U.S. takes early lead in Olympic figure skating

MILAN — Alysa Liu glided past the boards and held her hand out. She high-fived her coaches with a vast smile on her face.

She was prepared.

Liu calmly skated through minor technical missteps on two jumps in her short program during the Milan-Cortina Olympic crew competitors at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Friday to end second and earn 9 factors for the United States.

Led by 10 factors from rhythm dance leaders Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the United States leads with 25 factors over second-place Japan (23) and third-place Italy (22). Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto completed first with a rating of 78.88 forward of Liu’s 74.90.

After the boys’s short program on Saturday, the top 5 groups advance to the long program portion. The United States chosen two-time world champion Ilia Malinin to skate in the boys’s short program.

Liu, competing in her second Olympics, was chosen for the crew competitors for the first time. The reigning world champion labored through slight errors, including on her difficult triple lutz, triple loop mixture. Her coach Phillip Diguglielmo grabbed the arm of choreographer Massimo Scali nervously as Liu floated through the air on the crooked loop. When she completed her program to a loud ovation, Diguglielmo wiped his forehead in reduction.

Liu was the second world champion competing for the United States on Friday. Chock and Bates edged out French pair Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron by less than two factors in an early showdown of particular person gold medal contenders.

In March 2025, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron rocked the ice dance world by asserting their partnership. He was the reigning Olympic champion. She was a former Canadian champion. But it wasn’t just that the pair turned instantaneous gold medal contenders 11 months before the Olympic Games. The motive for the sudden pairing brought on a stir.

In October 2024, Fournier Beaudry’s associate Nikolaj Sorensen was suspended by Skate Canada for at least six years for alleged inappropriate assault. The pair competed for both Denmark and Canada over their decade-long partnership, successful three Danish championships and a Canadian national title and putting ninth in the 2022 Olympics.

Cizeron hadn’t skated since 2022. He and his ice dance associate of 20 years Gabriella Papadakis announced their retirement in December 2024, but needed to return to competitors. He had skilled in Canada for more than a decade and maintained a friendship with Fournier Beaudry. The alternative was open, but it could be sophisticated.

After pairing with Fournier Beaudry to launch Cizeron’s comeback, the new crew expressed assist for Sorensen in an interview with Canadian French-language newspaper La Presse. Fournier Beaudry continues her romantic relationship with Sorensen.

When requested of the allegations Friday, Fournier Beaudry said she didn’t have something to add to her earlier feedback. The pair proceeded through the blended zone.

Since teaming up, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron have gained 5 of six competitions, a practically inconceivable rise for such a new pair. The only blemish is a silver medal end at the Grand Prix Final.

Chock and Bates’ 15-year partnership has yielded three world championships, a report seven U.S. titles and 4 journeys to the Olympics. On one of the most proficient groups the United States has ever despatched to an Olympic Games, Chock and Bates still stand out for their expertise. Of the 14 other U.S. figure skaters, only Liu has participated in the Games before.

“I think we have the best generation of figure skaters within the U.S. right now,” said pairs skater Danny O’Shea, who completed fifth with his associate Ellie Kam to earn six place factors toward the crew whole. “Amazing people helping each other, supporting each other, and Madi and Evan leading the charge being the just experienced elders.”

O’Shea, making his Olympic debut at 34, laughed as he clarified Chock, 33, is youthful than him.