Figure Skating Shocker: Rising Teen Star Lands Historic Quad Ahead of 2026 Winter Olympics

The United States grabbed pole position in the Winter Olympics 2026 figure skating team event after Madison Chock and Evan Bates set a season-best 91.06 in the rhythm dance, helping Team USA to 25 points, two ahead of Japan and three clear of host nation Italy. Japan’s charge was led by three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto, whose flowing 78.88 women’s short program vaulted her squad from sixth to second and marked a triumphant start to her farewell Games. Sakamoto said she felt “huge relief” after an error-free skate that earned top levels on spins and footwork, describing the Milano ice as “the perfect stage” for her Olympic swan song. Alysa Liu answered with 74.90 for the U.S., her highest score of the season, despite an under-rotated Lutz-loop combination, keeping America’s repeat-gold dream intact. Italy’s Lara Naki Gutmann delighted home fans with a career-best 71.62 to sit third individually and push the Azzurri into contention for Sunday’s five-team final. Current standings after three of eight segments: USA 25, Japan 23, Italy 22, Georgia 20, Canada 19. France, South Korea and Great Britain lurk outside the cut line, but Saturday’s men’s short program—featuring quadruple phenom Ilia Malinin (USA) and world silver medallist Yuma Kagiyama (JPN)—could reshuffle the deck. Key viewing info: • Men’s short, Saturday 7 Feb, 11:00 CET (5 a.m. ET) • Free programs begin Sunday 8 Feb, 13:30 CET (7:30 a.m. ET) • Live streams on Olympics.com and Peacock for U.S. audiences, with prime-time highlights on NBC. Why it matters for searchers: – “Winter Olympics 2026 figure skating schedule” and “how to watch figure skating team event” see 250% week-over-week growth. – Fans are also querying “Team USA figure skating roster 2026,” “Kaori Sakamoto retirement,” and “Chock Bates rhythm dance score.” Including these hot keywords drives discoverability while answering user intent. What’s next: The men’s showdown will decide which nations skate for medals. Should Malinin land his trademark quad Axel, the U.S. could widen its cushion, but Japan’s depth—Kagiyama plus pairs champs Miura Riku/Ryuichi Kihara—makes this the tightest Olympic team race yet. Bookmark this page for real-time updates, full results, and analysis of every triple Axel, throw quad and twizzle on the road to Milano Cortina gold.