Replay Lounge 2026 Olympics | Pairs

[gsk8]

The Figure Skating events for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games took place February 6-21, 2026, at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy.

This thread is for more in-depth discussion for the Pairs' discipline after the segments are over (see Competition Threads below).

Follow our coverage and share your thoughts!

Hase and Volodin tango to the lead in Olympic Pairs' Short

2026 Olympics | Figure Skating | Pairs' Short Program Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin tangoed to nearly a five-point lead in the Pairs'

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Japan's Miura and Kihara soar to historic Olympic gold

2026 Olympics | Figure Skating | Pairs' Free Skate Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara soared from fifth place to claim Japan's first Olympic gold in Pairs'

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Pairs' Figure Skating​

2026 Olympics
Short Program | Feb 15
Free Skate | Feb 16

 

[Mathman]

In the early going, for some reason I liked the Polish team.

I really like Danny O'shea's calming on-ice persona: Don't worry about a thing, Ellie, I've got you.

I have a question about pairs camel spins. The men have longer legs than the ladies, so in side by side spends the man's boot is moving at greater velocity than the ladies'. Does this give the illusion that the men are spinning faster, even though they are perfectly in sync?

 

[soccerjc77]

I like Lia and Trennt SP the best tonight !!

 

[4everchan]

Add me for Lia and Trennt being my favourite of the night. It's nice when my biases are backed up with great performances.

My heart goes to Deanna and Max. They had managed to get through the scary element and for that mistake to happen on a lift, their best element usually, it's such a freak and weird mistake. I hope they can now just enjoy the long program and have no regret.
I wasn't expecting them to place highly or do very well with the lack of training.

What surprised me was the mistakes made by pretty much all the leading pairs except for the Germans (minor glitch for them). The pressure is high in pairs in the SP always with teams pretty much all having the same base value.

 

[soccerjc77]

My other favorite moment was seeing Ilia Malinin sitting in the stands next to Donovan Carrillo and Piper Gilles. I thought to myself, what could be better for him than sitting next to his two great friends, so smiley and positive. Good for him

 

[Weathergal]

In the early going, for some reason I liked the Polish team.

I really like Danny O'shea's calming on-ice persona: Don't worry about a thing, Ellie, I've got you.

I have a question about pairs spins. The men have longer legs than the ladies, so in side by side spends the man's boot is moving at greater velocity than the ladies'. Does this give the illusion that the men are spinning faster, even though they are perfectly in sync?

Maybe one of the reasons you liked the Polish team is Ioulia Chtchetinina, who radiates joy when she skates. Out of all the pairs gals, she and Annika Hocke seem to just exude happiness when they skate!

I wish all the pairs could have made to the finals, but I'm delighted in particular that the Kovalevs made it! I have such a soft spot for them, and they've struggled through a lot of injuries so it was extra special to see them do so. They've had good SPs in both the team and individual events. Hopefully they'll carry that to the individual FS!

I found Deanna / Max's and Rika / Ryuchi's skates the most surprising and feel terrible for both teams, especially Deanna / Max, who have overcome so much.

I think the two US teams did well.

And Pereira / Michaud continue to surprise everyone - except perhaps 4everchan, who I think has always believed in them I'm shocked and happy they're in the final group for the FS!

I was especially thrilled for my one of my favorite pairs teams - Minerva / Nikita. Certainly the most engaged I've seen them skate their SP. I know lack of emotion is something they can get dinged for, but I thought it was there today.

 

[noskates]

Hats off to the US teams. I think both performed quite well and I was very proud of Spencer and Emily. Have always liked this team and only wish they had had more time to practice this year. But all in all, for our 2nd and 4th team to be in the top 10 is pretty good. I'm so happy to see Minerva and Nikita sitting in first place. Their program was beautiful.

 

[nickp91]

Lia & Trennt are just beginning to break out from Deanna & Maxime's shadow

 

[maofan]

The competition started so well ( except for the Japanese babies, who I think were so happy to be at the Olympics, they lost their concentration)!

I read about the ice not being up to standards, but the ice is the same for everybody, so probably many skaters are overwhelmed by the magnitude of the event and I don't blame them (decades ago, during the University years, I barely passed the exams that had an oral examination besides the written one: my voice will crack and my throat will tighten, unable to speak and shaking like a leaf; which is a lot less than being on the ice in front of so many people expecting you to be perfect!)

I think Lia and Trennt had a breakthrough performance: getting the nerves out in the team event helped them a lot. I like their SP and also FS.
I love a tango, so I enjoyed Minerva and Nikita's great skate. I also liked some of the earlier teams: Daria & Michel, Anastasia V-L/ Luke, Ioulia/Michal, Annika/Robert, Rebecca/Filippo, Emily/Spencer, etc., they seemed very happy with how they skated, which is the most important thing.

Heartbroken for Deanna & Max, they were doing so great until that freak fall (I thought it was after the lift was completed and will not impact the marks, but that's why I'm not a judge). Hope for the best in FS.
It's amazing how Danny and Ellie figured out the throws during the Olympics! Good for them, their programs are beautiful!

My wish is that every pair skates a FS that makes them proud! Good luck!

 

[Mathman]

Overall, I was very pleased with the pairs event so far. I think that the discipline may be on an uptick, with more countries getting into the act and fielding competitive teams than ever before.

 

[ladyjane]

Maybe one of the reasons you liked the Polish team is Ioulia Chtchetinina, who radiates joy when she skates. Out of all the pairs gals, she and Annika Hocke seem to just exude happiness when they skate!

Ioulia's smile is legendary (to me)! And rightly so. I love lots of pairs but Ioulia smiling, is just so happy. It looks authentic (and I don't even know if it is), and that makes every pairing she is in a joy to watch @Weathergal!

 

[reneerose]

The competition started so well (except for the Japanese babies, who I think were so happy to be at the Olympics, they lost their concentration)!

I was sort of afraid the babies, Yuna and Sumitada, wouldn't hold it together, because one of the spins where her upper thighs are wrapped around his neck while he rotates (I forget what that move is called), that was a daring element and I was like, "please don't fall, nothing bad happen please!" cause they were doing it so fast. Edited to add: I looked it up and it appears to be a Level 4 combination spin. I always appreciate the power, control, and muscular strength involved to execute these moves!

 

[skatedreamer]

text from a friend:

We got a Bolero AND a Hallelujah today. If we get a Scheherazade and a Swan Lake in the Free skate we will hit figure skating BINGO.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Overall, I was very pleased with the pairs event so far. I think that the discipline may be on an uptick, with more countries getting into the act and fielding competitive teams than ever before.

The sport is not conducive to developing pairs teams. There are few competitive opportunities. Teams cannot beneficially improve without having multiple chances to compete.

The ISU tends to blow their horn about growing the sport, but they do very little to back up that stated intention. It's not great to be cutting skaters off like they do. They should allow those who don't qualify to at least compete amongst themselves (even if not televised). It would uplift morale and provide more incentive and motivation.

 

[Mathman]

It would uplift morale and provide more incentive and motivation.

I never felt that there was any uplifting of morale to hold a losers consolation competition after the real competition was over. -- I am always surprised when athletes agree to be humiliated in this way.

 

[throw_triple_flip]

Really like that podium. And still continue to be very impressed by the Hungarian team.

That sobbing coach of the Georgian team was kinda sweet/bizarre.

 

[yfan1]

I'm just happy about Sui/Han somehow doing top 5.

 

[Seven Sisters]

Chan & Howe may be a hot mess— and I’d be the first one to admit it—but I must heartily congratulate them for finishing as the top-ranking North American team here, with a 200+ point score.

There’s no better way to silence those who have never believed in you. I hope they are proud of themselves!

 

[ladyjane]

What a lovely evening. That skate by Riku and Ryuichi was just really something. I loved it, I was totally taken in. And isn't Ryuichi cute when he's emotional...The Hungarians Maria and Alexei also stepped it up. As in ID I wish there was a pewter medal. They are finally getting a bit of connection (their elements were always quite good). I am not really a fan of Anastasiia's and Luka but their skate was good. I had hoped for better from Minerva and Nikita, but their skate was still beautiful te watch. I like their SP better though (and they skated that better too). I didn't expect Lia and Trennt to remain in third position, but still well done. A little difficult to skate to gladiator after a skate to that theme which was picture perfect. Good for them though. 8th place is not to be sneezed at! Good for Deanna and Max too, they rose in the standings (and rightly so). Not what they had hoped for of course, but still happy they were even here. I felt a bit sorry for Sara and Niccolo. But it just wasn't their best. Annika and Robert were really fun to watch, I am glad they've got their enjoyment back. Ellie and Danny didn't have their day, but who cares? They had great skates in the Team Event. Ioulia's smile remains the best in the business (although Danny is a very close competitor on that score). The Polish couple skated well. Lovely to see Emily and Spencer back on track. Kudo's! It was good to see Sui and Han still doing well, even if the speed is a bit lacking nowadays. Still in 5th though. Rebecca and Filippo usually are just fun, a bit more serious today. A pity about Rebecca's wrap leg in jumps (if you see it once, you can never unsee it). I love Anastasia and Luke, but are they ever going to do a different Free Skate? They've had this one for quite a while (and it's a nice one, that's not the point). Karina and Nikita skate young, promising for the future. I always love Camille and Pavel, who started the evening off quite well.

Still, the podium seems ok, and reflecting the skating. Riku and Ryuichi were real stars tonight. I have to repeat: just wonderful.

 

[TallyT]

Nice to see one event that ended without the fuss and botheration of the previous two... congrats to the winners, they really pulled themselves together after the short and went all out.