Three-time U.S. national champion Amber Glenn delivered Team USA eight points, skating the women’s free skate in the Olympic team event final and finishing 3rd behind Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Georgia’s Anastasiia Gubanova. Glenn’s skate gave the U.S. enough points to tie with Japan after the segment, and Team USA still has a shot to take gold.
Despite a shaky start with a turn out of her triple Axel – an element that few women’s figure skaters can complete in competition – Glenn was able to rally, with no major errors and a solid skate that had her in complete control.
"I'm happy I was able to fight through the program and stay committed to everything," Glenn said moments after her Olympic debut. "I've been practicing here incredibly, I've been feeling really good, and I think I just had some fatigue, and I need to really manage that going into the individual event. But I'm really proud of the mental strength that I've built over the years to be able to get through some mistakes in the beginning and really fight in the second half."
Sakamoto closed the women’s free skate in top form, winning the segment for Japan with the kind of power and speed that have defined her championship résumé. The 2022 Olympic bronze medalist and three-time world champion leaned into the drama of her Edith Piaf medley, earning the top score of the group and underscoring why Japan entered Milan as the main Team USA challengers for the overall team title.
In 3rd place, Georgia’s 2023 European champion Gubanova, brought her trademark expressiveness to selections from “Ghost – The Musical,” continuing a season in which she helped Georgia qualify in every discipline and contend in the team event.
Finishing the event in 4th place in front of a home crowd, Italy’s Lara Naki Gutmann — the reigning European bronze medalist — provided another momentum performance for the hosts with her “Jaws”-inspired free skate, a program that has become one of the season’s most recognizable.
CATCH THE TOP MOMENTS FROM DAY 2 OF THE MILAN CORTINA WINTER OLYMPICS HERE
Canada opened the women’s free skate segment with Madeline Schizas. The four-time national champion, skating in her second Olympics, set the tone early earning a season’s best, and collecting six points for her team in the final to “Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto” in a tight race for team bronze.
Women's free skate results:
- Kaori Sakamoto (Japan) — 148.62
- Anastasiia Gubanova (Georgia) — 140.17
- Amber Glenn (United States) — 138.62
- Lara Naki Gutmann (Italy) — 126.94
- Madeline Schizas (Canada) — 125.00
Pairs:
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea set the standard early in the pairs free skate knowing just how pivotal their segment could be for an American team event push. Skating a career-statement performance to a cinematic pop medley that began with "Sweet Dreams," the 2024 U.S. champions earned a personal best score of 135.36 points and a 4th place finish. With solid side-by-side jumps and throws, confident lifts, clean transitions and inventive choreography, the duo showed fight through the pressure moments, with O’Shea — set to turn 35 during these Games — delivering the veteran steadiness the U.S. has counted on in this team event.
“We are really proud of our resilience as a team and individually,” O’Shea said ahead of the event, referencing a pre-Olympic season that was slowed by injuries.
Looking nervous in her start position, Kam, 21, was all smiles after their first few elements came off without a hitch.
"We definitely wanted to perform well for ourselves, and for the team, so that definitely added to the moment," Kam said after competing. "We skated one of our best performances internationally and it feels very satisfying to be able to have such a good outcome here."
The pairs free skate title was claimed by Japan’s reigning world and Grand Prix Final winners, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who won the team pairs short program, and again rose to the occasion with a season's best 155.55 points in the free skate. "Our favorite moment was every moment," Miura had said after that segment. Their free skate on Sunday, performed to “Gladiator” music selections, had the Milan audience on their feet.
Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava slotted into 2nd, delivering another skate that underscored why they’ve been in the medal conversation all season, and why Georgia has dared to dream about a first Winter Olympic medal in any sport. The 2025 European champions have had a quick rise to the top since teaming up in 2023.
Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii finished 3rd in front of the home crowd, feeding off the energy in the building while keeping their performance grounded and controlled. Skating to “Caruso” by Lara Fabian, the 2023 European champions showed maturity and unity that indicated that Conti’s knee injury – which plagued her at the start of the week – is on the mend. The duo looked thrilled to be on Olympic ice at home, enjoying an extended applause from the Milan audience.
Also skating to “Gladiator,” Canada’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, with a season's best score, placed 5th.
Pairs free skate results:
- Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara (Japan) — 155.55
- Anastasiia Metelkina / Luka Berulava (Georgia) — 139.70
- Sara Conti / Niccolò Macii (Italy) — 136.61
- Ellie Kam / Danny O'Shea (United States) — 135.36
- Lia Pereira / Trennt Michaud (Canada) — 134.42