The Olympic pairs free skate at the Milan Cortina Games is set to take place on Monday at 2 p.m. ET, and after a dramatic short program that reshuffled expectations, everything is on the line as the world’s top pairs teams chase Olympic hardware.
While nothing was certain heading into the short program on Sunday, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara had cornered the market as gold medal favorites. However, on Sunday, they slipped to 5th with a costly error that will have them in the hunt.
Thanks to a high level of technical content planned for their free skate, a gold medal isn't completely off the table, but it's certainly not going to be easy for the two-time world champions to make up for lost ground.
That's especially true given the nearly flawless short program Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin delivered, earning themselves an 80.01 point personal-best score. Their controlled and impactful skate, featuring a solid triple twist, strong side-by-side jumps and clean throw triple loop jump took a 4.55 point lead, the largest margin after an Olympic pairs short program since the current judging system was introduced in 2004. The three-time national champions now have a chance to turn that cushion into Germany’s first Olympic figure skating medal since 2018.
The difference between 2nd and 5th is just 2.35 points, and Georgian champions Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava will be looking to overtake the Germans, and distance themselves from the other pairs in their group. They're currently followed closely by Canada’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud who have continued their ascendance riding a personal best into 3rd place. Their emotional performance in the short program displayed competitive maturity, but Pereira and Michaud have shown inconsistency in the free skate this past season — something they were able to overcome in January to win Canadian nationals.
Currently sitting in 4th place, Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary are in striking distance of an Olympic medal, and after a personal best score, they add to the intrigue over just what the final Olympic podium will look like.
Last but not least, another surprise was from 2024 world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps. With a 14th place finish after the short program, they will have to skate perfectly in the free skate to knock on the door of the podium. They have had checkered results this past season and were considered as being an outside shot at a medal, but no one expected a fluke fall after a lift — one of their strongest elements — least of all them.
Stellato-Dudek described it as a "complete surprise," adding that it has " never even happened in practice."
"It's a new day tomorrow," Deschamps said. "We'll just go out there again tomorrow, skate together as a team, and enjoy that experience."
For Team USA, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea posted a season-best 71.87 to sit 7th, while Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe are 9th. The United States has not won an Olympic medal in pairs since 1988, and both teams will look to make a statement in the free skate.
How does the pairs free skate work?
Sixteen pairs qualified for the free skate which has a duration of 4 minutes (plus or minus 10 seconds).
Free skate required elements:
· 3 lifts
· 1 twist
· 2 throws
· 1 side-by-side solo jump
· 1 side-by-side jump combination or sequence
· 1 pair spin
· 1 death spiral (different from the death spiral of the short program)
· 1 choreographic sequence
Watch the pairs free skate on Monday Feb. 16th at 2 p.m. ET streaming live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com, airing on USA Network and NBC.