Figure skating remains one of the most emotionally engaging Winter Olympic sports — and heading into Milano-Cortina 2026, the team event is defined by stories as much as scores.
Ipsos research shows 78% of global sports fans say athlete stories increase their interest in Olympic events, while 62% report greater engagement after watching sports documentaries like Netflix’s Glitter & Gold. That emotional investment will be amplified from the very first night of the Games, as the Milano-Cortina 2026 opening ceremony, expected to feature global stars such as Charlize Theron and Mariah Carey, sets the tone for a spectacle watched worldwide.
Within that spotlight, four figure skating teams stand out: the USA, France, Canada, and the UK.
After the First Performances: Early Team Rankings
Based on 2025 Grand Prix results and early team-event scoring trends:
- USA leads after the opening phase, driven by Ilia Malinin in men’s singles and Madison Chock & Evan Bates in ice dance.
- Canada follows closely, powered by Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier and experienced pairs skaters.
- France ranks just behind, strengthened by ice dance momentum but still building depth elsewhere.
- Great Britain completes the top four, with consistent ice dance results keeping them competitive.
These early standings explain why all four are expected finalists in 2026.
France: Cizeron’s Comeback, Confirmed
France’s resurgence centres on one name: Guillaume Cizeron.
The Olympic champion’s return with a new partner Laurence Beaudry, documented in Glitter & Gold, quickly translated into results, including Grand Prix victories in 2025 and a 2026 European Championship title. Ipsos data shows 54% of viewers feel more emotionally invested when athletes reinvent their careers, a dynamic clearly at play in France’s renewed Olympic relevance.
Team USA: A Farewell Under the Brightest Lights
The three-time world champions, together on the ice since 2011 and married in 2024, posted a leading score of 91.06 for their program to music by The Guess Who and Lenny Kravitz, collecting the maximum 10 points. Team USA remains the most balanced figure skating team heading into Milano-Cortina — but with an added layer of emotion.
Veterans such as Madison Chock & Evan Bates are widely expected to close their Olympic careers after 2026. According to Ipsos, 69% of Olympic viewers follow events more closely when they believe it may be an athlete’s final Games. In a competition unfolding under the global spotlight of the opening ceremony and prime-time broadcasts, that sense of finality matters.
Canada and the UK: Pressure vs. Progress
For Canada, the goal is simple: win. Ice dance leaders Gilles & Poirier and seasoned pairs skaters keep Canada firmly in medal contention, driven by a national sports culture where 61% of fans link Olympic success to national pride.
The UK, meanwhile, represents progress over pressure. With Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson leading the charge, Britain fits another Ipsos insight: 48% of viewers are especially drawn to underdog Olympic stories.
Why This Team Event Will Define Milano-Cortina 2026
From the opening ceremony spectacle to the final skate, the figure skating team event captures what modern Olympic audiences value most:
- A champion’s comeback (France)
- A generation’s farewell (USA)
- A nation chasing redemption (Canada)
- A team on the rise (UK)
Every Olympics has a hero. Who’s yours? > With the world watching, which of these four stories resonates with you most? Share this article with your fellow fans and tell us who you're rooting for! #MilanoCortina2026 #FigureSkating #ipsosisay
As Ipsos research consistently shows, audiences don’t just watch the Olympics — they follow journeys. The Milan–Cortina 2026 Olympic ice will reflect more than athletic performance — it will mirror stories that defined this quadrennial: comebacks, farewells, rivalries, and rising hopes. And as audiences tune in — whether for the technical brilliance, the emotional arcs, or the compelling faces on the ice — they’ll understand that this isn’t just another Winter Games. It’s the figure skating team event that mattered.
When the lights fade after Mariah Carey’s final note and the last blades leave the ice, it won’t just be medals remembered — it will be the stories that earned them.
Source: Ipsos study, conducted on 20,025 adults in 28 countries, during December 23rd 2021 – January 7th 2022
