Feb 09, 2026
3 min read
Ilya Malinin defeated Japanese rival Sato in the ice skating at the Milan Olympics, helping the United States defend its gold medal in figure skating.
MILAN – After three days of dramatic and often unexpected competition, the United States won the Olympic gold medal in the team competition on Sunday night.
It is not easy.
After carrying a five-point lead into the final day of competition, the Americans found themselves tied with Japan entering the men's freestyle, the final leg of the competition.
It will all come down to Ilia Malinin, the two-time world champion in his first Olympics.The 21-year-old struggled with nerves during her short program on Saturday and slipped from her third axel before flipping her quad lutz to finish in second place - a personal low for her and more than 10 points ahead of first.
The stakes couldn't have been higher Sunday as his teammates watched eagerly as he took to the ice with their fates in his hands.
"I was more nervous watching Ilia than skating," said Team USA captain and partner skater Danny O'Shea.
Malinin wasn't perfect Sunday and didn't attempt the quadruple axel he's famous for — he remains the only skater in history to jump the competition — but it was more than enough.Dubbed "The Quadruple God," he performed five quadruple jumps — as his spoken word blared through the loudspeaker as part of the soundtrack to "The Voice" — and electrified the crowd.
By the time Malinin made his signature comeback late in his program - it caused 24-time tennis major champion Novak Djokovic to jump to his feet in the stands and yell, "What?"with his head in his hands—it was just a sign.Malinin ended up scoring 200.03 as his team flocked to the podium kissing and crying.
It's not over yet.Right now.
Japan's Shun Sato then took the ice to close out the competition.Even though he made three jumps himself and skated neatly, it was only enough to earn 194.86 points.Sato's teammates cheered him on when the score was announced.About 50 meters away, the Americans were jumping up and down and hugging each other.
Final score: United States 69, Japan 68.
We came to do one job and we have done it, said Malinin.
Italy won bronze with 60 points thanks to Matteo Rizzo's exciting and near-flawless but less difficult program. At the end of the competition, before the results were announced, many of his teammates were close to tears, knowing he had done enough to win Italy's third Olympic medal in figure skating.
It was the second gold medal for the Americans in the team event but the first time the team could celebrate with a podium ceremony.The 2022 competition was won by athletes representing the Russian Olympic Committee before they were expelled for positive drug tests.The Americans received their medals two years later in Paris in 2024.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, three-time world dance champions, are the only members of both teams in 2022 and 2026. They won the short program on Friday and the free dance on Saturday, scoring an important 20 points for the Americans.
Although nowhere near as dominant, Ellie Kam and O'Shea were the unlikely heroes of the team on Sunday.After finishing fifth in the pairs short program two days before, they knew they would have to do more than that to ensure the Japanese team didn't almost completely wipe out their existing lead.The Japanese duo of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the segment, but Kam and O'Shea produced one of the best programs of their careers.In the end, they finished fourth and stayed two points behind Japan.
"That's our goal, maybe take a point or two off the rest of the U.S. team and be able to write our part and contribute.""Today we're doing a lot more about that," O'Shea said.
That did it all.
The pairs program continues with the women's free skate.This was the Olympic debut of three-time national champion Amber Glenn.
Glenn rallied for the second half of her program, but looked overwhelmed at the end.She scored 138.62 points and ended up in a surprising third place.
"I wasn't feeling or performing the way I wanted to," Glenn said."Physically I don't feel good. My legs feel heavy, I'm tired, I'm just not feeling well and I've been training here amazingly."
She called it "first time Olympian" nerves, but said she was proud of her mental strength to complete the program.
Kaori Sakamoto finished first with 148.62 points, tying Japan with the United States in the rankings.
Speaking to reporters before the end of the event, Sakamoto said she was proud of her team regardless of the final result.
"In my eyes, everyone had a gold medal, so it doesn't really matter what colors we get," Sakamoto said.
