The Winter Olympics kick off with the figure skating pairs competition today, February 15th, starting with the short program.
A total of 19 pairs will perform, among them the 2022 Winter Olympics champions, Wenjing Sui and Kong Han from China. Also in the mix are Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara from Japan, who excelled in both pairs categories during last week’s team event.
Team USA features Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, who secured fourth place in the previous team event, putting them in 14th place for today. Meanwhile, their teammates, Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe, will kick off in fifth place.
Olympic Ice Dance: What you need to know
- What: Pairs – Short Program
- When: February 15th 1:45 PM ET
- Where: Milan Ice Skating Arena (Milan, Italy)
- Channel: USA Network, NBC (beginning at 3 PM)
- Streaming: DIRECTV (Trial available)
Also noteworthy is the Canadian pair, Diana Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps. They had uncertainties over their Olympic qualification after Stellato-Dudek’s injury during pre-event training in Montreal, but she’s ready for today.
Following today’s competition, the top 16 pairs will move on to the free skate segment on February 16th. Gold, silver, and bronze medals will go to the pair with the highest overall score when everything wraps up.
Olympic ice dance schedule and start time
Today marks the beginning of the pairs figure skating at the 2026 Olympics, with the Rhythm Dance kicking off at 1:45 PM ET before moving to NBC at 2:40 PM.
How to watch Olympic pairs figure skating for free
If you don’t have cable, you can find suitable live TV streaming services to catch the Olympics without charge.
DIRECTV is highlighted as a good choice for free live TV viewing, featuring a five-day trial and plans starting at $49.99 monthly, including essential channels for the Olympics.
With a subscription, you can also stream everything Olympic-related, with services like Peacock beginning at $10.99 monthly.
Figure Skating – Pairs Short Program Start List
- Karina Akopova and Nikita Rachmanin (ARM)
- Wenjing Sui and Kong Han (CHN)
- Anastasia Golubeva and Hector Geotopoulos Moore (AUS)
- Camille Kovalev and Pavel Kovalev (FRA)
- Emily Cheung and Spencer Akira Howe (USA)
- Daria Danilova and Michelle Tsiva (NED)
- Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi (JPN)
- Iulia Chechetinina and Michal Wozniak (POL)
- Lea Pereira and Trent Michaud (CAN)
- Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel (GER)
- Anastasia Vaipan-Lo and Luke Digby (GBR)
- Maria Pavlova and Alexei Svyachenko (HUN)
- Rebecca Ghirardi and Filippo Ambrosini (ITA)
- Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea (USA)
- Diana Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps (CAN)
- Anastasia Metelkina and Luka Berlava (GEO)
- Sarah Conti and Niccolò Maci (ITA)
- Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara (JPN)
- Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin (GER)
2026 Winter Olympics
2026 Olympic figure skating schedule
- Pairs – Short Program – February 15th 1:45 PM ET
- Pairs – Free Skate – February 16th 2:00 PM ET*
- Women’s Singles – Short Program – February 17th 12:45 PM ET
- Women’s Singles – Free Skate – February 19th 1:00 PM ET*
- Exhibition Gala — February 21st 2:00 PM ET
*Medal rounds
When will the Winter Olympics end?
The Olympics will wrap up with a closing ceremony on February 22nd at 2:30 PM ET.
