Figure skating

Japan Historic Podium Sweep After Women's Short Program at 2026 Olympics

Japanese Teens Sweep Olympic Podium in Women’s Short Program Seventeen-year-old Ami Nakai stunned the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games on Wednesday night, topping a historic Japanese sweep of the women’s figure-skating short program while a sold-out Milan crowd watched the podium order flip in real time. Nakai Lands First-Clean Triple Axel, Takes Lead Nakai, fourth at December’s national championships, cracked 78 points for the first time overseas. She ...

Sarah Davis in Figure skating 2026-04-25 01:53

Figure Skating Closing Ceremony 2026: Evan Bates Carries U.S. Flag in Verona Arena

Verona’s Roman Arena Hosts 2026 Winter Games Figure-Skating FinaleThe 2,000-year-old amphitheater in Verona replaced a conventional ice rink Sunday night to stage the Milano-Cortina figure-skating finale, as athletes carried national flags under torchlight to close the Olympic team event.Evan Bates Becomes First U.S. Ice-Dance Flag BearerFive-time Olympian Evan Bates stepped onto the limestone track as the first American ice dancer—and first U.S....

Michael Williams in Figure skating 2026-04-23 18:50

Sonja Hilmer Gifts Team USA Skaters Custom Ink Portraits in Milan

Hand-Drawn Silhouettes Welcome U.S. Skaters to Milan Olympic Village A life-size ink outline of every American figure skater waited inside the Milan Olympic Village last week, taped to a nightstand and rolled out on heavyweight Italian paper. Teammate Sonja Hilmer, 21, drew all 16 portraits between January’s U.S. Championships and the February 25 charter flight, turning arrival day into an autograph session before the athletes even unpacked. Coac...

Jane Smith in Figure skating 2026-04-22 11:37

Japan Pairs Win 2026 Olympic Gold After Record Free Skate Comeback

Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara clawed back from fifth place after the short program to win Olympic pairs gold on Thursday night, their season-best free skate erasing a 5.2-point deficit and giving the host nation its first figure-skating title since Yuzuru Hanyu’s repeat triumph eight years ago. Record Free Skate Erases Overnight Deficit Skating third in the final group, the Japanese duo opened with a textbook triple twist that earned Leve...

Sadie Taylor in Figure skating 2026-04-16 11:35

Shaidorov Wins Kazakhstan First Olympic Men’s Figure Skating Gold

Kazakhstan’s Shaidorov Wins Historic Men’s Figure-Skating Gold Mikhail Shaidorov, 20, became Kazakhstan’s first Olympic men’s figure-skating champion Friday night in Milan, overturning a 4.9-point deficit with a near-perfect free skate that scored 198.64 and lifted him to 291.58 overall. Shaidorov Lands Four Quads to Overtake Kagiyama Skating last among medal contenders, Shaidorov opened with a triple Axel–quad Salchow combination that drew mostl...

Emily Jones in Figure skating 2026-04-09 11:11

Alysa Liu Wins Olympic Figure Skating Gold, Ends 24-Year U.S. Drought

Alysa Liu, 20, posted the highest women’s free-skate score of the Milan Winter Games on Saturday, becoming the first U.S. woman to win Olympic figure-skating gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002 and ending a 24-year American drought. Liu’s 150.20 Free Skate Flips Final Order Skating third in the last group, Liu opened with a textbook triple Lutz-triple toe and later added a triple Lutz-double Axel-double toe cascade—combinations no rival matched for b...

John Brown in Figure skating 2026-04-08 11:03

Self-Directed Training Routes to Figure Skating Olympic Gold

Gold-Medal Skater Bypasses Federation Path, Fuels Olympic Training Debate An American woman captured figure-skating gold at the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Games after ignoring every conventional development route, reigniting debate over who should control Olympic preparation. Private Micro-Team Powers Comeback The champion vanished from sanctioned events for 16 months, skipped national camps, and hired her own sports psychologist, biomechanics co...

David Oliver in Figure skating 2026-04-05 18:22

Olympic Figure Skating Pressure: Mental Health Lessons from 2026

American medal favorite collapses from first to eighth at Milano-Cortina 2026, reigniting debate over why sports psychologists remain the most under-used asset in Olympic winter sports. Figure-Skating Favorite Falters After Short-Program Lead A U.S. man who arrived in Italy on a 12-contest unbeaten run captured the short program, then unraveled in the free skate to finish eighth—rekindling questions about the adequacy of mental-health safety nets...

Clara Walsh in Figure skating 2026-04-04 18:48

Figure skating

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