By Matteo Morelli | Photo by Melanie Heaney

The first figure skating medals of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games have already been awarded: the fourth Team Event in Winter Olympic history delivered a competition full of thrill and suspense, ending with the United States winning a second consecutive gold medal, followed by Japan in the silver medal position and Italy claiming a historic medal at home.

Taking place over three days, the rhythm dance was completed on the first day, and the free on the second, with the top five qualified National Olympic Committees having to wait for pairs, women and men to be completed on the third day to know the final standings.

Team Event Recap

This was an important result for Team USA, who captured a second gold medal, a result that was absolutely not to be taken for granted. With only a one-point advantage over second place, the entire Team Event was a constant battle between the USA and Japan, with both teams delivering impressive performances throughout the competition. Madison Chock and Evan Bates competed in both segments, securing 20 points for the team by winning both and achieving new season bests.

This moment was particularly special for them: in 2022, they couldn’t enjoy a direct celebration of their Olympic Team medal due to the doping scandal that put medal awards on pause, eventually leading to a resolution and a medal ceremony at the Paris Summer Olympics. Despite the individual rhythm dance taking place immediately after the Team Event, which is probably not ideal in terms of energy management, Chock and Bates were visibly happy to receive their medals on the podium and celebrate with their teammates: Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, Ellie Kam, and Danny O’Shea.

Team Japan was the other major contender for the top spot, delivering outstanding performances that included an undisputed lead from Kaori Sakamoto in the women’s event, and from pairs Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, finishing just one point behind Team USA and securing the silver medal. The team also featured Yuma Kagiyama, Shun Sato, and ice dancers Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita, who coped extremely well with the pressure and played a key role in earning Japan’s Olympic medal. Although they will not compete in the individual ice dance event, they will certainly leave Milan with many great memories.

A historic medal was earned by Team Italia, marking it the third Olympic medal in Italy’s Winter Olympic history, with the first earned by Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio, now both ice dance coaches. Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri skated both segments and fulfilled their dream of medalling at the Olympics in front of their home crowd, which was incredibly supportive. Alongside teammates Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii, Lara Naki Gutmann, Daniel Grassl, and Matteo Rizzo, they secured a total of 60 points and confirmed third place after a strong fight for the podium.

Both Guignard and Fabbri were visibly emotional in the Team Italia box, struggling to hold back tears in what was a deeply moving moment for them.

Team Georgia finished in fourth place with 56 points, highlighted by strong performances from Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin, while Team Canada placed fifth with 54 points, with Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier skating the rhythm dance and Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha competing in the free dance.

The other National Olympic Committees that did not qualify for the free skate were, in order of standings: France (with Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron), Republic of Korea (with Hannah Lim and Ye Quan), China (with Shiyue Wang and Xinyu Liu), Great Britain (with Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson), and Poland (with Sofia Dovhal and Wiktor Kulesza).