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U.S. Figure Skating Team Competes in Milan-Cortina Games, Secures Gold in Women's Singles and Team Event

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U.S. Figure Skating Team Shines at 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games

The U.S. Figure Skating team, comprising 16 athletes, showcased a remarkable performance at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games. Following the national championships, the team was announced and proceeded to make history.

The U.S. team secured a gold medal in the Olympic team event, marking a strong start. In individual competitions, Alysa Liu earned a gold medal in women's singles, a first for a U.S. woman in over two decades. Adding to the medal count, Madison Chock and Evan Bates secured a silver medal in ice dance.

Team Selection and Roster

U.S. Figure Skating officially announced its roster of 16 athletes for the Milan-Cortina Games, featuring three men, three women, three ice dance duos, and two pairs teams. These selections were finalized after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships held in St. Louis, Mo., which served as the ultimate qualification event. Notably, some pairs teams, such as Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman, and Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were deemed ineligible due to the citizenship requirements for their non-U.S. partners.

Women's Singles

  • Amber Glenn (26): Making her first Olympic appearance, Glenn is a three-time U.S. champion and last year's Grand Prix Final winner, currently ranked No. 3 in the world. She is widely recognized for her advocacy in mental health and LGBTQ+ inclusivity.
  • Isabeau Levito (18): The youngest team member, Levito earned a silver medal at the 2024 World Championships and was the 2023 U.S. champion, ranked No. 5 in the world. She also has family connections to Milan.
  • Alysa Liu (20): The reigning world champion, Liu finished second at the recent U.S. championships. This was her second Olympic appearance, having made a remarkable return to competitive skating after a brief retirement following the 2022 Beijing Olympics. She holds the distinction of being the youngest skater to land a triple Axel (at age 12) and the youngest U.S. women's champion.
  • Alternates: Bradie Tennell, Sarah Everhardt, Starr Andrews.

Men's Singles

  • Ilia Malinin (21): The world No. 1 and a four-time U.S. champion, Malinin made his first Olympic appearance. He is celebrated for successfully landing numerous quadruple jumps, including the first quadruple Axel in international competition in 2022. His parents are former Olympians.
  • Maxim Naumov (24): Naumov secured his Olympic spot by placing third at the national championships. His parents were Olympic pair skaters.
  • Andrew Torgashev (24): For the second consecutive year, Torgashev finished second at the U.S. championships. He is the son of former Soviet skating champions.
  • Alternates: Jason Brown, Tomoki Hiwatashi, Jacob Sanchez.

Ice Dance

  • Madison Chock and Evan Bates: This duo are three-time defending world champions and holders of a record seven national titles. This marked their fourth Olympics as a team, having married in 2024. Their partnership began in 2011, with Bates completing his fifth Olympic appearance overall.
  • Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik: This duo made their Olympic debut. Zingas is a Cypriot-American, and Kolesnik, originally from Ukraine, received U.S. citizenship in August. They are ranked No. 8 in the world and earned silver at nationals. They have been partners on and off the ice since 2022.
  • Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko: Carreira, 25, obtained U.S. citizenship in November 2025. Ponomarenko, 25, is the son of 1992 Olympic ice dance champions. They have been partners since 2014.
  • Alternates: Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville, Oona Brown and Gage Brown.

Pairs

  • Danny O’Shea (35) and Ellie Kam (21): This duo began skating together in the 2022-23 season and are ranked No. 6 in the world. O'Shea, with 30 years in competitive skating, is the oldest U.S. pairs skater since 1932 and the oldest figure skater from any country to debut at the Olympics since 1948. They won silver at the U.S. championships in January, after previously winning bronze in 2023 and gold in 2024 at nationals.
  • Emily Chan (28) and Spencer Akira Howe (29): Ranked 15th in the world, they secured their Olympic spot after finishing fourth at the national championships. Partners since 2019, Howe enlisted in the U.S. Army in late 2024 and is part of the World Class Athlete Program.
  • Alternates: Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy, Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez, Chelsea Liu and Ryan Bedard.

U.S. Figure Skating Championships Overview (Pre-Olympic)

The U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis, Mo., served as a crucial qualification event for the Olympic team.

Men's Event

Ilia Malinin led the short program with an impressive 115.10 points, followed by Tomoki Hiwatashi (89.26 points) and Jason Brown (88.49 points). Malinin's short program included a quadruple flip and a quadruple lutz-triple toe loop combination.

Women's Event

Amber Glenn achieved a score of 83.05 in the short program, the highest women's short program score recorded at the U.S. championships, which included a clean triple Axel. Alysa Liu was second with 81.11 points, and Isabeau Levito was third with a personal best of 75.75 points.

Ice Dance

Madison Chock and Evan Bates led the rhythm dance with a season's best score of 91.70. Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were second with 85.98 points, and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were third with 83.29 points.

Pairs Event

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov led the short program but were ultimately ineligible for the Olympic team due to Efimova's pending U.S. citizenship. Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy were in second, and Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea were third.

Olympic Team Event

The Olympic figure skating team competition commenced on Friday, featuring the world's 10 highest-ranked countries. The U.S. team, with its 16 members and maximum quota spots in men's, women's, and ice dance, was a formidable competitor. The event involves representatives across men's, women's, pairs, and ice dance disciplines. Points are awarded based on short program and rhythm dance segments, with the top five teams advancing to the final round for free skate and free dance. Countries were permitted up to two substitutions among their four entries.

The U.S. team secured the gold medal in the team event, showcasing a dominant performance. U.S. representatives in the initial segments included Alysa Liu (women's), Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea (pairs), and Madison Chock and Evan Bates (ice dance). Kam and O'Shea achieved a personal best in their free skate during the team event. Ilia Malinin was scheduled to compete for the U.S. in the men's short program.

Individual Competition Results

Women's Singles

The individual women's competition began with the short program on Tuesday.

  • Alysa Liu: Placed third with a season-best score.
  • Isabeau Levito: Finished eighth.
  • Amber Glenn: Placed 13th in her Olympic debut. Her program included a clean triple Axel but a landing error on her final jump, which was a double instead of a required triple. Glenn did not take press questions after her performance.

In the free skate on Thursday, Alysa Liu performed to Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park Suite," earning a score of 150.20 and placing her in a medal position. She expressed that her focus was not on medals but on being present. Japan's Kaori Sakamoto performed to an Edith Piaf medley, receiving 147.67 points. Ami Nakai, also from Japan, performed to "What a Wonderful World."

The final standings for the women's singles were:

  • Gold Medal: Alysa Liu (USA)
  • Silver Medal: Kaori Sakamoto (Japan)
  • Bronze Medal: Ami Nakai (Japan)

Amber Glenn finished in fifth place overall, improving significantly from her 13th-place short program result. Isabeau Levito finished 12th. Sakamoto, a three-time world champion and 2022 Beijing bronze medalist, stated plans to retire after these Games.

Ice Dance

Madison Chock and Evan Bates competed in the individual ice dance event over two days. They performed a flamenco-inspired "Paint It Black" program, achieving a season's best score. They secured their first individual Olympic medal.

The final standings for ice dance were:

  • Gold Medal: Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron (France) (by a margin of 1.43 points).
  • Silver Medal: Madison Chock and Evan Bates (USA)
  • Bronze Medal: Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (Canada)

Chock commented on their performance, stating, "We really gave it our all, and I wouldn't change anything about how we approached each performance, what we delivered in each performance." Bates acknowledged the physical demands of the sport.

Pairs

Danny O'Shea and Ellie Kam were scheduled to compete in the individual pairs competition on Sunday and Monday.

Athlete Connections

Several athletes on the U.S. team share personal relationships. Ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates are married, having partnered professionally in 2011, started dating in 2017, and married in 2024. Fellow ice dance duo Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik have been partners on and off the ice since 2022.