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Figure skating is growing worldwide and it is growing fast. It’s not only the figure skating powerhouses that can count on medals at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 as new and emerging teams are stepping up to the challenge. 

USA and Japan still on top 

The figure skating powerhouses in Milan are still the USA and Japan. The USA have the biggest team, qualifying 16 out of the maximum of 18 athletes for the 2026 Games. The USA has a long and successful history at Olympic Winter Games while Japan has been growing over the past 20 years.

In 2006, Shizuka Arakawa became the first Japanese figure skater to win an Olympic medal when she struck gold in Turin. Four years later, Daisuke Takahashi earned the first medal for a Japanese male skater with bronze. Since then, Japanese skaters have won at least one figure skating medal at every Olympic Winter Games.

This year the USA has excellent medal chances in the Men’s, Women’s and Ice Dance through reigning ISU World Champions Ilia Malinin, pictured above, Alysa Liu and Madison Chock & Evan Bates. 

Three-time World Champions Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA) aim to add Olympic Ice Dance gold © ISU

Japanese athletes will challenge for the podium in the Men’s, Women’s and Pair Skating events, led by 2022 Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama, 2022 Olympic bronze medalist Kaori Sakamoto and two-time ISU World Pairs Champions Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara. 

Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) won individual bronze and team silver at the Beijing 2022 Games © ISU

Not surprisingly, the USA and Japan are the favorites for the Olympic team event.

Traditionally, Canada is another strong figure skating nation. Their medal hopes in Milan lie on four-time ISU World Ice Dance medalists Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier and on 2024 ISU World Pair Skating Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps. However, Stellato-Dudek suffered an injury at home in Canada and it is not clear yet whether she can compete.

Italy and Georgia among emerging powers

In Europe, Italy has emerged as a figure skating power and their skaters will relish a home Olympic Games. Italian Ice Dancers and two-time ISU World medalists Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri are eying the podium as are Pair Skaters and two-time ISU World bronze medalists Sara Conti & Niccolo Macii. Italy will fight for a team medal as well. 

Italian Pair Skaters Sara Conti & Niccolo Macci are eyeing the podium at their home Olympics in Milan © ISU

So far, Italy has two Olympic figure skating medals – Ice Dancers Barbara Fusar Poli & Maurizio Margaglio’s bronze from 2002 and Carolina Kostner’s bronze from 2014. 

Georgia is up-and-coming and their small but strong team will challenge for the podium in the team event. This small country in the Caucasus mountains has not yet won an Olympic figure skating medal but that might change soon. Newly minted ISU European Champions Anastasiia Metelkina & Luka Berulava and Nika Egadze, as well as 2023 ISU European Champion Anastasiia Gubanova, are looking to make an impact in Milan.

Anastasiia Metelkina & Luka Berulava of Georgia were crowned ISU European Pairs champions in January 2026 © ISU

France has been especially successful in Ice Dance at Olympic Winter Games since 2002, winning two gold and one silver medal. Guillaume Cizeron, the 2022 Olympic Ice Dance Champion with Gabriella Papadakis, is back with new partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry in pursuit of another medal. 

China is a force in Pair Skating with a total of seven Olympic medals to date in this category. Reigning Olympic Champions Wenjing Sui & Cong Han will defend their crown in Milan. 

Wenjing Sui & Cong Han (CHN) bid to retain their Pairs title from Beijing 2022 in Milan © ISU

The late Denis Ten won Kazakhstan’s first and so far only figure skating medal, a bronze, at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. ISU World silver medalist Mikhail Shaidorov wants to follow in his footsteps. 

Russia (like the Soviet Union previously), also competing as “Olympic Athlete from Russia” (OAR) in 2018 and “Russian Olympic Committee” (ROC) in 2022, used to be a dominant force in the sport but has been banned since March 2022 because of the war of aggression in Ukraine.