Lead: On Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, at the Milan‑Cortina Winter Olympics, Team USA closed the first day of the figure skating team event leading the standings with 25 points after ice dance and short programs. Japan sat close behind with 23 points and host Italy with 22 points as competition continues across the weekend. The opening day featured a world‑best ice dance score, strong pairs performances and a tight women’s short program where Kaori Sakamoto edged Alysa Liu. With two competition days left, teams are weighing athlete selection and technical risk — including whether Ilia Malinin will attempt a quadruple axel in the team segment.
Key takeaways
- Team USA leads after day one with 25 points; Japan is second with 23 and Italy third with 22.
- Ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates posted a world‑best rhythm dance score of 91.06, narrowly ahead of France’s Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry (89.98).
- Pairs leaders on day one were Japan’s Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi, while Georgia (Berulava/Metelkina) and Italy (Conti/Macii) also placed on the podium in the pairs short program.
- Alysa Liu initially topped the women’s short program before Kaori Sakamoto produced a season‑best to move Japan up; Sakamoto skated to an emotional program ahead of her planned retirement.
- Each country fields skaters across four disciplines (men’s, women’s, pairs, ice dance); points are awarded 1–10 in short/rhythm segments and the top five nations advance to free programs.
- Teams may swap up to two entries midway through the event; the U.S. has a roster advantage with 16 athletes versus 12 for Japan and Canada.
Background
The Olympic team event was introduced at the 2014 Sochi Games to aggregate results across the four figure‑skating disciplines and crown a country champion. Under the format used here, the short program and rhythm dance are contested first, with nations scoring 1–10 based on placement; the five highest‑scoring teams progress to free skate and free dance to decide medals. The U.S. won the team event in 2022 after Russia was removed from medal contention in that cycle following a doping case connected to one of its skaters; Russia remains banned from these Games due to separate political sanctions tied to the war in Ukraine.
The team event compresses individual and team schedules, forcing national federations to balance medal opportunity against athlete health. Some countries enter their top competitors in both segments of a discipline; others stagger entries so skaters can conserve energy for individual events later in the fortnight. That strategic calculus is particularly visible in the men’s field, where top skaters may choose riskier elements (like a quadruple axel) during team competition or reserve them for individual free skates.
Main event
Friday opened with ice dance, where Madison Chock and Evan Bates paced the field with 91.06 in the rhythm dance — a world‑best for that segment — and put the U.S. in an early points lead. France’s Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry were a close second at 89.98, while Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson energized the crowd with a high‑tempo Spice Girls medley, finishing third in the morning session. Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier were fourth.
In the pairs short, American debutants Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea drew loud home‑team support in the arena; Kam fell on an early throw but the pair regrouped to complete the program and place fifth. Japan’s two‑time world champions Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi won the segment decisively, with Georgia’s Luka Berulava and Anastasiia Metelkina — a pairing bolstered by recent recruits — placing second and Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii taking third to cheers from the local crowd.
The women’s short program closed the day. Alysa Liu delivered an enthusiastic performance that briefly put her atop the leaderboard, but Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, skating last to an emotive “Time to Say Goodbye” in acknowledgment of her approaching retirement, produced a season‑best to reclaim the top individual spot. Despite Sakamoto’s jump in the segment standings, the U.S. retained the overall team lead by a narrow margin.
Analysis & implications
The tight early standings illustrate how every placement matters in the team format: a one‑ or two‑place swing in any segment can reshape medal probabilities. With five teams to advance, nations such as France, Georgia and Canada remain within striking distance and could reshuffle the leaderboard with strong free programs. The absence of Russia changes medal dynamics; federations that placed behind Russia in recent cycles see a clearer path to podium contention.
Strategic entry choices will be decisive over the next two days. Teams can replace up to two skaters, so federations may preserve premier athletes for individual events or use them to secure team points. The U.S. depth — a 16‑member roster and full quota spots in men’s, women’s and ice dance — offers flexibility other teams lack, allowing America to rest key skaters if needed without relinquishing competitiveness.
Ilia Malinin’s potential quadruple axel is a headline subplot. If he attempts it in the team free skate, a successful land would be historic on Olympic ice; a failure, however, could cost Team USA valuable points or increase injury risk. Given that Malinin has won the U.S. championship without the quad axel and that the team lead is not yet secure, U.S. coaches must weigh historic ambition against pragmatic medal strategy.
Comparison & data
| Country | Points (after day 1) | Notable segment leaders |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 25 | Chock/Bates (Ice dance) |
| Japan | 23 | Sakamoto (Women), Miura/Kihara (Pairs) |
| Italy | 22 | Conti/Macii (Pairs) |
The table summarizes the podium chase after the opening day. Because points are allocated by placement in each segment (1 point for 10th through 10 points for 1st under this edition), narrow margins between teams mean tomorrow’s free dance and Saturday’s short programs could flip the scoreboard. Expect nations to deploy their best tactical lineups where they believe they can gain the most points with the least risk to athletes’ longer‑term schedules.
Reactions & quotes
Several competitors and officials noted confidence in their teams while acknowledging the tactical balancing act ahead.
“Team USA is off to a great start — we have a ton of amazing athletes and I have all the confidence in the world in them,”
Madison Chock, U.S. ice dancer
Chock’s comment followed the U.S. rhythm dance victory and framed her team’s morale. The tone in the U.S. delegation was upbeat, even as coaches consider whether to rest skaters before individual events.
“If we can keep our condition until the end, we have a very good chance of getting a gold medal,”
Kaori Sakamoto, Japan (after women’s short)
Sakamoto emphasized fitness and consistency after delivering a season‑best short program; her experience from 2022 (bronze) was cited as a stabilizing factor for Japan’s campaign. Team officials from other countries similarly described the event as both a chance to score points and a logistical challenge for athlete recovery.
“It’s disappointing to make a mistake, but we did an amazing job of picking ourselves back into the program,”
Danny O’Shea, U.S. pairs skater
O’Shea, who returned from retirement to skate with Ellie Kam, framed the pairs duo’s comeback after an early throw fall as resilient and team‑oriented — a useful narrative as federations decide who to keep on the ice.
Unconfirmed
- Whether Ilia Malinin will attempt a quadruple axel during the team free skate is undecided and has not been officially announced by his coaches.
- Final lineup choices for several countries (including whether the U.S. will swap men between short and free segments) are typically posted about 24 hours ahead and remain subject to change.
Bottom line
The team event’s opening day set up a close three‑way race among the United States, Japan and Italy, with several other nations well within reach. Tactical decisions about who skates when — and whether star skaters pursue high‑risk elements — will shape the remaining two days and could alter individual event outlooks that follow.
Watch for Saturday’s free dance and men’s short program and Sunday’s free skates, which will conclude this team competition and deliver the first figure‑skating Olympic medals of Milan‑Cortina 2026. With margins slim and substitution rules allowing mid‑event changes, both national strategy and individual execution will determine which countries advance to the medal podium.
Sources
- NPR — media coverage and event reporting
- International Olympic Committee (olympics.com) — official schedule and event format
- International Skating Union (ISU) — governing body results and technical rules