Figure skating: How to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 

The figure skating competition at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will see 142 of the best skaters in the world compete for glory at the Ice Skating Arena in Milan.

Milano Cortina 2026 will once again include five figure skating events: men's and women’s singles, ice dance, pairs and the team event.

Figure skating is one of the oldest sports on the Olympic Winter Games programme. In fact, it dates back to before the Olympic Winter Games themselves, as a figure skating competition was held at both the Olympic Games of London 1908 and Antwerp 1920.

The list of Olympic figure skating legends ranges from Sweden’s Gillis Grafström, the first to win three gold medals, to more recent stars such as Japan’s Hanyu Yuzuru.

In recent years, the USA’s Ilia Malinin became the first (and so far only) male or female skater to successfully land the quadruple Axel in competition, while Japan’s Sakamoto Kaori also made history by completing an undefeated season.

Now it’s their time to attempt to secure a quota for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games.

Find out everything you need to know about the Olympic qualification system in figure skating, including the number of athletes in each event and the qualification timeline.

• Register today for the chance to purchase tickets to the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina

How to qualify for the figure skating competition at Milano Cortina 2026

In order to join the likes of celebrated Olympians such as Nathan Chen, or Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, figure skaters will have two opportunities to earn a quota for their respective NOCs for individual events: the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025, which will take place in Boston from 24 to 30 March 2025; and an ISU qualifying competition (date TBC).

At the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025, there will be quotas available in each of the four figure skating disciplines: 24 for men's single skating, 24 for women's single skating, 16 pairs for pair skating (32 athletes) and 19 couples for ice dance (38 athletes).

10 NOCs will also have a chance to qualify for the team events with the teams being made up of one male skater, one female skater, one pair and one ice dance couple.

For more details about the quotas and how to qualify for Milano Cortina 2026, please check the official documents here.

What are the key dates for figure skating qualification for Milano Cortina 2026?

• 24-30 March 2025: ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025
• TBC (September or October 2025): ISU Figure Skating Olympic Qualifying Competition (TBD)
• 4-7 December 2025: ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Nagoya City (JPN), last event where athletes can score points for Team Event qualification
• 26 January 2026: Milano Cortina 2026 Sport Entries deadline

See the schedule of the Grand Prix Series 2024 in a pivotal season ahead of Milano Cortina 2026.

How many athletes will compete in figure skating at Milano Cortina 2026?

A total of 142 athletes will take part in the figure skating competitions at Milano Cortina 2026, spread over the different events of the sport's Olympic programme as follows:

• Men's single skating: 29 athletes
• Women's single skating: 29 athletes
• Pair skating: 38 athletes (19 pairs)
• Ice dance: 46 athletes (23 couples)

Milano Cortina 2026 figure skating competition format and schedule

The figure skating competition at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games will include five events:

• Men's single skating
• Women's single skating
• Pair skating
• Ice dance
• Team event

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will take place from 6 to 22 February 2026.

Olympic champions in figure skating from the last Olympic Winter Games

Women's Single Skating

• 🥇 Gold: Anna Shcherbakova (ROC)
• 🥈 Silver: Alexandra Trusova (ROC)
• 🥉 Bronze: Sakamoto Kaori (JPN)

Men's Single Skating

• 🥇 Gold: Nathan Chen (USA)
• 🥈 Silver: Kagiyama Yuma (JPN)
• 🥉 Bronze: Uno Shoma (JPN)

Pair Skating

• 🥇 Gold: Sui Wenjing / Han Cong (CHN)
• 🥈 Silver: Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov (ROC)
• 🥉 Bronze: Anastasia Mishina / Aleksandr Galliamov (ROC)

Ice Dance

• 🥇 Gold: Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron (FRA)
• 🥈 Silver: Victoria Sinitsina / Nikita Katsalapov (ROC)
• 🥉 Bronze: Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue (USA)

Team event

• 🥇 Gold: United States
• 🥈 Silver: Japan
• 🥉 Bronze: ROC

As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Milano Cortina Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Milano Cortina 2026