2026 Olympics Team Event - Strategy, Predictions & Discussion

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A.H.Black said:
I thought the whole thing was pretty exciting. Oh, those Italians! But I guess the Italians can make anything exciting.
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okay so I should have phrased that differently. I really meant between Gold and Silver, because I was all in on Italy getting that Bronze, and Matteo was the highlight of this event for me. Even a perfect Shun could not score high enough to beat a semi-perfect Ilia (which happened) and I thought if Good Anatassiia showed up she very well could be second and beat Amber (which happened). Still wanted Japan to win though.
 
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Karen-W said:
Yes and no. Sure, the individual OGM is the ultimate prize, but given his ambition to be a global superstar, the team event gold is no throwaway either. It absolutely would feed the hype & legend status he's trying to build for himself to be viewed (along with Chock/Bates) as the saviors of the Team Event Gold for the USA.
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And that's how it turned out! But not at his usual level. I'm sure and his coaches (Raf is there) will get him ready for the individual event. IF Kagiyama can put out a short program like he did for the team event, he'll give Malinin a competition for the ages. But I think it would be hard to do another program like that It can be difficult to spend that kind of emotion and recuperate in a short time. On the other hand, Malinin will be hungry and determined to not repeat mistakes and give 200% to both programs for an individual medal.
 
Danny & Ellie won Day Three for me (I probably scared my neighbors with how loudly I screamed when she landed each throw and then I just bawled for the rest of their program :wuzrobbed) and it turned out to be crucial for Team USA in the end after Amber's placement. I have been critical in the past about the team event and how it's not always that exciting but holy crap, I thought every single event was quite well skated and I am OVER THE MOON for Team USA winning gold! That was such a team effort and every single competitor contributed to the win which is pretty awesome. What a fun way to start off the skating in Milano! :cheer:
 
Karen-W said:
It will take a systemic change in approach to allocation of ice time at rinks across Japan for them to build up a credible ice dance program...
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Or they could hand Japanese citizenship to Pirinen :D

I don't value "team competition" very high...but I still feel Japan was just a tad robbed today. Not an outrageous broad daylight robbery, just a tiny bit
I think Sato outskated Malinin today and I wished the score would reflect it more. Okay, his spins were noticeably weak, even to my eyes. It was a cheap way to drop points. Wouldn't have made good for 6 points however, I don't think. Neither of them are PCS monsters IMO, Sato was kinda sterile and superfocused, Ilia was his usual okay performer.

Georgian team seemed super disappointed. I laughed out loud when slow-mo showed Rizzo's jump and other teams were cheering...and in the middle, Georgians looked like they were in a courtroom being sentenced 😑
I'm not clear on scoring, Italy was two points ahead before the men, no? So Georgia would have needed for Egadze to place 3rd and Rizzo to flop to 5th place to get the bronze, or am I wrong?
 
Ikari said:
I'm not clear on scoring, Italy was two points ahead before the men, no? So Georgia would have needed for Egadze to place 3rd and Rizzo to flop to 5th place to get the bronze, or am I wrong?
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That is correct. Georgia would have then won on the tiebreaker.
 
So in the alternate universe where the Shibs obtained Japanese citizenship and skated the TE for Japan, would that have been enough to earn Japan the gold?
 
sheetz said:
So in the alternate universe where the Shibs obtained Japanese citizenship and skated the TE for Japan, would that have been enough to earn Japan the gold?
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Hmmm...would it have been enough that Japanese pair beats Koreans in Rhythm dance? In Free dance one would have needed super elite pair to place better than 5th.
 
Alysa just posted this video at 4 a.m. Milan time. Her ribbon already is off her medal. (I don't think she is the first one. Other gold medalists already have had similar issues.) I hope C&B are in bed and somehow manage to get some sleep before the RD.

www.instagram.com

刘美贤 Alysa Liu on Instagram: "Proud of the team"

29K likes, 382 comments - alysaxliu on February 8, 2026: "Proud of the team".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
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Nobunari Oda: https://x.com/nobutaro1001/status/2020619510651474303
Japan team silver medal! Congratulations!㊗️ The thing that impressed me the most was that the Japanese athletes had hardly any mistakes throughout all their routines! Especially Shun-kun's stability this season is so insanely amazing it's just wild!! Watching on TV now, I thought, everyone, don't say it's a pity we got silver even though we nailed a no-miss 194 points at the end♡ It's a proud silver medal where the whole team gave it their all🥈

Kao Miura: https://x.com/kao_miura/status/2020641640294330868
Shun was so cool, wasn't he?

(Auto-translated)
 
Allskate said:
Ribbons reportedly are falling off the medals. It happened to Breezy Johnson, too.

ETA: Here's an article about Breezy's medal:
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And here's a clip from the Team USA's IG with Breezy talking about it at the press conference -

www.instagram.com

Team USA on Instagram: "@breezyjohnsonski’s Olympic gold medal did not pass the jump test 😂 #WinterOlympics"

79K likes, 580 comments - teamusa on February 8, 2026: "@breezyjohnsonski’s Olympic gold medal did not pass the jump test 😂 #WinterOlympics".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com

It sounds like the metal bar across the top of the ribbon opening is too thin and they're snapping whenever the athletes jump or bounce around in celebration.
 
Moto Guzzi said:
www.usatoday.com

Breezy Johnson won the Olympic downhill, then broke her gold medal

Breezy Johnson was jumping up and down, celebrating her Olympic downhill title when her gold medal came off its ribbon.
www.usatoday.com www.usatoday.com

That's what happens when you order your medals from Temu. ;)
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When we were talking about how US Olympians get taxed "on their medals," I was being generous and thinking that maybe they were made from expensive materials, not in great quantities, and might cost as much as $25 each. I think I was overestimating the quality of the medals. :lol:

ETA and the last time I ordered medals, they had cutouts and the salesperson told me the design might be weak in that area so I changed it to be stronger. Shame on the Italian OC for being either cheap or incompetent.
 
Unfortunately, Jackie Wong is reporting there was a problem with the surface of the podium used for the team event. Blades were damaged, so the medal-winning skaters need to scramble to get their blades sharpened before their next practice -- and for the dancers, before tomorrow's competition.
 
What?! They have podiums at every single skating event. What the hell is on that podium that damaged their blades! :wideeyes:
 
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