In the blink of an eye, the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics have come and gone, and boy did they deliver when it came to figure skating. A dazzling set of individual events delivered some of the best highs and lows of the sport: historic firsts, emotional comebacks, and a controversy.

From shocking upsets to long-awaited triumphs and important conversations about how we treat athletes, the Olympic ice had much to say.

Men’s

After a difficult start to the season, Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov delivered in a field littered with errors. Giving the performance of his life, he captured Olympic gold with 291.58 points to become the first Kazakh to win an Olympic gold in figure skating and only the second Kazakh medallist in history after the late Denis Ten in 2018.

Sitting fifth after the short program, Shaidorov produced a sensational free skate featuring five quadruple jumps that brought the crowd in Milan to its feet. His emotional reactions as he realised, performance after performance, that he was set to be at the top of the podium is a reminder of why the Olympics is one of the greatest sporting events on Earth. After slowly rising through the ranks over the past few seasons, Shaidorov’s victory is a stunning reminder that once every four years, all you need to do is block out the noise, and give your very best.

Yuma Kagiyama of Japan secured silver (280.06) for a second Olympics in a row after a strong but imperfect free skate set to a specially composed rendition of Puccini’s Turandot, while compatriot Shun Sato claimed bronze with 274.90. After his tears in the team event, a second medal podium again elicited tears from the usually stoic competitor: this time, ones of joy.

The event also produced heartbreak for runaway favourite Ilia Malinin of the USA. Unbeaten for several seasons and known for his relative consistency, a completely uncharacteristic performance featuring several falls and errors dropped him from first after the short program to eighth overall (264.49). Likewise, medal favourite Adam Siao Him Fa (France) also dropped to seventh (269.27) after several errors in the free.

European Champion Nika Egadze (Georgia) had a difficult short program in particular, and ended up in 10th place overall (260.27). Neutral athlete Petr Gumennik, the current Russian national champion, beat his Skate to Milano qualifying score to produce a season’s best 271.21, ending in 6th place.

Regarding lesser talked-of triumphs, Canada’s Stephen Gogolev completely went under the radar with two fantastic skates, finishing 5th overall (273.78) and coming 2nd in the free. Likewise, South Korea’s Cha Junhwan also pulled off a season’s best overall (273.92) and in the short program, ending up 4th.

With the vast amount of pressure placed on Malinin’s shoulders going into these Olympics, questions were rightfully raised about the amount of media scrutiny given to athletes before the Olympics, as well as the social media vitriol they are subjected to before and after events. However, the men’s event brought us the first of two all-Asian podiums at the individual events these Olympics, as well as one of three Asian individual figure skating gold medalists.

Women’s

As conversations continue to (rightfully) run regarding how young women are treated in figure skating, gold medallist Alysa Liu and silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto both stood tall as beacons of women who have persevered and chosen their own paths in the sport.

Winning with a combined score of 226.79, Alysa Liu pulled off two clean skates in the vein of her victory in the 2025 World Championships, hot on her return to the sport a mere season ago. Her surprising retirement in 2022 and subsequent return came after her wish to ensure that she genuinely enjoyed the sport and had more control around her programs and her team. Now skating on her own terms, Liu is the first medallist in the women’s individual discipline from the United States since Sarah Hughes in 2002.

Likewise, in a field often riddled with the mistreatment of young girls and young women, Kaori Sakamoto of Japan became the most awarded female figure skater of all time after her silver individual medal, leaving her as the only Japanese woman to compete at three Olympic Games, and with four Olympic medals under her belt. Although one small error cost her the gold (224.90), the world bids a tearful farewell to one of the greatest female figure skaters ever, with the knowledge the future of the discipline remains in good hands.

Teenager Ami Nakai crowned her first senior season with a bronze medal (219.16), after leading in the short program with a joyful skate to La Strada by Nino Rota. Given that she has been flying all season, and with the support of her elders such as Liu and Sakamoto, expect to see her on many more podiums in the future.

The indomitable European champion Niina Petrokina came seventh with a total of 210.82, unable to top her stunning scores from the 2026 European Championships but skating a delightful free nevertheless. In heartbreak for Canada, a difficult short program from Madeline Schizas (55.38) dropped her down to 25th, leaving her out of the running for the free skate.

A costly error also plagued the USA’s Amber Glenn, who found herself down in 13th after the short program, but fought her way back with a powerhouse free to end up in fifth place (214.91). Japan’s Mone Chiba has had a season filled with dips but also flashes of utter brilliance, and whilst her fight for the podium was not quite enough on the night (217.88), a 4th place finish was no mean feat for a young skater we’re sure to see rise even higher over the next cycle.

China’s Zhang Ruiyang (19th, 178.03) and Korea’s Shin Jia also proved themselves to be next gen skaters to watch. Whilst an imperfect short program left Shin in 14th, she finished 11th overall (206.68), three spots behind her compatriot Lee Haein in 8th (210.56). Neutral athlete Adeliia Petrosian, the three-time Russian champion who was said to have two quads up her sleeve for her free, suffered an unfortunate fall on her first quad and finished in 6th place overall (214.53).

The ladies’ podium was the second all-Asian podium of the individual events this Olympics and one filled with stories of resilience, strength and the power of support over abuse when it comes to young women pushing the very limits of the sport.

Pairs

In pairs, Japan finally achieved a historic breakthrough as Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara captured the nation’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in the discipline. After an uncharacteristic error in the short program left them in fifth place, the two-time world champions mounted a breathtaking comeback with a world record-breaking free skate to music from Gladiator, earning a season’s best score (231.24), sealing the title and earning many, many tears from the athletes and onlookers alike. After four Olympics for Ryuichi Kihara, the delight of their fellow podium-mates showed the deep appreciation for a veteran of the sport.

The young team from Georgia, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, delivered an impressive Olympic debut to take silver (221.75) and Georgia’s first ever Winter Olympic Medal. Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin were first after the short program, but errors in the free skate meant they were only able to bring home bronze (219.09).

Props must go to the Hungarian team of Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko, who were consistency kings in this field, coming away with fourth overall (215.26). Veteran Chinese pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong skated together for the very last time on competitive ice and ended up fifth with 208.64, proving that legends never lose their aura.

Two medal favourites fared less successfully: Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii ended up in 6th (203.19) after a short program that left them in 8th going into the free skate. Nevertheless, the sound from the audience made it more than clear that they still did their country proud. By contrast, it was no small victory for Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps to even be in the building after a serious injury several days prior saw Stellato-Dudek rushed back to hospital, her Olympic dreams in doubt.

Whilst the two did not skate to the level we know they’re capable of, finishing 11th (192.61), that the pair were able to make it back to Milan at all is in many ways, victory enough. At the age of 42, Stellato-Dudek remains a beacon of triumph when it comes to proving that older athletes and older women still have a place in the sport.

Ice Dance

Ice dance was easily the most controversial podium of the individual disciplines, as France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron captured Olympic gold with a personal best total of 225.82. The partnership had formed only a year earlier due to Cizeron and his previous partner, Olympic gold medallist Gabriella Papadakis, ending their partnership. In her subsequent book Pour ne pas disparaître, she details his controlling behaviour, including threatening to break up their partnership if she filed a complaint against one of her abusers. Cizeron has since described himself as “very saddened” by Papadakis’ remarks and called her comments a ‘smear campaign’.

Fournier Beaudry had previously skated with Nikolaj Sørensen, who was given a six-year suspension in 2025 after a sexual assault allegation. According to the victim’s lawyer, former Olympic swimmer Nancy Hogshead, the victim came forward after hearing Sørensen ‘was moving into coaching figure skaters and would be a risk of harm to many more girls and women, who would have no idea of the monster they were encountering.’

He has since denied the allegations, and in 2024, the ISU’s statement to CNN said: “the ISU firmly believes that all athletes have the right to participate and develop in sport within a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment – free from any form of discrimination, harassment, abuse, violence, neglect, or exploitation.” Fournier Beaudry was subsequently given French citizenship in November in order to compete with Cizeron in the Olympics.

It was with these tensions running high that the controversial French pair won gold (225.82) with veteran US team Madison Chock and Evan Bates second (224.39). An error in the French pair’s free dance led to passionate debate online regarding ice dance scoring, as well as the presence of the French team on Olympic ice in the first place. Nevertheless, Chock and Bates go home with a gold in the team event, and silver in the individual. No mean feat considering that Evan Bates has competed for five – five! – consecutive Olympics.

Despite the controversies higher up the podium, Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier arguably put on the skate of the night – and one of the defining moments of figure skating at the Olympics – with their free dance set to Govardo’s cover of “Vincent”. After Gilles’ struggles with ovarian cancer in 2022, this was a triumphant skate for the soon-to-be-retiring pair, and their bronze medal (217.74) was Canada’s first figure skating medal since Virtue / Moir’s gold in 2018.

From one veteran team soon to leave the ice for good to another, Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri said a fantastic farewell to the sport they’ve given fifteen years of their lives to, finishing in fourth (209.58), whilst the USA’s Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik presented some of the best performances of their lives, earning them fifth place (206.72) and a nod that surely they’re one of the brightest new stars of ice dance.

British pair Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson ended up in 7th (204.32) after a gutting error in their free dance. Lithuania’s Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius and Spain’s Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck continue to be two of the most underrated of the top pairs on the circuit, finishing 6th (204.66) and 9th (201.49) respectively.

We’re expecting to see the ice dance field shuffle significantly after this Olympic cycle is over, but it’s been a fond farewell for some of the most beloved teams on the circuit.