US Figure Skating squad chasing more Olympic gold as competition begins at the Milan Cortina Games

MILAN (AP) — The powerful U.S. figure skating squad will have its first opportunity to shine at the Winter Olympics on Friday when the team competition begins at the Milano Ice Skating Arena just hours before the opening ceremony.

The Americans are the defending champions in the event. After they were denied a medal ceremony four years ago in Beijing because of a lengthy investigation into Russian doping, which kept them from receiving their gold medals until the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, so it would be especially meaningful to win another team title at the Milan Cortina Games.

“Looking back, I don’t think it was bittersweet, necessarily,” said Madison Chock, who along with partner Evan Bates will perform their rhythm dance Friday. “We’re still Olympic champions. We got our medals. But it was different.”

One thing that isn’t different: the strength of the U.S. team.

Chock and Bates are the three-time defending world champions, and they’ve been nearly unbeatable since finishing fourth in the individual ice competition in Beijing. The U.S. also will send out world champion Alysa Liu for the women’s short program on the first day of the team event, while Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea will perform their pairs short program.

The free dance and men’s short program is Saturday, when two-time defending world champion Ilia Malinin could perform for the first time in the Olympics. The team medals will be awarded after the men’s, women’s and pairs free skates on Sunday.

“It’s the first time we’ve ever in three disciplines had three world champions going into the Olympics,” said Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic champion. “We’ve had strong teams in the past, but this is one of the strongest teams ever.”

Pushing the Americans

It helps the U.S. cause that the historically strong Russians, who beat the Americans in Beijing only to be relegated to third when Kamila Valieva was suspended for doping, remain barred from the Winter Games following the invasion of Ukraine; Adeliina Petrosian and Petr Gumennik will be competing as neutral athletes.

Still, that doesn’t mean the Americans can simply waltz their way to the gold medal.

Japan, the reigning silver medalist, is back with world pairs champions Riku Mura and Ryuichi Kihara anchoring a team with few weaknesses. Olympic bronze medalist Kaori Sakamoto will handle the women’s short program Friday, leaving the ice dance team of Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita to try to keep the Japanese within striking distance of the Americans.

Georgia, Italy and Canada are the other podium contenders in the team event. 

The Canadians were controversially denied the bronze medal in Beijing amid the Russian doping saga, instead keeping their fourth-place result. And while that could fuel the team this weekend, the Canadians already suffered a blow when Deanna Stellato-Dudek got hurt in training, ruling her out of the team competition with her pairs teammate, Maxime Deschamps.

“We want the gold,” Canadian ice dancer Piper Gilles said, “but a lot of it is out of our hands. What we can control is our skating and how we feel about it, and what moment we want to create. That’s when we skate our best.”

How the team event works

Ten nations take part in the team event, each sending out one entry per discipline for the short program. The scores are calculated based on their placements, with each discipline winner earning 10 points all the way down to one point for 10th place.

The top five move on to the free skate, where teams are allowed to substitute up to two disciplines, making roster selection a strategic process. They keep adding points to the team total, and the team with the most points after the free skate wins.

“It’s not just strategy for the team but the strategy for the month,” said Justin Dillon, chief high performance officer for U.S. Figure Skating. “Some of the events back right up into the team event. We want them to focus and have the ultimate impact.”

The biggest time crunch is for ice dancers, who have their rhythm dance Monday, meaning they could be performing three times in four days. They also have their team free skate Sunday ahead of their individual short programs Tuesday.

That is where the depth of the Americans come in handy. They can swap in fresh skaters on Sunday if needed.

“The team event is extremely important to us,” Bates said. “Having the opportunity to compete as a team is so special, and this team in particular is so deep, so talented and has great opportunity for a gold medal.”

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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics