2026 Olympics Team Event: Men's Free Skate

[SmileHappy34]

 

[labgoat]

Let's hope Japan sees it the same way, because I bet their narrative will be Kagiyama beat Malinin, but Sato lost them gold.

Gosh I hope not. Shun beating Ilia was a tall ask and he skated his heart out.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

PCS is more then skating skills, it´s about composition and performance as well and it´s possible that Ilias program is just better composed then Shun. The commentators on my feed commented that Shuns program was a bit empty and one of them is both a coach and former skater so I trust them on the judgment. No shade on Shun though. I still think Ilia got away with what should have been a deduction, but even a 1-2 higher PCS for Shun and Ilias deduction wouldn´t have made a difference. And it´s important to point out that a stumble between elements and having lv. 2 on steps and a V-spin is mistakes as well that could impact the PCS. I don´t think Ilias mistakes were enough to force his PCS down, there is something in the rule book about this. I simply think Shun lost on the technical aspect today.

 

[Moon322]

I totally get why Shun was so devastated. Who wouldn't be if they get robbed of a gold medal?

 

[Greengemmonster]

My stream has cut out, is Shun still crying???

The team event has been oddly stressful this time round. I wonder if it’ll just build up more in the future.

 

[museksk8r]

I am so thankful these teams get a proper medal ceremony to celebrate their Olympic moment the way it is intended to be cherished.

 

[readernick]

I would have had Shun higher on his components. This score is just slightly better than his best this year and this was the best he has done by more that that. It was an inspired skate. He did deserve about a 196/198. I would have him over Ilya on components a bit. He's no Yuma but.... But.. I still think Ilya won it. I think Shun is a little better than Yuma at this point on tech but Yuma is better on the components. This single's comp is going to be intense and any of those three could get gold.

This is a fair comment. I always think Shun's underscored in components. But, the judges never go with him because he isn't as fast as other skaters. I'm glad he got a lot better components today than he usually gets.

Ilya winning is correct according to the current scoring system. He's not my favorite ( I admire his technique and spirit) but I don't see how you say his wins aren't justified. It's a BV issue. His tech is higher. He didn't get his usual GOE on quite a number of jumps but his BV was 10 points higher than Shun's and he's a better spinner.. Shun's GOE on jumps was higher as it deserved to be.

 

[museksk8r]

My stream has cut out, is Shun still crying???

The team event has been oddly stressful this time round. I wonder if it’ll just build up more in the future.

No, Shun is composed now.

 

[Greengemmonster]

I am so thankful these teams get a proper medal ceremony to celebrate their Olympic moment the way it is intended to be cherished.

Yes! As sad as I am to see Shun upset, I’m glad there’s nothing hokey this time round.

 

[3T3T]

I really thought Sato was going to win that for Japan. I didn’t enjoy Malinin, thought it was very laboured, can not believe he placed first on PCS. Shun had the skate of the night, it was brilliant.

Delighted for Rizzo, a really emotional skate and the delight of all his teams mates and coaches was great to see.

Well done to Gogolev, he delivered two great skates. Egadze will be disappointed he underperformed in both programmes.

 

[Janice4th]

If Ilia went clean he would have broken 112 i can tell you that

And rightly so.

 

[CoyoteChris]

They actually said Kaori right

 

[Karoltyna]

Kaori telling Shun "look, this medal is the most beautiful" or something like this

 

[CoyoteChris]

Handing out stuffed toys? Really?

 

[museksk8r]

Wow, I am really going to miss Kaori after this season; her joy is so infectious!

 

[frompolandwithlove]

Goodness me, my poor heart almost jumped out of my chest in this event.
The voiceovers in Ilia's free still make me chuckle, but! Take the silly voiceovers away and I am kind-of sort-of starting to enjoy this program. I think I will like it live in Prague. Was it better than Shun's? That I'm not sure. At the very least I was expecting the gap to be smaller, but well, it is what it is. I'm still very impressed about the lightness of Shun's jumps. And I love Team Japan.
I'm one of those who don't really consider team medals particularly important, so I'm not too shaken by the results, however the pure joy of Team Italy will be one of the most memorable moments for me.

 

[shan22044]

My stream has cut out, is Shun still crying???

He's managing a small smile even. He's not as happy as Yuma but he seems OK now. He's even laughing with his teammates. But I hope he really does take this accomplishment to heart.

 

[EdgeCall]

Kaori telling Shun "look, this medal is the most beautiful" or something like this

She has a bronze and two silvers now, and a chance to complete the set.

 

[labgoat]

I predicted Japan first because at the time Ilia was only skating one program.

 

[Janice4th]

Funny isn’t it? But as I believe Mathman said earlier, the end result of team event is for fans to feel smug or anger over perceived injustice. Nothing new.

Right? So my favorite performance on day 3 was Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea.