2026 Olympic Figure Skating Team Event | Men’s Short Program

Yuma Kagiyama shook up the Olympic Team event after winning the Men’s Short Program, adding padding to Team Japan’s second-place standing. Ilia Malinin secured nine points to preserve Team USA’s slim overnight lead, while Daniel Grassl contributed eight points to Team Italy’s standing for third place.

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. All teams skate the short programs and rhythm dance, but only the top five advance to the free skate and free dance, with points from all eight segments combined to determine the final standings.

After the Men’s Short Program, the following countries advanced to the final round which will continue with the Free Dance: United States (34 points), Japan (33 points), Italy (28 points), Canada (27 points), and Georgia (25 points). The full standings are reflected at the bottom of the article.

Team Japan

Yuma Kagiyama gave a superb short program which featured a quad toe-triple toe, quad Salchow and triple Axel. Both quad jumps earned mostly 4+ grades of execution (GOE), as did his expressive level-four footwork. All three spins were also graded a level four with high GOEs in his jazzy routine to “I Wish” and “Fingers Game,” and the 2022 Olympic silver medalist placed first with 108.67 points. His excellent performance added 10 points to Team Japan.

“Regarding the big elements such as quad jumps or the Triple Axel, I was extremely focused on them almost to the point of narrowing everything down to a single point,” said the 22-year-old. “But aside from those, I think I was able to perform quite naturally. The moment I landed the Axel, I felt a huge sense of relief. But I had to get the levels in the step sequence, so I stayed focused on that while also really taking in the audience around me. The audience on the opposite side was also engaged and hyped up, so it was really fun!”

Kagiyama said his goal was to enjoy the Olympics but admitted to being nervous.

“That’s because this Olympics was different from four years ago,” he said. “This time, it was a team event where we all went in with a clear goal and strong determination to win a medal together. The U.S. team was only two points ahead, so when I thought about how we could close that gap, I knew my role in the short program was especially important. It was a key responsibility for me, so I definitely felt nervous about that. But all of that nervousness was blown away by the support from the Milan crowd, everyone watching, and the cheers from Team Japan. That support really gave me strength, and I think I was able to truly enjoy the moment and skate freely.”

Team USA

Ilia Malinin had an uncharacteristic skate after stepping out of a triple Axel and underrotating the front end of a quad Lutz-triple toe. However, his routine to “Dies Irae” and “The Lost Crown” by 2WEI featured a solid quad flip as well as two level four spins and footwork. The errors were costly, however, and the two-time World champion found himself in second place with 98.00 points.

“You know, I think I got to buckle down and see what happens and get better next time,” said the 21-year-old. “We will work it out. Being here, I try to enjoy every single moment and be grateful for everything, because there’s a lot of unexpected things that can happen in life and I’m taking everything to heart.”

“I wasn’t necessarily expecting to become the first here,” he added. “This team event is also about pacing myself correctly. I skated today at about 50% of my capacity. That was the plan in order to pace myself correctly for the individual event.”

Team Canada

Stephen Gogolev put out a technically strong and fun bank-robbing themed short program to “Mugzy’s Move” which featured a quad toe-triple toe, quad Salchow, and triple Axel. All spins were graded a level four, while the footwork received a level three. The 2026 national champ scored a new personal best of 92.99 points, boosting Team Canada up to fourth place with eight points.

“It was a very special moment for me,” said the 21-year-old on his new personal best. “I think just having good practice led into this competition and the trust in my training. As well as the confidence in myself and the teams.”

Gogolev is enjoying his Olympic experience, but pointed out that it was “very busy.”

“It’s obviously very special and new feeling to me,” he said. “I guess the Olympic Team and all the other Olympians are in this bubble. So, I get to meet all these different people from all different sports. It really still feels a bit unreal because here in this environment, you see all those skaters, all those athletes. It’s really the world’s biggest stage.”

Team France

Kevin Aymoz stepped out of his opening quad toe, which was meant to be a combination jump, but came back with a triple Lutz-triple toe in his crowd-pleasing short program. He followed up with a smooth triple Axel and earned a level four on two spins. The 28-year-old also displayed excellent level-four footwork in his routine to “Le Lac” and “Judas,” scoring 88.05 points for fourth place. However, it wasn’t enough to advance Team France to the final round.

“It was a challenge today because my last competition was the European Championships, and it was a disaster,” said the 2022 Olympian. “So, it was difficult to come here to the Olympics and do something good. It was also a challenge to skate as the last event in the team event. There was so much pressure because I really wanted to make the team proud. They were with me today, and that was really nice, and they cheered for me a lot. They helped me to skate.”

Team Italy

Daniel Grassl delivered a passionate short program to music from Tango per la libertà, punctuated by his inventive level-four spins and footwork. The 2022 European silver medalist landed a quad Lutz-double toe, but underrotated the quad loop. However, the triple Axel was solid, earning positive GOEs, as did the spins and footwork. He scored 87.54 for fifth place, contributing six points to Team Italy for third place.

“I’m actually very happy, because skating in the last category is the most pressuring thing,” said the 23-year-old regarding qualifying. “I didn’t want to be the black sheep that messes everything up. It was very important because we also know we can fight for a medal. So just skating today was nice, and it was really nice to hear all my teammates cheering for me, but it was a lot of pressure.”

“Now I’m very happy,” he added. “Of course, the pressure is very high because we are here in Italy and everyone is expecting a medal. Right now, for this medal, it’s not just my responsibility. If today was the individual event, I think it would have been less pressure, because if I make a mistake, it’s only on me and not on the whole team.”

Team Georgia

Nika Egadze scored 84.37 points for sixth place after his short program to “Waltz” by MGZAVREBI. The 2026 European Champion stepped out of his opening quad Salchow, but hung on to a quad toe-triple toe and triple Axel. The triple Axel was solid, and he earned a level four on two spins.

“Well, I’m disappointed in my skate today,” said the 23-year-old. “It was not the skate I was working on, but it’s my first Olympics and my first time at the Olympic Games. I’m happy to be here. I’m very excited to be here, and I will try to skate better tomorrow.”

Rounding out the field

Competing in his second Olympics, Boyang Jin of China scored 84.15 points for seventh place. He landed a quad toe, triple Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe in his dramatic performance to “Fought & Lost.” The 28-year-old also earned a level four on two spins.

“I’m enjoying the Olympic Games very much!” said the two-time World bronze medalist. “This is the third and also the last Olympic Games for me. I was not that nervous, but very excited about the performance. I love the vibe and the enthusiasm of the audience and the fans. This is what I am doing this for. I do what I love, I do what I’m passionate about, and I’m willing to put in the effort for what I’m passionate about.”

Junhwan Cha gave an intense, yet refined routine to “Rain, In Your Black Eyes” which was highlighted by his moving level-four step sequence. The 2023 World silver medalist also produced a quad Salchow and triple Lutz-triple loop, but popped the triple Axel, leaving many points on the table. He finished eighth (83.53).

“I tried my best, I really enjoyed my performance today,” said the 24-year-old. “I made a little mistake on the third jump, but I can recover and prepare for that jump in the individual events. Overall, I’m really happy and I really enjoyed the Olympics today.”

Vladimir Samoilov of Poland hung onto the landings of a quad Salchow and triple Axel to place ninth with 80.47 points.

“It was good,” said the 26-year-old. “I would say I give myself a four, with a plus, maybe two pluses, on a scale from one to five, with five being the best. Because I did land my quad Salchow and the triple Axel. Both landings were a bit so-so, but I landed them. I feel like this was the warm-up before the individual event, so it’s really okay.”

Edward Appleby of Great Britain gave a good skate in his Olympic debut, landing a triple Axel and triple flip for a season’s best of 69.68.

“Obviously it wasn’t a clean skate, but it felt very solid and it was one that just let me enjoy the moment a little more,” said the 21-year-old. “I could just be proud of the hard work that we put in to get here.”

The Olympic Figure Skating Team event continued on Saturday with the Free Dance.

Related info:

• Official Results
• Olympic Qualification System for Figure Skating
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• More Olympic Figure Skating news

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