For the past three seasons, figure skating competitions have been held without athletes from Russia and Belarus. In 2022, a few days after the Beijing Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony, Russia invaded Ukraine. In light of this violation of the Olympic Charter, the International Skating Union chose to bar skaters from Russia (who already were under sanctions for a state-sponsored doping scheme), as well as those from Belarus for its support of the Russian government. In addition, all ISU events typically held within those nations have been hosted elsewhere. 

For the Milan Cortina Olympics, Russian and Belarussian athletes may compete as Individual Neutral Athletes - or AINs - and only athletes who have not voiced support of the war in Ukraine can be considered. Figure skaters who fall within this category may qualify for the Games at the ISU Figure Skating Olympic Qualifying Competition in Beijing, 17-21 September 2025.

The years since the 2022 Winter Games all have been about the rise of U.S. phenom "QuadG0d," Ilia Malinin. The first skater to successfully land a quadruple axel in competition, he was undefeated in the 2024-25 season, and rival Yuma Kagiyama has called him "invincible." It's no surprise the two-time world champion is the favorite to win gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Japan's Kaori Sakamoto has become a household name for the figure skating fandom, as the first woman to "threepeat" a world title since American Peggy Fleming achieved the feat in 1966-68. At the 2025 World Championships, Sakamoto fell to second place behind surprise return sensation Alysa Liu. Sakamoto has announced that this Olympic season will be her last. 

When Liu retired at age 16 after a bronze-medal finish at the 2022 World Championships, no one could have foreseen her comeback to take the world title just three years later. She called the feat "insane," telling press her best hopes had been a top-10 finish for her first season back. Now, as reigning world champion, she heads into the Olympic season as the one to beat.

Another athlete to come out of retirement is 2000 World Junior champion Deanna Stellato-Dudek. In 2016, the Canadian pairs champion returned after an impressive 16-year hiatus, and in 2024 along with partner Maxime Deschamps, she won gold at the world championships - the oldest female skater in the history of the sport to do so.

Affectionately known as the "Disco Brits" for their fun, high octane routines, ice dance duo Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson had a breakthrough season last year, becoming the first British figure skaters to finish on the podium since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean over 40 years earlier. They will be looking to repeat or best their bronze-medal placement at the Winter Games in February. 

The world of figure skating saw a significant shift following the Beijing Winter Olympics, with several top athletes announcing their retirement. Among the most notable was American Quad King (not to be confused with the Quad G0d!), Nathan Chen. The three-time world champion and six-time U.S. champion went on to graduate from Yale in 2024.

Japan's Shoma Uno, who earned Olympic silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022, formally announced his retirement in May 2024, choosing to step away at the peak of his career. At just 26, Uno said he felt fulfilled with his accomplishments and he would continue skating professionally in shows outside of competition.

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue also stepped away from competitive ice, bringing their decade-long partnership to a close after the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier, France. 

In early 2023, Canadian men's skater and fan-favorite Keegan Messing officially retired after an impressive 28-year career marked by two Olympic showings and two Canadian titles. 

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, who teamed up in 2020, became a powerful, if brief, force in pairs skating, taking two world medals and an Olympic gold medal in the team event. They will not be competing at the Milan Cortina Olympics. 

With the absence of ROC/Russian athletes, there has been a dramatic reshuffle of medal contenders, with fresh rivalries and new faces climbing up the ranks. The U.S. particularly has benefitted, winning gold at the 2023 and 2025 World Team Trophy events. The pairs team of Knierim/Frazier won the world title in 2022, taking the silver medal behind Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara at the 2023 World Championships. In 2025, Liu won the first gold medal in the women's event in nearly two decades, and Malinin has become a dominant force that any skater will have to work hard to beat. 

Japan has cemented its position as a mainstay on figure skating podiums. With a slate of medal-worthy women's skaters including Sakamoto, who made a historic world title threepeat, Mone Chiba, and Wakaba Higuchi, Japan is likely to add to its medal count in this event. In the men's category, Uno's podium finishes and Kagiyama's impressive athletic performances along with pairs skaters Miura and Kihara's two world titles all have made Japan a significant presence in figure skating.

Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier have remained podium contenders, and pairs teammates Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps, who won gold at the 2024 World Championships, have maintained Canada's prominence in the sport.

Other countries with notable athletes to watch is Belgium and two-time world medalist Loena Hendrickx, South Korea with Chaeyeon Kim, who took the bronze medal at the 2024 World Championships, Kazakhstan with world silver medalist Mikhail Shaidorov, and Great Britian with ice dancers Fear and Gibson, bronze medalists at the 2025 World Championships. 

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be all about the "comebacks." From the return of Liu and the "Shib Sib" Shibutanis, to Guillaume Cizeron's new partnership and of course skaters from Russia, figure skating at the Games is going to be shaken up by returning faces all aiming to upset the established ranks.

Perhaps the most exciting event to watch will be the men's event, and U.S. phenom, Malinin. He's sure to attempt his quad axel - a move that, so far, he is alone in landing in competition. If he achieves the feat, it will be the first time all six jumps are landed on Olympic ice.

Ice dance will be a crowded event for the podium, with multiple veteran teams vying for hardware. Three-time world champions, Madison Chock and Evan Bates are the favorites for gold, but with Maia and Alex Shibutani's surprise return to the sport after seven years away, and Olympic champion Cizeron teaming up with Laurence Fournier Beaudry to form a new partnership, not to mention Canada's Gilles and Poirier, Italy's Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, and Great Britain's Fear and Gibson all with a chance at medals - it's going to be an edge-of-your-seat event.

Canada's Stellato-Dudek and partner Deschamps made history in 2024, when Stellato-Dudek, at age 40, became the oldest female figure skater to win a world title. She received her Canadian citizenship in December 2024, allowing her to compete for Canada in the Milan Cortina Olympics. She will be the oldest figure skater to compete there and an inspiration to anyone who thinks it's "too late" to chase their dreams.