2026 Olympics Team Event - Strategy, Predictions & Discussion

[ice coverage]

The US women often go somewhere else to train because there is such a big time gap between the Opening ceremonies and the women's event. In 2018, I think they went to Japan and back.

Chuncheon, South Korea, was the training site in 2018 for Team USA figure skaters.

"The U.S. team spent much of its time at the Olympics practicing a couple of hours away in Chuncheon, South Korea."
https://skatingmagazine.usfigureskating.org/article/Skating_201804_12 (scroll down)​

The Chuncheon site was not just for the women. I remember that according to Mirai, Vincent discovered at the eleventh hour that he accidentally packed his Opening Ceremony uniform in luggage that already had been sent to Chuncheon. Luckily, an extra Opening Ceremony uniform somehow was found for Vincent.

(Separate comment in reply to the person who referred to C/B cheering at the team event:
No need to snark about other U.S. dancers who perhaps were not there -- I don't remember one way or the other.
Not taking anything away from C/B, but Evan did have an official role as Team Captain for the U.S. skaters. I think he spoke on behalf of Team USA at press conferences for the team event.)

 

[Allskate]

Didn't Justin Dillon say that USFS was renting ice in Bergamo? The skaters will probably practice there at least until the middle of next week.

Yes, and he also said that the skaters could practice there even before being processed for the Olympics. I think the ice is available to them now. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the skaters in the TE would prefer to get over their jetlag and acclimate even before official practices start. Also, although I'm sure they want to check out the actual competition ice, the official practices are public and the time is limited, so I can definitely see some of the skaters preferring to spend some additional time in Bergamo after the official practices start.

 

[Tinycities]

Yes, and he also said that the skaters could practice there even before being processed for the Olympics. I think the ice is available to them now. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the skaters in the TE would prefer to get over their jetlag and acclimate even before official practices start. Also, although I'm sure they want to check out the actual competition ice, the official practices are public and the time is limited, so I can definitely see some of the skaters preferring to spend some additional time in Bergamo after the official practices start.

Do they tend to stay in the Olympic village or will they stay in Bergamo until the events start? It’s a 2 hour drive each way.. can’t see them doing that daily.

 

[MacMadame]

Excluding the racism she encountered non-stop that he will never be exposed to, if only anyone cared enough about Figure Skating for there to be the same pressure and exposure in the Figure Skating Team Event. It's a blip in the scheme of things.

It's a big deal to USFS, the ISU and the skaters. One the World's biggest stage.

Also, responding to another post, comparing Ilia to an athlete in a completely different sport and saying that if they can do the normal things for their sports, it means Ilia can do something abnormal in ours doesn't fly. Apples to oranges. Especially as this strong athlete suffered a mental breakdown from the pressure at one point. If Ilia is our version of Biles, then he could break down, too. The comparison goes both ways.

 

[Allskate]

Do they tend to stay in the Olympic village or will they stay in Bergamo until the events start? It’s a 2 hour drive each way.. can’t see them doing that daily.

According to Google, it's less than one hour each way, though I expect traffic isn't going to be great. Maybe they'll stay in Bergamo and have a bit of calm?

On the latest episode of The Runthrough, Ashley and Adam talked about the best place to train. Ashley said she mostly trained in Switzerland during the Olympics. She wanted training to be as normal as possible and didn't want to be under the microscope during her practices. Adam said that they didn't get nearly enough ice time in the official practices, but Raf told him not to bother leaving between the team event and the individual event because Adam was having so much fun. (Raf obviously did not tell Nathan the same thing. Nathan left for a few days.)

 

[Tinycities]

According to Google, it's less than one hour each way, though I expect traffic isn't going to be great. Maybe they'll stay in Bergamo and have a bit of calm?

On the latest episode of The Runthrough, Ashley and Adam talked about the best place to train. Ashley said she mostly trained in Switzerland during the Olympics. She wanted training to be as normal as possible and didn't want to be under the microscope during her practices. Adam said that they didn't get nearly enough ice time in the official practices, but Raf told him not to bother leaving between the team event and the individual event because Adam was having so much fun. (Raf obviously did not tell Nathan the same thing. Nathan left for a few days.)

That’s strange. When I Google mapped it from ice lab to where the competition skating will happen it was slightly under 2 hours. The competition arena is south of Milan.

 

[Vagabond]

Google Maps' travel time estimates are for the moment you do the search unless you set them for a different time. Thus, weather conditions, lighting, rush hours, etc. may or not factor into the result.

 

[Karen-W]

That’s strange. When I Google mapped it from ice lab to where the competition skating will happen it was slightly under 2 hours. The competition arena is south of Milan.

Google Maps' travel time estimates are for the moment you do the search unless you set them for a different time. Thus, weather conditions, lighting, rush hours, etc. may or not factor into the result.

Yup. When I looked it up on Google Maps it was about 1 hour from the Unipol Forum and IceLab, but the reverse trip was around 1hr 45min. Same thing going to & from the rink in Varese where the Japanese team will be training and Unipol Forum. I was looking around the time of the morning commute in Milan, which explained the differences in travel times.

 

[Debbie S]

This post from IAM suggests (in the translation of the post in French) that FB/C are only competing in the individual event, as it calls out the TE separately.

Or it could be that they were told to not reveal anything about the TE until next week.

I.AM on Instagram: "Plus que 11 jours avant que la danse sur glace fasse vibrer les Jeux olympiques! ❄️🔥 Rencontrez les athlètes I. AM qui seront à #MilanoCortina2026 ✨Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron✨ 📍 Représentent: la France 🇫🇷 🤝 Pa

223 likes, 6 comments - iceacademyofmontreal on January 29, 2026: "Plus que 11 jours avant que la danse sur glace fasse vibrer les Jeux olympiques! ❄️🔥 Rencontrez les athlètes I. AM qui seront à #MilanoCortina2026 ✨Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron✨ 📍 Représentent: la France 🇫🇷 🤝...

www.instagram.com

 

[Karen-W]

This post from IAM suggests (in the translation of the post in French) that FB/C are only competing in the individual event, as it calls out the TE separately.

Or it could be that they were told to not reveal anything about the TE until next week.

I.AM on Instagram: "Plus que 11 jours avant que la danse sur glace fasse vibrer les Jeux olympiques! ❄️🔥 Rencontrez les athlètes I. AM qui seront à #MilanoCortina2026 ✨Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron✨ 📍 Représentent: la France 🇫🇷 🤝 Pa

223 likes, 6 comments - iceacademyofmontreal on January 29, 2026: "Plus que 11 jours avant que la danse sur glace fasse vibrer les Jeux olympiques! ❄️🔥 Rencontrez les athlètes I. AM qui seront à #MilanoCortina2026 ✨Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron✨ 📍 Représentent: la France 🇫🇷 🤝...

www.instagram.com

It's the exact same wording they used for their post for Wang/Liu a couple days ago and we know they're doing the TE RD, so I don't think it means anything.

I.AM on Instagram: "Plus que 13 jours avant les événements de danse sur glace aux Jeux olympiques d'hiver! Rencontrez les athlètes I. AM qui seront à #MilanoCortina2026 ✨ Shiyue Wang & Xinyu LIU ✨ 📍 Représentent: la Chine 🇨🇳 🤝 Patinent ensemble de

238 likes, 3 comments - iceacademyofmontreal on January 27, 2026: "Plus que 13 jours avant les événements de danse sur glace aux Jeux olympiques d'hiver! Rencontrez les athlètes I. AM qui seront à #MilanoCortina2026 ✨ Shiyue Wang & Xinyu LIU ✨ 📍 Représentent: la Chine 🇨🇳 🤝 Patinent ensemble...

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

From pages 4-5 of ISU Communication No. 2754 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES 2026 ENTRIES/PARTICIPATION FIGURE SKATING TEAM EVENT: https://isu-d8g8b4b7ece7aphs.a03.az...fied-Teams-for-Team-event-1765354454-3134.pdf

9. Deadline of Nominations for the Figure Skating Team Event

February 3, 2026 - 10:00 Final confirmation of Skaters/Couples participating
(Team Leaders Meeting Team Event) in the Team Event. The confirmation includes all
Skaters/Couples available for participation in the Team Event.

With respect to the “exchange possibility” within a Team the following dates and deadlines apply
to confirm the names of Skaters/Couples (possibility of exchanges) who will skate for the Team
in the segment in question.

February 5, 2026 - 10:00 Nomination by name of the Skaters participating in
the Women Single Skating SP, Ice Dance RD and Pair Skating SP Team Event.

February 6, 2026 - 09:00 Nomination by name of the Skaters participating in
the Men Single Skating SP Team Event.

For the 5 Teams qualified for the Free Skating/Free Dance Team Event, the NOCs/ISU Members
must declare the Ice Dance competing for Ice Dance FD Team Event immediately (latest about 10
minutes) after the conclusion of the Men SP Team Event.

February 7, 2026 – 21:15 Nomination by name of the Skaters participating in
the Ice Dance FD Team Event.

February 7, 2026 – 23:00 Nomination by name of the Skaters participating in the
Women Single Skating FS, Men Single Skating FS and Pair Skating FS Team Event

Skaters/Couples, who suffer an injury or sickness after the deadlines mentioned above
(replacement deadline and the deadline for entering the name for a segment), cannot be replaced
or exchanged and their place, needs to remain empty.

 

[Karen-W]

So, speculation is starting to run on X that the USA will be splitting the women because only Amber & Alysa were on the official practice ice today while Isabeau was not. I just want to point out that for the Team Event - there are only 2 practice sessions per day for today, tomorrow & Monday - and only 1 skater per country is allowed on the ice per practice session. Sooooo, it may be that the USFS is rotating the skaters to allow them all the opportunity to get some practices in on the official sessions until the individual event practices begin on Tuesday.

 

[Allskate]

So, speculation is starting to run on X that the USA will be splitting the women because only Amber & Alysa were on the official practice ice today while Isabeau was not. I just want to point out that for the Team Event - there are only 2 practice sessions per day for today, tomorrow & Monday - and only 1 skater per country is allowed on the ice per practice session. Sooooo, it may be that the USFS is rotating the skaters to allow them all the opportunity to get some practices in on the official sessions until the individual event practices begin on Tuesday.

I hope that the women are splitting. But, it may be that one of them is backup because they don't have to name the LP/FD skaters until after the SP/RDs are done.

And your rotation theory makes sense. Christina Carreira posted a photo of her on the ice with Emilea Zingas in Bergamo today. I'm pretty sure that one of them will be skating in the TE.

They definitely all are skating somewhere today. I saw video of Max Naumov going to training as well as video of Isabeau Levito at one of the facilities.

 

[Tinycities]

I hope that the women are splitting. But, it may be that one of them is backup because they don't have to name the LP/FD skaters until after the SP/RDs are done.

And your rotation theory makes sense. Christina Carreira posted a photo of her on the ice with Emilea Zingas in Bergamo today. I'm pretty sure that one of them will be skating in the TE.

They definitely all are skating somewhere today. I saw video of Max Naumov going to training as well as video of Isabeau Levito at one of the facilities.

Emilea said on TikTok that they were only going to Bergamo for 2 days.

 

[Karen-W]

I hope that the women are splitting. But, it may be that one of them is backup because they don't have to name the LP/FD skaters until after the SP/RDs are done.

And your rotation theory makes sense. Christina Carreira posted a photo of her on the ice with Emilea Zingas in Bergamo today. I'm pretty sure that one of them will be skating in the TE.

They definitely all are skating somewhere today. I saw video of Max Naumov going to training as well as video of Isabeau Levito at one of the facilities.

Scratch my theory. Just came across a photo of Isabeau also at the official practice rink today!

フィギュアスケート公式練習スタート　ミラノ五輪 ［写真特集11/16］ | 毎日新聞

フィギュアスケートの公式練習が始まり、仮設の練習用リンクで汗を流す米国のイザボー・レビト（右）ら選手たち＝ミラノ・アイススケートアリーナで2026年1月31日、猪飼健史撮影

mainichi.jp

ETA - also, this photo shows the team boxes in the process of being built at the far end of the rink.

https://x.com/Kenji_Ikaiphoto/status/2017752258189135897/photo/1

 

[Andrea82]

Scratch my theory. Just came across a photo of Isabeau also at the official practice rink today!

フィギュアスケート公式練習スタート　ミラノ五輪 ［写真特集11/16］ | 毎日新聞

フィギュアスケートの公式練習が始まり、仮設の練習用リンクで汗を流す米国のイザボー・レビト（右）ら選手たち＝ミラノ・アイススケートアリーナで2026年1月31日、猪飼健史撮影

mainichi.jp

on top of the official practices, they have something called "pre-practice" slots that NOC can book. USA have done so for Women, Men and Pairs yesterday and today.

https://wmr-static-assets.scd.dgplatform.net/wmr/static/_PDF/OWG2026/FSK/2026-01-30/FSK-------------------------------_1_C68_1.0.pdf

https://wmr-static-assets.scd.dgplatform.net/wmr/static/_PDF/OWG2026/FSK/2026-01-31/FSK-------------------------------__C68_2.0.pdf

 

[tony]

on top of the official practices, they have something called "pre-practice" slots that NOC can book. USA have done so for Women, Men and Pairs yesterday and today.

https://wmr-static-assets.scd.dgplatform.net/wmr/static/_PDF/OWG2026/FSK/2026-01-30/FSK-------------------------------_1_C68_1.0.pdf

https://wmr-static-assets.scd.dgplatform.net/wmr/static/_PDF/OWG2026/FSK/2026-01-31/FSK-------------------------------__C68_2.0.pdf

And just to be clear, this is for all countries and not just team event skaters.

Official communication:

"From January 31st to February 2nd, Figure Skating athletes who have arrived can book a slot for practice in Milano Ice Skating Arena on a first come, first serve principle. Deadline for booking is 20:00 before each practice day."

Mexico and Estonia are the only non-team event countries so far that have used this.

 

[Karen-W]

Well, Drew Meekins let the most obvious mews out of the bag in this IG post, confirming that KamO compete in their first competition in 6 days!

Drew Meekins on Instagram: "It’s officially Olympic month! We are six days out from our first competition day in Milan. So much time, energy, emotions, sweat and smiles have gone into this over the years. Let’s get it @elliekam.w @dannyoshea213 #fig

292 likes, 10 comments - drew_meekins on February 1, 2026: "It’s officially Olympic month! We are six days out from our first competition day in Milan. So much time, energy, emotions, sweat and smiles have gone into this over the years. Let’s get it @elliekam.w @dannyoshea213 #figureskating...

www.instagram.com

 

[Braulio]

There are now some Alysa pictures from official practice so...

 

[Tinycities]

It looks like Car/Pon only did one day in Bergamo? Based on Christina’s stories and videos they’re back in the Olympic village. Zing/Kol mentioned being there for a few days to get more training in.

 

[Rukia]

It looks like Car/Pon only did one day in Bergamo? Based on Christina’s stories and videos they’re back in the Olympic village. Zing/Kol mentioned being there for a few days to get more training in.

christina is busy becoming a plant mom

 

[Allskate]

It looks like Car/Pon only did one day in Bergamo? Based on Christina’s stories and videos they’re back in the Olympic village. Zing/Kol mentioned being there for a few days to get more training in.

Based on what Christina has posted, they've been staying in the Village every night. CarPom and ZingKol trained together today:

Emilea Zingas, OLY on Instagram: "Two days down 🥹❤️ #milanocortina2026 #olympics #tesmusa"

459 likes, 22 comments - emileazingas on February 1, 2026: "Two days down 🥹❤️ #milanocortina2026 #olympics #tesmusa".

www.instagram.com

christina is busy becoming a plant mom

Christina suggested to Isabeau that they get Anthony to be the plant nanny. So, maybe it's Anthony who is busy? But, they did name the plants first.

Instagram

Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

www.instagram.com

 

[Rukia]

Christina suggested to Isabeau that they get Anthony to be the plant nanny. So, maybe it's Anthony who is busy? But, they did name the plants first.

Anthony is going to learn what it really means to be a good partner

 

[Tinycities]

Based on what Christina has posted, they've been staying in the Village every night. CarPom and ZingKol trained together today:

Emilea Zingas, OLY on Instagram: "Two days down 🥹❤️ #milanocortina2026 #olympics #tesmusa"

459 likes, 22 comments - emileazingas on February 1, 2026: "Two days down 🥹❤️ #milanocortina2026 #olympics #tesmusa".

www.instagram.com

Christina suggested to Isabeau that they get Anthony to be the plant nanny. So, maybe it's Anthony who is busy? But, they did name the plants first.

Instagram

Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

www.instagram.com

Those rink photos are from yesterday as Alysa was on official practice ice today.

Emilea posted from a hotel in Bergamo, so they did not go back to the Olympic village.

 

[tony]

Of no surprise to anyone, Lewis Gibson replied to Spice Girl Mel B that he "will be bringing the Spice on the 6th and 9th" so Fear & Gibson are our RD entries.

Team GB on Instagram: "Petition for Mel B and Lewis Gibson to do a cooking show together 🧑‍🍳⛸️ ✨ ICONIC ✨"

777 likes, 6 comments - teamgb on February 2, 2026: "Petition for Mel B and Lewis Gibson to do a cooking show together 🧑‍🍳⛸️ ✨ ICONIC ✨".

www.instagram.com

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

And this is highly unusual. Not to mention, they also aren't doing 4 run-throughs every day at this point. Not if their coach is any good at all (and he is). [This is aimed at @AngieNikodinovLove (ANL), not you. I know you know this.]


He did a 4X in the SP at the GPF just for funsies and he was injured during the FS at Nationals. I don't think either situation was normal for him so I don't factor it into the decision of what programs he does.

Here are my thoughts:

In skating, events take place over 2 days or 3. So at a GP, you might do the SP one day and the FS the next or you might get a day in between. Skaters train for this. They even train to do this two weeks in a row sometimes. What they don't train for is doing 2 skates in two days, one day off then do it again. In Dance, ChoBat would be doing 4 programs in 6 days and Malinin would be doing 4 programs in 7 days (with a 2-day break between SP and FS in the individual event which might actually cause other issues).

Now, Ilia and ChoBat knew they'd make the team and that doing both events may be what gets the team the Gold so maybe they did train for doing so many programs in so few days. (I doubt this, but can't rule it out.)

OTOH, ChoBat aren't spring chickens, so I'm not sure they have it in them to do the RD/FD two times in one week. No matter how they train. And they have individual Gold on the line in a way it isn't for Malinin. They need to nail both the RD and FD in the individual event to get individual Gold. They didn't put their lives on hold for another 4 years to win Olympic Silver IMO. IOW, they are not doing both programs in the TE, no matter what. No way, no how.

Ilia, OTOH, might be talked into it. He could definitely do a watered-down FS in the Team event and still win and he could view it as a warm-up for the individual event. So maybe he's up for it and/or maybe he can be talked into it. But it's not something I'd be betting real, actual money on.

My head gets spinning at all the rules and deadlines. At the time USFS has to put in its choice for the Mens FS, will we know if Gold is a lock or not? Paging @Karen-W!

This is alarming news that I haven't heard before! Ilia was injured at Nationals?!

 

[Wyliefan]

Anthony is going to learn what it really means to be a good partner

Anthony's an experienced petsitter. A plant will be a piece of cake.

 

[Karen-W]

This is alarming news that I haven't heard before! Ilia was injured at Nationals?!

No one is certain - the public reason he watered down his FS is because he was experiencing some foot pain due to breaking in new boots. The thing with Ilia is that he's always putting it out there publicly that he's dealing with some sort of injury & isn't really at 100%, so who knows if this is a major issue or just his typical "wasn't sure if I'd make it..." line that is designed to lower expectations & pressure on him.

 

[Tesla]

Anthony's an experienced petsitter. A plant will be a piece of cake.

No it won't. Pets will at least let you know when they need something!

 

[acraven]

It was clear during one of the practices or 20-minute warmups that something was wrong. He was only doing triples and landing awkwardly; it wasn't normal jumping at all. I later read on FSU that he had taken a fall earlier in the practice that I hadn't seen; perhaps he got too close to the boards.

I assume it wasn't a major issue, or he would have withdrawn from the competition or watered down his content more than he did.