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Figure skating at the Olympics is one of the most prestigious and watched events in the Winter Games. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London.

Figure skating at the Winter Olympics is jointly organized by:

• International Olympic Committee (IOC) — overall organizer of the Olympic Games.
• International Skating Union (ISU) — the sport’s international federation, responsible for technical rules, the qualification system, and the sport’s competition framework within the Olympics.
• The Milano Cortina 2026 Organizing Committee — handles logistics, event operations, and execution on the ground in Milan.

These organizations work together to stage the figure skating events as part of the Olympic program.

Venue, Competitors’ Structure, and Prize Pool Overview for Figure Skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics

The figure skating tournament will be held at Unipol Forum in Assago, a small town just outside Milan. This multipurpose indoor arena will host all five figure skating events during Milano Cortina 2026, featuring a purpose-built ice surface for the tournament.

A total of 142 quota spots have been allocated for figure skating at the 2026 Games. This includes athletes across these disciplines:

• • Men’s singles
  • Women’s singles
  • Pairs
  • Ice dance
  • Team event

The 142 quota spots cover individual skaters and pair teams; the exact split is determined by discipline (e.g., number of singles skaters vs. pairs vs. ice dance).

There’s no official prize pool for Olympic figure skating at the Winter Games. Athletes compete for Olympic medals (gold, silver, bronze), not monetary payouts from the Olympics themselves. Any financial rewards (e.g., bonuses) come from National Olympic Committees (NOCs) — many countries give cash bonuses for Olympic medals, and sponsors and federations — personal or national governing-body payouts outside the Olympics.

Participating Skaters in Figure Skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Qualification Overview

Per the official quota system, a total of 142 quota spots are allocated across the five figure-skating disciplines:

• Men’s singles: 29
• Women’s singles: 29
• Pairs: 19 teams
• Ice dance: 23 teams
• Team event: 10 nations (countries can enter up to three entries per discipline if they have qualified them)

Skaters themselves are selected by their NOCs from among skaters who have achieved the required technical scores at international events.

Team event (10 nations)

The team event requires entries across multiple disciplines. The qualified nations confirmed for the Olympic figure skating team event are:

• United States
• Japan
• Italy
• Canada
• Georgia
• Plus five others not yet officially published here) — These ten teams have met the combined qualification criteria from World Championships + Grand Prix results.

While the complete official rosters will be finalized after national selections (usually by late January 2026), here are confirmed or widely reported key athletes expected to compete:

Men’s singles

• Ilia Malinin (USA) — reigning World Champion and top contender in men’s singles.
• Petr Gumennik (Individual Neutral Athlete) — earned a quota at the ISU qualifying event.
• Other likely qualifiers from world results include skaters from Japan, Canada, Italy, etc., based on quota spots earned at the 2025 World Championships.

Women’s singles

• Top women’s quotas will go to nations with strong World Championship placements; some skaters confirmed as quota earners include:
  • Loena Hendrickx (BEL) — earned an Olympic spot through international qualifying.
  • Quota places were also earned by skaters from Georgia, Belgium, China, and others at the ISU qualifying event.

Pairs & Ice dance

• Team GB ice dance:
  • Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson — returning Olympians and World Bronze medalists.
  • Phebe Bekker & James Hernandez — new ice dance pairing for GB.
• Team GB pairs:
  • Anastasia Vaipan-Law & Luke Digby — British pairs entry.
• Singles GB entries:
  • Kristen Spours — representing Great Britain in women’s singles.
• Many of the top nations will field full quotas, which often include:
  • USA (likely three entries in men’s, women’s, and ice dance) from strong World Championship results.
  • Japan and Canada will enter multiple skaters in singles and team events due to high placements at Worlds.

This is how they all qualified.

1) Primary qualification: 2025 World Figure Skating Championships: Most Olympic spots were earned based on placements at the 2025 Worlds — finishing high enough earns 1, 2, or 3 entries for an NOC in that discipline at the Olympics.

2) Final Olympic Qualifier: ISU “Skate to Milano” (Sep 2025): Remaining quota spots were filled at this final qualifier in Beijing, where skaters from countries that hadn’t yet qualified (or needed extra entries) earned Olympic berths.

3) Team event qualification: Ten countries qualified for the team event by combining results across disciplines in the World Championships and Grand Prix standings.

4) IOC “Individual Neutral Athletes”: Due to sanctions, select Russian/Belarusian skaters (e.g., Petr Gumennik, Adeliia Petrosian, Viktoriia Safonova) are allowed as neutral competitors if they meet ISU and IOC eligibility.

Structure and Performance Format of Figure Skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Figure skating at the Olympics isn’t a league or bracket tournament. Each discipline follows a multi-segment competition (performance or program) structure, held within a fixed Olympic window.

Three out of five disciplines (men’s & women’s singles and pairs skating) consist of two stages: short program (SP) and free skate (FS), with combined results deciding final standings. The remaining two disciplines, where combined results also decide the final standings, are as follows:

Ice dance

1. Rhythm dance (RD)
2. Free dance (FD)

Team event

1. Qualification round (short program/rhythm dance segments)
2. Final round (free skate / free dance segments)

Scoring format

• Not head-to-head
• Not best-of
• Not first-to
• All skaters are judged individually using the ISU Judging System:
  • Technical Elements Score (TES)
  • Program Components Score (PCS)
  • Minus deductions
• Scores from each segment are added together to determine rankings.

Elimination rules

• Singles & pairs:
  • All qualified skaters/pairs perform the short program
  • Only the top 24 advance to the free skate
• Ice dance:
  • All teams skate the rhythm dance
  • Only the top 20 advance to the free dance
• Team event: Only the top-5 teams from the qualification advance to the final round

There’s no knockout bracket — elimination is purely score-based after early segments.

Favorites in Figure Skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Betting Options, and Where to Watch

Moving on to the tournament favorites, both for the team event and individual disciplines.

Team event:

• United States – The most complete lineup across men’s, women’s, pairs, and ice dance; consistent podium contender.
• Japan – Exceptional singles strength and growing depth in pairs/ice dance.
• Canada– Traditional powerhouse with elite ice dance and strong overall balance.
• Italy – Host nation advantage and improving depth across disciplines.

Men’s singles:

• Ilia Malinin (USA) – Quad-dominant skater, technical ceiling unmatched in the field.
• Shoma Uno (Japan) – Olympic and World medalist, elite artistry and consistency.
• Yuma Kagiyama (Japan) – High base value combined with strong skating skills.
• Adam Siao Him Fa (France) – Explosive jumper, strong momentum since 2023–25 seasons.

Women’s singles:

• Kaori Sakamoto (Japan) – Multiple-time World Champion, consistency, and PCS leader.
• Loena Hendrickx (Belgium) – Strong technical layouts and artistic presence.
• Isabeau Levito (USA) – Excellent balance of technique and components.
• Chaeyeon Kim (South Korea) – Rising star with strong scoring potential.

Pairs skating:

• Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara (Japan) – World champions, excellent chemistry and reliability.
• Deanna Stellato-Dudek / Maxime Deschamps (Canada) – High technical content and experience.
• Alexa Knierim / Brandon Frazier (USA) – Strong lifts and consistency in major events.

Ice dance:

• Madison Chock / Evan Bates (USA) – World champions, dominant PCS and presentation.
• Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier (Canada) – Technically refined with strong rhythm dance scores.
• Charlène Guignard / Marco Fabbri (Italy) – Home crowd boost and elite execution.

Figure skating betting is available at every best online betting company deemed as licensed international sportsbooks that cover the Olympic Winter Games and individual judged sports.

Common betting markets:

• Outright winner (gold medal by discipline)
• Podium finish (any medal)
• Head-to-head skater matchups
• Top-3 / Top-5 finish
• Nation medal count (figure skating only)

Global production of the tournament is handled by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) – the official coverage provider.

Major broadcasters

• Europe: Eurosport / Discovery+
• Italy: RAI (live events & highlights)
• United States: NBC / Peacock
• Canada: CBC / CBC Gem
• United Kingdom: BBC (selected sessions & highlights)
• Japan: NHK

Streaming options – broadcaster apps and Olympic digital platforms will offer live sessions, full replays, and discipline-specific feeds (SP, FS, RD, FD).

Pros and Cons of Favorites in Figure Skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics