Eagle Era

Highlights from this year’s Winter Olympics figure skating season

By Sachi Ladole

Athletes from more than 90 countries gathered in Milan this year to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Team USA was a strong contender, securing a total of 12 gold medals and 33 overall medals by competing in events like skiing, snowboarding, hockey, and figure skating. 

Figure skating was a fan-favorite event this year, with unexpected wins and rising stars. The individual skating events were separated into men’s singles and women’s singles. Each skater performed a short program and a free skate for judges to evaluate based on technical elements such as jumps, spins, lifts, and step sequences, along with program components including skating skills and performance quality. 

For many viewers, it’s this combination of athletic difficulty and artistry that makes the sport so compelling. Abigail Li (11), a previous Junior Olympic artistic swimmer, explained the similarities between the 2 sports and what makes them special. “I think that artistic sports are so uniquely beautiful,” Li said. “More people need to watch figure skating because not only are the athletes extremely athletic, but they also move with so much intention that I think it really tells a story.” 

In the men’s category, much of the attention was focused on Ilia Malinin of the United States. Known as the “Quad God” for his record-breaking quadruple jumps, Malinin entered the Olympics as a shoo-in for gold. However, 2 unexpected falls during his free skate dramatically lowered his score to 264.49, placing him eighth overall.

Fans across social media expressed shock and disappointment, sharing clips of his falls and commenting on the unpredictability of the Olympics. Some speculated that inadequate ice conditions may have contributed to these falls, noting that other skaters and athletes complained about clean landings being more difficult than usual. 

Caption: Alysa Liu crushed her free skate program, gliding on the ice straight to first place (Photo Credit: Andy Cheung/Getty Images).

Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov took advantage of this opportunity, delivering a confident and technically demanding performance. He secured gold with a final score of 291.58 because of a program that included multiple successful quadruple jumps to “Confessa” and “Diva Dance” by Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen.

Veteran US skater Amber Glenn had one of the most dramatic storylines of the women’s event. After a mistimed jump in the short program, she fell to 13th place—an outcome no one expected. Yet, going into the free skate, she remained calm and delivered an almost flawless performance, climbing all the way up to fifth place overall. 

Angela Diao (10) was a big fan of the sport at the Olympics, watching the games solely for figure skating. She shared her enthusiasm, saying, “People like figure skating because of how nice it looks—the way they skate.” 

Fan favorite American figure skater Alysa Liu drew widespread attention for her return to the Olympic competition after stepping away from the sport for almost 2 years. After originally leaving due to burnout, Liu went into this year’s Olympics with a mindset to do her best, with or without a medal.

Through her programs, she delivered memorable shows, capturing the gold medal with a combined total score of 226.79. Although she wasn’t leading after the short program, her performance to “Promise” by Laufey exemplified her emotions reentering a sport she thought she left in the past. Fans took to social media showing their support for the skater, pushing her to the limelight of figure skating this year. 

As a previous artistic athlete, Li mentioned how Liu’s program theme spoke to her. “I still think about artistic swimming a lot, so I really liked how she incorporated the meaning of art and figure skating in her routine.”