Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin finished the short program on top after a controlled but masterful performance to "El Abrazo" by Maxime Rodriguez, receiving a personal best score of 80.01 points that was far ahead of their competitors.
Behind them, Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava had a slightly tentative skate compared with recent outings but continued their breakout season by delivering the performance they needed, and landing in 2nd place with 75.46 points heading into the free skate. Fresh off their European title, the duo showed their trademark speed and attack, and they remain firmly in the gold medal conversation.
It was a thrilling result for the 2026 Canadian champions, Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, who gave an emotional performance skated to “Say You Love Me" by Jessie Ware. They earned a personal-best score that put them ahead in the short program into 3rd place — continuing a breakthrough season for a team that has only skated together since 2022.
“After being pretty content with the short program in the team event, we still came out wanting more,” Pereira said after skating. “We’re very motivated people and we always want to put out our best. Today we did that, so it’s a really nice kind of full-circle moment to do that at the Olympics.”
In 4th, Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary posted a solid short program score, well-earned from a clean Olympic debut in an event in which many top contenders showed inconsistencies. The 2026 European bronze medalists, who placed 4th at 2024 World Championships, skated a rousing program to “Without You” and leave Day 1 of their event in contention — the difference between 2nd and 5th is just 2.35 points.
Unexpectedly rounding out the top five were Japan’s favorites for gold, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara. They skated their “Paint It, Black” short program with a drastic error on their lift, leaving many points on the table. Overall, they showed a level of power, skating skills and unison that would typically be awarded with a top-level placement, however, they will have to fight to overtake Fabienne Hase and Volodin in Monday's free skate. The two-time world champions were near-perfect on their side-by-side jumps and triple twist.
Further down the results table, Deanna Stellato-Dudek, 42, achieved her Olympic dream, returning to competition following a 16-year retirement. It was unclear if she and Maxime Deschamps, the 2024 world champions, would be in Milan after they suffered injury in the days before leaving for Italy. However, the resilient three-time national champions made it to Olympic ice today. They gave a solid performance until a freak trip after a lift element, moments before the end of their program. The loss of points on the surprising error put them in 14th place, with 66.04 points.
"We were really enjoying being out there, and that's the most important thing," Deschamps said shortly after getting off the ice. "I was proud of Deanna. We did great until that mistake that was extremely costly, but overall, we're just proud of being able to skate and represent our country."
Americans hold steady; Kam and O’Shea lead U.S. charge
The 2026 U.S. Olympic figure skating team event gold medalists Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea seem to have used their new success to kick into an entirely new gear. Kam has mentioned having imposter syndrome, but that seemed long distant today, and the pair produced a composed but energizing skate in the penultimate group, placing 7th and positioning themselves as the top American team. The 2024 U.S. champions hit their major elements and showed control under Olympic pressure, completing their short program to a cinematic pop cover medley and earning 71.87 points for a season’s best score.
"[I'm] really proud of the program today, but little disappointed in myself," O'Shea said after competing. "I left some points out there with some levels that I normally don't do. So, I'm annoyed at myself for that, but at the end of the day, I think that the performance itself is something we're really proud of. We stayed on our feet, got rid of those bigger mistakes, and got a season's best."
Earlier, Emily Chan and Spencer Howe skated in Warm-Up Group 2 and produced a decisive skate, landing them in the middle of a tightly packed results table. They received a score of 70.06 points, just under their personal best score, showing they will be clear contenders for the top tiers of pairs competition in the future. They head into the free skate on Monday in 9th place.
Standings after the short program
- Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nikita Volodin (GER) — 80.01
- Anastasiia Metelkina / Luka Berulava (GEO) — 75.46
- Lia Pereira / Trennt Michaud (CAN) — 74.60
- Maria Pavlova / Alexei Sviatchenko (HUN) — 73.87
- Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara (JPN) — 73.11
- Wenjing Sui / Cong Han (CHN) — 72.66
- Ellie Kam / Danny O’Shea (USA) — 71.87
- Sara Conti / Niccolò Macii (ITA) — 71.70
- Emily Chan / Spencer Akira Howe (USA) — 70.06
- Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo Ambrosini (ITA) — 69.08
- Annika Hocke / Robert Kunkel (GER) — 67.52
- Karina Akopova / Nikita Rakhmanin (ARM) — 66.27
- Anastasia Vaipan-Law / Luke Digby (GBR) — 66.07
- Deanna Stellato-Dudek / Maxime Deschamps (CAN) — 66.04
- Ioulia Chtchetinina / Michal Wozniak (POL) — 65.23
- Camille Kovalev / Pavel Kovalev (FRA) — 64.65
Did not qualify for the free skate:
- Daria Danilova / Michel Tsiba (NED) — 64.07
- Anastasiia Golubeva / Hektor Giotopoulos Moore (AUS) — 60.69
- Yuna Nagaoka / Sumitada Moriguchi (JPN) — 59.62