The 25th Winter Olympics kicked off on the 6th of February, bringing together many athletes from various nations. Among the competitors were some of the world’s most talented figure skaters and ice dancers. Skaters from the United States, Japan, Canada and several European nations took to the rink to compete in events including the men’s and women’s singles, pairs skating and ice dance.
The games, held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, once again placed figure skating at the centre of the Olympic spotlight, Skaters perform technically demanding jumps, spins and step sequences while interpreting music and conveying emotion to the audience and judges. At the 2026 Games, fans witnessed dramatic comebacks, unexpected upsets and emotional farewells that highlighted both the beauty and intensity of the sport.
Notable Figures on the Olympic Stage
Alysa Liu, a figure skating icon, was the United States’ first woman to win the figure skating gold medal since 2002. Liu retired from the sport at just 16 years old after the Beijing 2022 Olympics, due to the intense amount of pressure she faced. However, she announced her return via an Instagram post in early 2024, surprising fans and the skating world. What made Liu’s comeback especially remarkable was the new sense of freedom she brought with her when she returned to the ice. “I never really liked training. I didn’t like doing anything hard. I wasn’t living at home at all, and all the travelling, it got me really sick,” Liu reports to CNN Sports. During the early years of her career, she trained in a highly structured environment where expectations were immense and everything, from choreography to diet, was controlled by her coaches.
When Liu decided to return, she took a more active role in shaping her training, by choosing coaches and making creative decisions based on her own needs. This shift was visible in her performances. Liu appeared more relaxed on the ice, allowing her personality and artistry to shine through in a way that had not always been possible earlier in her career. That renewed passion ultimately culminated in her historic Olympic victory.
Alysa Liu on Olympic ice, picture by NBC Olympics
Fan favourite Ilia Malinin, has been unbeaten since late 2023. He arrived in Milan a clear choice for gold, however that all slipped away when he ended up placing 15th in the men’s singles finals. This shocking result stunned fans and commentators alike, as Mainin, self proclaimed the ‘Quad God’ for his extraordinary jumping ability, fell down the standings due to a series of uncharacteristic errors during his program, including mistakes on key jumps such as Quad Axels. Despite this, his performance in Milan is unlikely to shape his career. At just 21 years old, he has already reshaped the expectations of what is possible in men’s skating, fuelling future success.
Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto bids farewell to competitive skating with a silver medal in the individual event, bringing an emotional close to one of the most successful careers in modern figure skating. Sakamoto had been a dominant force in the sport for nearly a decade. Her final Olympic performance was a reflection of everything that defined her career, a remarkable consistency under pressure.
Sakamoto delivered a performance that captivated the arena, however it just wasn’t enough. “Four years ago in Beijing, I won what I felt like a miraculous bronze medal. Now four years later, I come aiming for gold. I’m frustrated that I couldn’t win it and ended up with silver, but the fact that I can feel frustrated even though I moved up a medal colour shows how much I’ve grown over the years”. Sakamoto will continue to be remembered as one of the best skaters that has set foot on the ice, and has plans to continue coaching another generation of figure skaters.
21 year old Mikhail Shaidorov from Kazakhstan captured a surprise gold in the men’s singles final, delivering the country’s first gold at the Games in 32 years. Shaidorov first made history for Kazakhstan at the 2022 Junior World Championships, where he won the nation’s first ever medal at the event. He later went on to become a Four Continents Champion and a Kazakhstan’s national champion.
However, he arrived in Milan as an outside contender after finishing sixth at the 2023 Grand Prix Final and fifth at the Four Continents Championships. Entering the free skate in fifth place, Shaidorov delivered the only clean program of the night. He landed five quadruple jumps and achieved the highest score of the segment, securing a remarkable victory.
Mikhail Shaidorov on the podium with his gold medal, picture by NBC Olympics
Oh, How Scandalous!
Three-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates, representing team USA, are widely considered the best pair skaters in the world. However, despite their flawless performance, surprise befell the crowd when the pair took silver, being defeated by the French duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.
This was not taken lightly as many outraged fans pointed out that there were many visible errors in the French pair’s performances that surely would have deducted them many points. Fans took to assessing the judges’ scores, and found out that the French judge gave Chock and Bates the lowest score on the panel for their free dance. The judge also gave the French pair the second highest total of the nine judges. Following the revelation about the scoring, controversy quickly spread among fans and commentators. Many supporters of the American pair argued that the scoring pattern suggested possible national bias from the French judge.
This controversy revived long standing debates about subjectivity in figure skating judging, something the International Skating Union has faced criticism for since the scandal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
A Games to Remember
As always, the competition proved that Olympic figure skating is about more than the medals. It is a stage where personal stories, resilience and years of dedication unfold before a global audience. While medals may define record books, the performances, emotions and moments of drama are what truly leave a lasting mark on fans and the history of Olympic Figure Skating.
