2026 Olympic Figure Skating Team Event | Pairs’ Short Program

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara delivered a crucial boost for Team Japan’s standings in the Olympic Team Figure Skating event after the Pairs’ Short Program on Friday. Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava added nine points for Team Georgia, while Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii brought Team Italy to second place in the overall standings. The first day of the 2026 Olympic Figure Skating Team event began with the Rhythm Dance in Milan, Italy.

In the Olympic Team Event, teams earn points based on placement rather than raw score, with 10 points for first place down to one point for tenth. All teams skate the short programs and rhythm dance, but only the top five advance to the free skate and free dance, with points from all eight segments combined to determine the final standings. The full standings after the Pairs’ Short Program are reflected at the bottom of the article.

Team Japan

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara were self-assured and powerful in their intense routine to “Paint it Black.” The current World champions didn’t put a foot wrong, landing side-by-side triple toes and a solid throw triple Lutz. The lift, spin, footwork and death spiral all earned a level four, and the team racked up high grades of execution (GOE) throughout. They scored a new personal best of 82.84 points, bumping Team Japan up to sixth place overall in this segment.

“We were able to show the results of our practice today, so I’m very happy,” said Miura. “This is our second Olympics, and over the past four years we’ve had injuries, but those experiences made us stronger than before. We’re really proud of that!”

“The team event was a lot of fun!” added Kihara. “We really enjoyed skating as part of the team and sharing that experience together.”

Team Georgia

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava presented a powerful, meticulously controlled short program set to Boléro. They left a few points on the table with their side-by-side flying camel spin, the level-four triple twist, triple Salchows and throw triple flip were spot on. The European champions also earned a level four on their footwork and placed second with 77.54 points, moving Team Georgia up two spots from fifth to third place overall.

“It was a calm skate, a good warm up,” said Metelkina. “We are confident and our coaches and our federation has confidence in us, too. We can do it all and practices were excellent. We had a very good week of training before the Olympic Games, therefore we went out calmly and did what we know we can do.”

“I feel like it was 87% today. I was a little shaky on the lift,” noted Berulava. “We have a very good chance to take a medal and we will do everything we can do to earn one.”

Team Italy

Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii placed third with 76.65 points after their fiery routine to “El Toro Salvaje” and “Concerto de España.” The two-time World bronze medalists showed lots of passion, earning a level for on the lift, footwork and spin. The only minor error came when Conti put a hand down on the landing of the throw triple loop. However, the side-by-side triple Salchows were solid as was the level-three triple twist. Their contribution of eight points moved Team Italy up four spots to second place overall.

“I can’t really explain what we’re feeling right now,” said Conti. “We’re just so happy that we came here and were able to show what we can do. Most of all, we’re happy to show that we are back.”

“I was nervous,” admitted Macii. “I told Sara that I was nervous, but honestly, I think I did a really good job thanks to the work I’ve done with my psychologist. At the beginning of this season, I actually stopped working with him, not because I didn’t want to anymore, but because I felt like I could handle things by myself. I’m proud of our work and of ourselves. This year means a lot to me because I feel like we really managed everything. Even when there were mistakes in practice, I worked a lot on accepting them—accepting a bad competition, accepting being third instead of first or fourth. And honestly, I’m happy with what I’ve done and with where we are right now.”

Team Canada

Canada’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud put out a good performance to “Say You Love Me” which featured good side-by-side triple toes and throw triple loop. The triple twist, lift, footwork and death spiral were all graded a level four, but there were negative GOEs noted on the twist and flying camel spins. The 2025 Four Continents bronze medalists scored 68.24 points. Seven points were added to Team Canada’s standings where they are currently in fourth.

“We really put in a lot of work,” said Pereira. “I think today showed the work that we put in the usual elements that gave us some problems. Those were really successful. With the twist and spin, they were uncommon mistakes for us. So that part we’re just questioning a little bit and wanting to really make sure that we refine that. But overall, I’m proud of both of us for handling our first team event together. We really felt the support from the box and the crowd.”

“We will be skating again Sunday for the free program,” added Michaud. “There were those little not normal mistakes, but we’ll work on them by Sunday.”

Team USA

Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea scored 66.59 points for a five-point contribution to Team USA. Their emotional routine to “”Hallelujah” featured side-by-side triple Salchows, but Kam went down on the throw triple loop. The triple twist, spin and lift were graded a level four.

“The throws are something we’ve spent a lot of time working on since the start of our partnership” said Kam. “Some people say we struggle with them, but I don’t really see it that way. It’s more that it’s something we’ve had to work on a bit more compared to other teams. We’re still a relatively new team and still fine-tuning certain elements.”

“Today, the timing was just a little bit off,” added O’Shea. “Maybe it was nerves, being here on such a big Olympic stage. But we still have a few more times on this ice, and hopefully we can get it right by the end.”

Team China

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han placed sixth (65.37). Sui stepped out of the landing of the side-by-side triple toes, putting a hand down, and later fell on a throw triple flip. However, the level-four triple twist was very good, and they also earned a level four on the lift. The 2022 Olympic gold champions contributed six points to Team China where they sit in eighth place.

“Today wasn’t a good performance for us,” admitted Han. “We came to Milan with the priority of showing high quality, but during the competition we felt some nervousness and a lot of excitement. The audience gave us a lot of support, and we really felt the atmosphere, but a mistake happened. So, it wasn’t really good today. Still, we know we have time to prepare for our next competition.”

Rounding out the field

Camille Kovalev and Pavel Kovalev placed seventh (63.72) in this segment and Team France is currently fifth. The only error came when Camille doubled her triple toe on the side-by-side jumps. But the team landed a throw triple flip and earned a level four on the lift, spin and footwork.

“We were obviously a bit nervous, but once the music starts, I really try—and we really try—to arrange everything,” said Camille. “Then it’s not that hard anymore, or at least it didn’t feel that hard for us.”

“There’s so much to enjoy here,” she added. “Honestly, everything. It feels like a dream come true. Every moment, we try to take pictures, look around, see what’s happening next, what we can do next. I really feel like a kid in Disneyland!”

Ioulia Chtchetinina and Michal Wozniak of Poland placed eighth with a new season’s best of 60.20 points.

“After we finished the important element, I started seeing the Olympic rings and getting emotional,” said Chtchetinina. “I had a little stumble, but then I went back into focus. And at the end, during the step sequence, I was just soaking in the moment. I was living the dream.”

“For me, it was pretty much the same,” added Wozniak. “Before we went out, I wanted to share a moment with Ioulia. I told her that all the hard work, all the tears and sweat, this moment was exactly what it was for. And I just wanted her to know that, for now, it doesn’t matter what happens next. I don’t care about anything else, this is what we worked for. We can already be proud before we even step onto the ice. I’m very grateful to be in Milan.”

Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby of Great Britain rounded out the field with 57.29 points.

“Stepping onto the Olympic ice was a really special feeling and something we truly enjoyed,” said Vaipan-Law. “Unfortunately, today was a bit of a mixed performance for us, but that’s something we’ll take forward and work hard on over the next week.”

Digby turned 25 yesterday.

“Having my birthday at the Olympics yesterday was a pretty unique experience and actually really nice,” he said. “Everyone made me feel very special, which I really appreciated. At the same time, there’s just a lot going on at the moment.”

Digby has also been having a “tricky” time with a wrist injury.

“Since Europeans, it’s been a little challenging because of that,” he said. “But we’re grateful that we were ready in time. Overall, today is an experience we’ll learn from and take forward. The wrist is fine now—of course. I would have loved to have had a bit more time with it, but I think the week of training we have before the individual event will work in our favor.”

The Team Event will continue with the Women’s Short Program.

Related info:

• Official Results
• Olympic Qualification System for Figure Skating
• Competition Threads
• Replay Lounge
• More Olympic Figure Skating news

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