The 2026 Winter Olympics were held in Italy where one of the most anticipated events was figure skating. The activity was first invented in the 1700s in Great Britain, where it began as a leisure activity. In 1908 it became an Olympic sport at the Summer Olympics. It switched to being part of the Winter Olympics when the first one was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.
The first medal event was held on February 8th. It was a team event in which the ten countries competing each had six contestants perform to achieve an overall score. The top five countries then advanced to the finals where they competed in new events and were allowed up to two substitutes. The United States team won first place. Madison Chock and Evan Bates got first place in both of their events (rhythm dance and free dance). Also part of the U.S. team, Alysa Liu and Ilia Malinin both placed second in their short program performances, and Malinin scored first for his second performance, men’s free skate.
Winning the silver medal was Japan’s ice skating team. With a total score of 68 points, they were just one short of a tie with the U.S. Their pairs’ team, consisting of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, scored first in both their events. Kaori Sakamoto, the team’s solo female skater, also placed first in both of her events. The Italian team got third place and the accompanying bronze medals.
Held on February 11th, the second medal event was ice dance. The French team, made up of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, won first, although their win has been controversial, with many thinking that a French judge was biased in their favor. Although Cizeron made a noticeable mistake early on, the rest of the dance was beautiful as the pair mimicked the flowing movements of water to parts of an instrumental piece titled The Whale. The U.S.’ Madison Chock and Evan Bates won silver. They performed a flawless dance infused with elements of flamenco and other Spanish dance. Third place were Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier from Canada.
The competition for men’s single skating was on February 13th. In first place was Mikhail Shaidorov from Kazakhstan. His performance featured multiple spins, quads, and triple axels which, combined with his flowy movements, cinched him the gold. Japanese teammates Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato took home silver and bronze respectively. While Kagiyama made several mistakes in the first half of his performance, including a fall, he recovered for the second half and gave an otherwise beautiful performance.
The pair skating competition took place on February 16th. Winning gold were Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara from Japan. They gave a perfect performance and broke the world record for the most points received in pair skating for the Program Component Score (based on composition, presentation, and skill), the second allotment of points after technicality. In second place were Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava from Georgia, who also gave a beautiful performance. Winning bronze for Germany were Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin.
The final ice skating medal event was women’s single skating. It was held on February 16th. Coming in first place was America’s Alysa Liu. Having stepped back from ice skating due to the pressure of it, she returned on her own terms. Her joy while skating is palpable to see, a large smile adorning her face the entire time. With it, she stands out from the crowd as she seems to be the only one performing without pressure. This resulted in a beautiful performance which earned her gold. Both silver and bronze were won by Japanese athletes, Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai. Sakamoto gave an excellent performance, but a minor mistake kept her from winning gold.
This year’s Winter Olympics have concluded, and with it, the wonderful figure skaters’ performances. Their last show on this year’s Olympic ice was during an exhibition gala, in which many of the skaters displayed their skill once more. It was a great wrap up to the several weeks of high skill performances. It will be four years before the next Winter Olympics and several figure skaters have already announced their retirement before then; however, many others are planning to participate in this next pinnacle of athleticism, as well as newcomers who will take the stage beside them.
