The first figure skating event of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games is officially complete! The Team Competition exceeded all expectations, delivering truly world class performances, and a last possible moment showdown to decide gold.

The United States team took victory in dramatic fashion, via dominant ice dance showings from Chock & Bates, a clutch free skate from Kam & O'Shea, and a final heroic effort from Ilia Malinin.

Japan took silver, missing the top of the podium by only a single point. Kaori Sakamoto, Yuma Kagiyama, and Miura & Kihara posted career high scores and likely-to-be-legendary performances. Shun Sato came up just short in the final skate, despite an exceptional, nearly flawless program.

But it's the home country Bronze finish for Team Italy that pulled the most heartstrings. Stellar appearances from Guignard & Fabbri, Lara Naki Gutmann, and Conti & Macii put the podium in play for the Italians. But it was the sensational free program from Matteo Rizzo that locked third place and a coveted Olympic medal.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro 00:00:59 Team Event Overview 00:02:59 Gold - USA 00:14:54 Silver - Japan 00:29:04 Bronze - Italy 00:37:12 Rest of the Competition 00:51:28 Gold in our Hearts 00:53:36 Wrap-Up

The 2026 Olympic Games figure skating competition kicks off in Milano Cortina with the Team Event. Ten countries. Three medals. Zero room for error.

We examine the teams most likely to vie for the podium, and which ones probably won't make the free skate. Many of the competitors haven't been officially announced yet, so we conjecture on which skaters will take part, and the strategy behind those choices.

With world champions in the mix — like Ilia Malinin, Kaori Sakamoto, Alysa Liu, Muira & Kihara, Chock & Bates, and Sui & Han — expect the competition to be FIERCE in Italy.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro 00:00:45 ISU disables VPN access on YouTube 00:05:38 Team Event Preview 00:11:29 Team USA 00:18:24 Team Japan 00:20:46 Team Georgia 00:22:31 Team Italy 00:25:45 Team Canada 00:30:16 Team France 00:32:47 Team China 00:35:02 South Korea 00:37:18 Team Poland 00:38:54 Team Great Britain 00:42:02 Predictions 00:44:34 Wrap-Up

The Olympics are upon us, and we're here to help you get ready to watch Ice Dance! We walk you through the top 5 teams battling for the podium, and explain why there's one fight for Gold and another for Bronze.

We thoroughly break down the competition between podium hopefuls Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA), Laurence Fournier-Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron (France), Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier (Canada), Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri (Italy), and Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson (Great Britain).

But there are plenty of other excellent teams in the hunt for a top 10 finish, so we give you a complete rundown of who to keep an eye on.

Plus: GLITTER AND GOLD — Did you hear us in the new Netflix ice dance documentary?! (Yes, you did, and no, we didn't know it was happening!)

Chapters

00:00:00 Glitter and Gold 00:02:36 Olympic Ice Dance Preview 00:05:50 The Fight for Gold 00:17:09 The Fight for Bronze 00:24:46 The Spoiler Candidates 00:37:44 Other Teams to Watch 00:43:56 Podium Predictions 00:48:49 Looking Ahead 00:55:08 Wrap-Up

We dive into the last major competition before the 2026 Olympics, Four Continents Championships in Beijing, China. We celebrate the surprise but oh-so-satisfying victory from Japan's Yuna Aoki. An Ice Dance gold medal should give an extra boost to USA's Zingas & Kolesnik as they prepare for Milano Cortina.

The same could be said for Olympics-bound Kao Muira, who will represent Japan at the Games as well. And America's Efimova & Mitrofanov score an unexpected win over the legendary Sui & Han in the Pairs event. But there were thrilling skates all down the rankings, too, as well as some wonderful moments of sportsmanship.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro 00:02:44 Women's Event 00:23:30 Dance Competition 00:32:41 Men's Competition 00:49:56 Pairs Competition 00:59:30 Gold in our Hearts 01:01:28 Wrap-Up / Look Ahead

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We react to the 2026 European Figure Skating Championships event in England, featuring a historic repeat win from Estonia's Niina Petrokina, two Georgian golds in Pairs and Men's, and a slightly surprising outcome in Ice Dance.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro 00:01:45 Ice Dance 00:20:55 Women's Competition 00:32:10 Pairs Competition 00:41:09 Men's Competition 00:56:00 Canadian Nationals 01:03:42 Four Continents Preview 01:07:29 Gold in our Hearts 01:08:26 Wrap-Up

The much anticipated 2026 US National Figure Skating Championships were everything they promised to be: thrilling, tense, bittersweet, and revelatory! The week-long event happened in our hometown of St. Louis, and we were on-site throughout the event to witness historic skates and the selection of the Olympic team.

The Women's and Ice Dance events delivered powerhouse performances that will go down as some of the best Nationals competitions of all times. The Men's event featured shocking twists, tear-jerking surprises, and a dominant win from Ilia Malinin. And the Pairs ended with two thirds of its podium ineligible for Olympic spots, creating a disparity between the medal winners and our representatives in Milan.

We give you our firsthand account from the arena, and discuss why this one of the greatest US championships ever!

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro 00:03:54 Women's Competition 00:36:42 Ice Dance Competition 01:04:23 Men's Competition 01:40:27 Pairs Competition 01:55:18 Gold in our Hearts 01:58:55 Wrap-Up

It's our first episode of 2026, and we're preparing for US Nationals — which will be held in our home city of St. Louis! We preview the upcoming competition with a laser focus on the biggest stakes: who will represent the USA at the Olympics. From virtually guaranteed locks like Ilia Malinin, Chock & Bates, and Alysa Liu, to the uncertainty around the pairs and additional dance spots, there's so much to be excited—and anxious—about.

We also cover the results of this past weekend's Korean Nationals, including Olympics selections for Junhwan Cha, Haein Lee, and Jia Shin.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro 00:04:17 Women's Competition Preview 00:20:50 Ice Dance Competition 00:35:55 Men's Competition 00:48:56 Pairs Competition 01:00:50 Korean Nationals Results 01:10:22 Wrap-Up

As 2025 comes to a close, we catch up on a bunch of last minute figure skating news: citizenships, announcements, Olympic teams, a combined ISU Worlds event (?), and much more. We also recap our top Gold in Our Hearts moments for the year. And we share our appreciation for our listeners and community, including a particularly touching Christmas Eve message from an audience member.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro 00:01:49 We'll be at US Nationals! 00:04:37 Skating News 00:20:50 ISU Combined Worlds Events 00:32:01 Four Continents announcements 00:43:30 Listener support and Poetry! 00:48:22 2025 Gold in our Hearts Moments 00:56:54 Wrap-Up

All-Japan Championships 2025 gave us an Olympics-worthy collection of amazing performances — including final competitive skates from several of our favorite athletes. Kaori Sakamoto and Yuma Kagiyama clinched their Olympic spots, and Yuna Aoki gave two of the finest programs of any skater this season. We also talk about the results of the French and Italian nationals events, including their locks for Olympic teams.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro 00:02:10 Women's Event 00:33:07 Men's Compeititon 00:44:32 Pairs Compeition 00:47:14 Ice Dance Competition 00:52:09 French Nationals 00:58:44 Italian Nationals 01:08:21 Gold in our Hearts 01:09:38 Wrap-Up

We preview the All-Japan Figure Skating Championships (Japanese Nationals) and its hotly contested Olympic team outcomes. We also look back at the Junior Grand Prix Final, particularly the very exciting junior women's event. Golden Spin 2025 receives a recap as well, along with a number of other smaller federation national championships.

As mentioned in the episode, here is Rocker Skating's resource for how each federation selects its Olympic teams.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro 00:01:06 J-Nats Women's Competition 00:11:59 J-Nats Men's Competition 00:16:16 J-Nats Pairs Competition 00:17:34 J-Nats Ice Dance Competition 00:20:19 French Nationals 00:24:21 Italian Nationals Preview 00:30:57 German Nationals 00:32:08 Four Nationals 00:34:51 Estonian Nationals 00:36:18 Finnish Nationals 00:38:59 Junior Grand Prix Final Recap 00:39:18 JGPF Women's Competition 00:50:26 JGPF Men's Competition 00:55:13 JGPF Pairs — Guo and Zhang 00:56:13 JGPF Ice Dance — Abonian and Veselukhin 00:58:15 Golden Spin recap 01:09:17 Wrap-Up