Figure skaters Malinin, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron set to take centre stage at Winter Games

MILAN - From the jaw‑dropping athleticism of American Ilia Malinin to the lyrical glide of France’s new ice dance pairing Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, figure skating returns to the global spotlight on Feb 6 at the Milano Cortina Games.

In a sport where power meets poise and explosive technical feats are matched by finely tuned artistry, that contrast will again drive the drama on the ice, offering a reminder of why figure skating endures as one of the Games’ most captivating spectacles.

Competition launches on Feb 6 with the team event, where the Americans are expected to reprise their rivalry with Japan, the top two nations at Beijing 2022 after the Russian Olympic Committee were stripped of their gold medal following Kamila Valieva’s doping suspension.

Both the Americans and Japan boast depth across men’s and women’s singles, while the US are also strong in ice dance.

Malinin is the favourite in men’s singles, meaning the real battle will be for silver and bronze. The 21-year-old arrived in Italy unbeaten over the past two seasons and is set to challenge Nathan Chen’s world record of 335.30 points, a benchmark he believes he can surpass.

The self-named “Quad God” is both the first skater to land seven quadruple jumps in a programme and the first to execute a clean quadruple Axel in competition. He leads a field that includes Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Adam Siao Him Fa of France, but his technical difficulty sets him apart.

American Maxim Naumov will be a sentimental favourite in his Olympic debut a year after both of his parents, who were also his coaches, died in a plane crash.

Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, the 1994 pairs world champions, were aboard the flight that collided mid-air with a military helicopter over the Potomac River, killing 67 people, including many athletes, coaches, and families from the US skating community.

The women’s field, by contrast, is one of the most open in recent years, with multiple contenders from the United States and Japan, plus Russian dark horse Adeliia Petrosian, who is competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete.

Team USA’s Alysa Liu and Amber Glenn enter medal discussions, alongside Japan’s three‑time world champion Kaori Sakamoto, who is skating in her final Olympics before retiring.

Petrosian won the 2025 ISU Skate to Milano Olympic qualifier in September with 209.63 points despite an injury, a score with which she would have finished fifth at the 2025 world championships.

The Olympic qualifier marked the first international competition for Russian skaters since the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and their only chance to secure Olympic berths.

Comebacks

Ice dance will feature a much-anticipated showdown between US veterans Madison Chock and Evan Bates and Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron.

Cizeron is the reigning Olympic champion with previous partner Gabriella Papadakis. He and Fournier Beaudry teamed up in March and Fournier Beaudry, a Canadian, was granted French citizenship in November.

The duo finished six points behind the Americans in second at the Grand Prix Final, despite Fournier Beaudry crashing hard in the free dance after catching her blade on her dress.

Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, and Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri are all expected to challenge for the podium.

The pairs event features some remarkable comebacks. Reigning champions and five-times world medallists Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China returned for the Olympic season after a three-year break.

Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek hopes to make her Olympic debut at age 42 in a stunning return after a 16-year break from competition.

Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps set their sights on victory in Milan after winning the 2024 world championships, but she suffered an injury at a recent practice that has cast doubt on their participation in the Games. REUTERS