FIGURE SKATING
ISU World Champions Miura & Kihara headline deep field
14 Feb 2026
For more information about Figure Skating in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, please check here
The World’s best Pair Skating teams are getting ready for an incredible high-level competition at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 when the event opens with the Short Program on Sunday, February 15.
Competition starts at 19:45 local time at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
The field is one of the most competitive ever seen at Olympic Winter Games.
Here’s what to expect:
Close competition expected among top Pairs
- Two-time ISU World Champions Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara (JPN), pictured above, lead the field and impressed with personal best performances in the Team Event in the first week of these Games.
- Miura & Kihara scored a new personal best of 82.84 in the Team Event Short Program and won silver with the Japan team.
- Sara Conti & Niccolo Macii (ITA) are the current ISU Grand Prix Final silver medalists and have a season’s best of 77.22 points in the Short Program. They won bronze in the Team Event here in Milan.
Home hopes Sara Conti & Niccolo Macii won bronze in the Team Event in Milan © Getty Images
- 2026 ISU European Champions Anastasiia Metelkina & Luka Berulava (GEO) have been on the rise this season and looked strong in the Team Event, scoring a season’s and personal best 78.83 points.
- Reigning ISU World silver medalists Minerva Hase & Nikita Volodin (GER) come to Milan with a season’s and personal best of 77.61 points.
- 2022 Olympic Champions Wenjing Sui & Cong Han (CHN) are back but had a disappointing Short Program in the Team Event (season’s best 76.02 points).
Olympic Champions Wenjing Sui & Cong Han (CHN) return to defend their title © Getty Images
- Other contenders to watch include 2026 ISU European bronze medalists Maria Pavlova & Alexei Sviatchenko (HUN).
- The 2024 ISU World Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps (CAN) missed the Team Event as Stellato-Dudek suffered an injury in a practice accident at home in Canada. She has since been medically cleared to compete and has arrived in Milan.
Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps (CAN) missed the Team Event through injury but will compete in the Pair Skate © ISU
Quick Facts
- A total of 19 Pairs representing 14 NOCs are taking part in the event.
- The top 16 Pairs after the Short Program advance to the Free Skating on Monday, February 16.
- The highest score in the Pairs Short Program is currently 84.41 points, set by Sui & Han at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games on their way to gold.
- Sui & Han are the only returning medalists from the Beijing Games.
- Japan, Italy and Georgia have yet to win an Olympic medal in Pair Skating (as an individual event).
