"On the ice, skaters need to pick the right song, bring the right energy, and perform flawlessly. During the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games, this has been more true than ever. US figure skater Ilia Malinin, the self-proclaimed Quad God, entered the Games ready to dominate with his seemingly impossible quadruple axel. He helped Team USA win gold in the team event, but bailed on some of his planned quad jumps and fell twice."
"US pair Madison Chock and Evan Bates, a husband and wife team who have been skating together for some 15 years, went in eyeing a long-elusive gold. So, too, did Canada's team of Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, and France's duo of Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry. The latter team arrived amidst some controversy: Fournier Beaudry's boyfriend and former partner was once suspended from skating following sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied, and Cizeron's former partner has accused him of being controlling."
Figure skating at the Milano Cortina Games combined technical ambition, emotional comebacks, and off-ice controversy. Ilia Malinin contributed to Team USA's team gold but missed planned quadruple jumps and fell twice despite aiming for a quadruple axel. Alysa Liu secured an individual gold while Amber Glenn returned to competition but faltered in the short program. In ice dance, Madison Chock and Evan Bates took silver after a long partnership, and Guillaume Cizeron with Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold amid scrutiny linked to past allegations involving a former partner. The competitions underscored unpredictability across events.
Read at WIRED
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]