dance, free dance and gala program (which we might or might not get to see in Milan), and they absolutely slay all three of them.
Vladimir Litvintsev’s Joker free skate. This is one of those programs that’s guaranteed to go viral among four-year figure skating fans, assuming Litvintsev makes it to the free skate (which he should).
Aleksandr Selevko’s “Kiss” short program. For all of the music issues we’ve heard about at these Olympics, it’s stunning that Selevko is being allowed to skate to Prince. Maybe he’s just taking the attitude of “sue me, I dare you” or maybe he really did get it cleared. Either way, the vibes of this program are immaculate.
Kévin Aymoz’s short program. He’s gone back and forth on including Lady Gaga’s “Judas” in this program, and it’s back for the Olympics, which is definitely the right choice. Kevin is hit or miss (he won Skate America, then skated so badly at Euros that he didn’t even qualify for the free skate), and I really hope he hits.
Adeliia Petrosian is one of the “neutral” athletes from Russia being allowed to skate as an individual. I didn’t mention her above as one of the contenders for the podium for the women, not because she’s not capable of it, but because reportedly she’s coming into this event battling multiple injuries. That certainly makes her short program a must-see just to get a sense of where she is, plus a much smaller audience has seen her skate this season when compared to the other top skaters.
Speaking of injuries, Loena Hendrickx of Belgium battled back from injuries that cost her most of last season, but dealt with illnesses at Finlandia Trophy and Euros. Now she’s dealing with music issues, being forced to change Celine Dion songs from “Ashes” to “I Surrender” in Milan. I’ll be rooting for to be in peak form next week.
I’m also going to need huge performances from Niina Petrõkina, Nina Pinzarrone, Ekaterina Kurakova, and Kimmy Repond, in addition to the entire contingent from the U.S. and Japan. Basically I need like a 14-person podium in women’s singles. I also need to clear my calendar for the 19th, so no one at work has to see me cry.
I could list a few different pairs teams I want to see, but at this moment the only thing I care about in that event is whether Deanna Stellato-Dudek will be able to make it to Milan. She apparently suffered an injury in her final training session before she was schedule to leave, forcing her and partner Maxime Deschamps to withdraw from the team event. They’re still listed in the entires in the individual event, and it would be incredible to see the 42-year-old Stellato-Dudek on the Olympic stage (and if healthy, she’s a legitimate medal contender). The assisted backflip they introduced to their short program this season deserves to be seen by the world.
"Team Sinister" is a great way to label them.
Watching Phebe and James as I type this! Fingers crossed.
I wish Piper and Paul were doing their “Wuthering Heights” free dance instead, but having seen “Glitter & Gold,” I understand why they wanted to do “Vincent.” I’m not looking forward to seeing Team Sinister on the podium. And I’m already crying over Kaori.