As of this year, the US figure skaters for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are Ilia Malinin, Daniel O´Shea, and Evan Bates, all skating for the Men´s team, and Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, Madison Chock, and Ellie Kam for the Women´s team.
For the record, the US is known for medaling within the traditional Olympics for all kinds of events. The US has very strong-willed and inspiring athletes, capable of exceeding competition and pushing limits and records as we know them. However, it is also commonly known that the US doesn´t medal as often as Eastern countries during the Winter Olympics.
“It´s pretty understandable, I mean, compared to like, the countries who have more mountains and year-round snow and ice, I can see why countries like Norway would be really sufficient in the Winter Olympics. Props to them!” said Valerie Cvek, a figure skater and regional competitor in Corona.
As of February 19, the United States has secured two gold medals. One of them was from the Women´s Singles event that Alysa Liu won, and another from the figure skating team event. The US also has a silver medal in Ice Dancing thanks to Maddison Chock.
The competition is certainly not easy, and sometimes nerves can even affect the best of athletes. Ilia Malinin, also further known as the “Quad God” for his ability to land quadruple jumps, finished 8th in the Men´s Singles event. Despite having a leading score after the short program, Malinin had struggled during the free skate on February 13. He, along with many other competing skaters, had fallen on the ice during their routine. He fell twice and didn´t perform his jumps to their planned extent, losing out on many points, finishing with an overall 156.33 score. After his performance, a commentator announced that nothing is certain in sports.
“I was definitely shocked seeing the replay… It´s pretty uncommon that we have our athletes going through a slump like that,” says Maurice Chen, an Olympic enthusiast.
Although many had the same reaction, the US has a very supportive team and community, still looking out for Ilia and giving him the benefit of the doubt, encouraging and reminding him that moments like these don´t define who he is as an athlete.
