2026 Olympic Figure Skating Team Event | Free Dance

Madison Chock and Evan Bates gave a fiery free dance to maintain Team USA’s overnight lead after the Free Dance with 10 points on Saturday. Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri placed second (nine points), maintaining Team Italy’s third place, while Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha rounded out the top three to contribute eight points to Team Canada (currently fourth).

In the Olympic Team Event, teams earn points based on placement rather than raw score, with 10 points for first place down to one point for tenth. Only five countries advanced to the final round after the Men’s Short Program: United States (34 points), Japan (33 points), Italy (28 points), Canada (27 points), and Georgia (25 points). The full standings after the Free Dance are reflected at the bottom of the article.

Team USA

Madison Chock and Evan Bates delivered a sword-sharp free dance to “Paint It Black” which was highlighted by their signature lifts and unwavering emotional intensity. Every nuance was hit in their flamenco-vibe routine which featured strong level-four twizzles as well as excellent level-three one-foot and diagonal steps. The three-time World champions picked up high grades of execution (GOE) in all elements, scoring a new season’s best of 133.23.

“It was a great feeling to have, taking Olympic ice with that feeling,” said Chock. “We really savored the moment. Tomorrow we’re really excited to cheer on our team, and we just want them to feel good and skate how they want to skate, and we’ll be supporting them.”

“I think it’s a progression,” said Bates of their season’s best score. “Each time we step out, we are competing with ourselves. It’s very cliché, but it is our mindset, it is our approach, and it’s how we have stayed focused, and it’s how we’ve been training.”

When asked if they felt Team USA could hold onto first place, Chock responded: “I think our team is incredibly strong, arguably the strongest it’s ever been, and I have the utmost faith in them. I’ll be proud of them no matter what the outcome is.”

Team Italy

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri delivered a stunning and elegant free dance which was created to portray their struggle throughout their career. Their routine to music from Diamanti featured lots of speed and good ice coverage. All three lifts, twizzles and the dance spin earned a level four, and they picked up many positive GOEs in all elements. The two-time World medalists scored 124.22 for second place, earning Team Italy nine points.

“We’re feeling really good,” said Fabbri. “We’re in third place, two or three points ahead of Canada. Of course, it’s possible to win a medal tomorrow, but figure skating is such a difficult and unpredictable sport. We’re comfortable with our position. Today was a big day, we’re happy, proud, and relieved, but also tired. There were a lot of mixed emotions. It wasn’t an easy day because, in figure skating, you never know what can happen.”

Fabbri pointed out that although Team Italy was in third place, they couldn’t take it for granted until after the men skated.

“We came here, followed our usual warm-up routine, but weren’t entirely sure if we would perform today,” he said.

Team Canada

Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha delivered a riveting free dance to “Nureyev” from The White Crow for third place with a new season’s best of 120.90 points. The twizzles, lifts and spin were all graded a level four, and the two-time Four Continents bronze medalists racked up positive GOEs throughout.

“It felt really good!” said Lajoie. “Really, when before we went out, we realized, ‘oh my God, it’s the Olympics! But the feeling when the music started was pretty amazing.”

Lagha said they were ready to do the free dance in the Team Event.

“We learned about three weeks ago, so we mentally prepared to that,” he said. “We were really happy that we were able to do this free dance one more time. We love this free dance. We love to share it and we love to create this atmosphere, so we’re really happy to have the chance to perform it one more time at the Games.”

Team Georgia

Other than a few minor stumbles, Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin showed smooth transitions between elements and good lines in their free dance to “Sonata for Cello & Piano No.1 in D Major” and “A Taste of Elegance.” All three lifts, the twizzles and dance spin were graded a level four, and they were very close to the Canadians in the Program Component Score. The seven-time Challenger Series medalists finished fourth with 117.82, adding seven points to Team Georgia’s standing.

“We had a couple of moments that we will have to check on, but I think this is good before the individual event,” said Smolkin. “We were doing what we were training for, and now what happens now is out of our control. We know what we are capable of. We know what our teammates are capable of. So for tomorrow, we just wish that all of us are able to perform the way they want to and what they’re capable of.”

Team Japan

Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita of Japan earned 98.55 for their free dance to “Rise of the Phoenix.” Their routine was highlighted by level four twizzles, lifts and dance spin.

“Since yesterday, including today, everyone really delivered amazing performances,” noted Yoshida. “We also got in the rink today hoping to follow that flow as well. We think we were able to do that, even if just a little.”

“From start to finish, we were able to have fun while skating,” added Morita. “Before our performance, Kagiyama (Yuma) delivered an all-out skate, and that definitely pushed us forward. It helped create an even better atmosphere for us to perform in, so it was a very enjoyable time.”

While the team didn’t add as many points to Team Japan’s standings, Yoshida was still happy that they were able to share the energy and a sense of motivation with their teammates.

“Looking forward at the next Olympics, we want to stand at the very front and aim for performances and strength where ice dance can truly contribute points,” she said.

The Olympic Figure Skating Team event will continue on Sunday with the Pairs’, Women’s and Men’s Free Skate.

Related info:

• Official Results
• Olympic Qualification System for Figure Skating
• Competition Threads
• Replay Lounge
• More Olympic Figure Skating news

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