This year’s Winter Olympics was, as usual, full of victories, controversies, and shocks across all events, including numerous historic firsts, the infamous relationship cheating scandal, “Penisgate”, Ukrainian helmet ban, and condom shortage. Personally, I exclusively followed the figure skating events, being most knowledgeable on the subject; while the drama (this year) was more concentrated in other sporting events, it was still full of major milestones and upsets.
(I should probably note that most of the time, I watched the US broadcast, so there may be some bias or lack of information on my part. I also missed the rhythm dance, so I am less equipped to comment on that particular event.)
Milestones
Being extremely competitive and internationally recognized, the Olympics provide an outlet for immense recognition and honor. Winning an Olympic medal, or even simply qualifying for the Olympics, can be monumental for athletes and their countries. This year, figure skating delivered those historic moments.
21-year-old skater Mikhail Shaidorov became the first figure skater from Kazakhstan to win a gold medal. After placing fifth in the short program, he performed an excellent free program that propelled him into first place. Throughout his skating career, he was greatly inspired by the first Kazakh Olympic figure skating medalist, Denis Ten, who was murdered in 2018.
The pairs skating event also yielded notable results: as its first pairs medal, Japan won gold after Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara performed a stunning free program (following a slip-up in the short that landed them in fifth). In addition, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava made history as the first Georgian athletes to medal at the Winter Olympics with their silver-winning programs.
Alysa Liu, a 20-year-old from the United States, broke barriers this year with her unique style and attitude. After retiring several years ago, she attended the Olympics where she won a gold medal in a gold dress, becoming the first American woman to medal in singles skating in 20 years (and also the oldest gold medalist in 20 years).
This year’s figure skating event also provided opportunities for underrepresented age groups. While competitive figure skaters at this level are typically in their late teens and early twenties, numerous skaters (specifically ice dancers and pairs skaters) were well into their thirties. One pairs skater from Canada, Deanna Stellato-Dudek, made her Olympic debut at 42 years old, making her the oldest in 2026, oldest female in nearly 100 years, and third-oldest of all time in Olympic history.
We also saw the return of the legal backflip this Olympic year. After American skater Terry Kubicka executed the move in 1976 (first at U.S. Nationals and later at the Olympics), the jump was banned for being dangerous and defying traditional skating techniques. French skater Surya Bonaly later successfully performed a more difficult adaptation, landing on one leg in typical figure skating fashion, and was penalized for it. The reinstatement of the backflip is largely attributed to another French figure skater, Adam Siao Him Fa, who won a bronze medal at the World Championships despite point deductions for including it. He and American skater Ilia Malinin accomplished backflips at this year’s Olympics, although the move was considered choreographic rather than technical and contributed little to their overall scores.
upsets
Like any sporting event, the Olympics are highly unpredictable. This year saw major upsets, comebacks, and surprises.
American figure skater Amber Glenn was considered a medal contender as one of only two women planning triple axels. Her short program started off strong with a successful triple axel, but she later popped a triple loop (performing a double instead), losing points for performing a less-difficult jump and failing to meet the requirements of the program. After finishing in 13th place in the short, however, she delivered an explosive free program with a fantastic triple axel that earned her the highest technical score in the event. Though she did not win a medal in the singles event, she managed to finish in fifth place overall.
Ilia Malinin, also from the United States, had an experience that was practically the opposite. He finished in first place after the short program, and as the only skater to successfully attempt a quadruple axel in competition, he was favored to win gold. However, he failed to execute his most difficult elements, ultimately finishing in eighth place. He attributed his performance to intense pressure and mental stress, which is hardly surprising; the media practically worshipped him (referring to him as the “quad god”), it was his first time competing in the Olympics, and his parents were also successful figure skaters.
This year’s biggest scandal was in the ice dance discipline. French ice dance champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron have been condemned for personal actions and unfair advantages. Fournier Beaudry was criticized for defending her boyfriend, skater Nikolaj Sorensen, following sexual assault allegations against him. In addition, Cizeron’s former skating partner recently accused him of mistreating her. To top it all off, many have pointed out egregious scoring discrepancies (given by a French judge) between Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron and silver medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates. While Chock/Bates delivered a clean (free) dance, Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron made a number of noticeable mistakes and wore questionably appropriate costumes (which matter in figure skating and can result in deductions).
The Olympics as a whole has been criticized for certain actions, as well (although I will only be discussing its relationship to figure skating). Russia (and, by extension, Belarus) was forbidden from competing at the games in 2022 due to its invasion of Ukraine; however, Russian athletes who meet strict guidelines were allowed to compete independently. Many Russian athletes, such as Anastasiia Gubanova, elected to represent other countries in order to compete. Naturally, this action was denounced, particularly because Israel was among the recognized countries despite committing genocide in Palestine. It seems likely that Russia’s ban was due to additional factors with more direct relationships with the Games, such as a history of corruption and doping.
Sports are also dynamic and subject to change. As someone who had not followed competitive figure skating for a period of years, I was surprised by the number of cartwheels, backflips, and jump sequences I saw during the Olympics. I do not know whether it is due to rule changes or recent trends, but it was a bit of a culture shock seeing skaters get away with completing backflips and sequences instead of combinations.
inspiring stories
Unfortunately, Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir returned as commentators, providing all kinds of unnecessary interruptions and comparisons. However, they did offer some interesting details.
You may be familiar with the tragic plane crash that occurred on a flight between Wichita and Washington, D.C. and killed over 60 people, many of whom were figure skaters. Among the victims were Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, parents of Team USA skater Maxim Naumov. He dedicates his programs to them, finding comfort in their memories together and frequently carrying a photo of them to competitions. His short program, a tribute to his parents, earned him a season’s best score.
Kyrylo Marsak, 21, was the only figure skater representing Ukraine this Olympic season. He was forced to relocate to Finland to continue his training, which was a difficult adjustment for him, especially knowing that his family was still in war-torn Ukraine. His free program was dedicated to his father, a soldier in the Ukrainian army whom he last saw nearly a year ago.
25-year-old Kristen Spours, the only British figure skater in the women’s division, faced a number of obstacles on her Olympic journey. Less than a year before the competition, she experienced a serious medical affliction that required her to have back surgery. Despite these challenges, she competed in the Olympics anyway, taking care not to sustain further injury.
artistic choices
Figure skating is a unique sport in that athletes have the opportunity to take creative liberties with their attire, musical choice, and other stylistic elements. Here are some of my favorites from this year’s Olympics.
Best dressed
Rhythm dance – unknown
Free dance – there were a number of pairs in which one partner was dressed well, such as Chock, Piper Gilles (CAN), and Evgeniia Lopareva (FRA), but the overall best-dressed couple had to be Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (GBR) with their Scottish vibes.
Men’s short – as much as I hate to admit it, Petr Gumennik (AIN) probably had the best costume. However, Stephen Gogolev (CAN) deserves an honorable mention.
Men’s free – truthfully, none of them really impressed me. I suppose Malinin’s costume, while not exceptional, definitely had potential.
Pairs short – the best-dressed pair award goes to Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin (ARM). Though it was not the most dramatic look, both of their costumes were interesting and cohesive.
Pairs free – Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini’s (ITA) costumes stood out and really complemented their program.
Women’s short – Haein Lee (KOR) takes the cake with her mermaid-esque dress.
Women’s free – sporting an elegant tango dress, Lee is once again the most fashionable skater.
Music choices
It is undeniable that the 2026 Olympics produced an array of unique music choices. Livia Kaiser’s (SUI) free skate featured soundtracks from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Lara Naki Gutmann (ITA) used selections from JAWS in her free program. Matteo Rizzo (ITA) skated to the Interstellar soundtrack during the free. Shaidorov fittingly used Dimash Qudaibergen’s “Olympico” in his gold-winning free program. Tomas Guarino Sabate (ESP) garnered attention for his program based around the minions featured in the Despicable Me series. Malinin used his own voice for his free skate, reciting poetry over a musical track.
Through musical choices, Kansas was indirectly represented in Olympic figure skating. Boyang Jin’s (CHN) short program included music from Ted Lasso, a series starring a Jason Sudeikis, a Kansas native, as a character from Kansas City. Additionally, Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi (JPN) skated to “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John, an allusion to The Wizard of Oz (which features a character from Kansas).
As a Bollywood music superfan, I was pleased that two competitors chose Indian film music for their skates (although I cannot attest to the true cultural quality of their executions). Gubanova used “San Sanana” for her short program, and Akopova/Rakhmanin skated to selections from Slumdog Millionaire.