After a thrilling start to the pairs figure skating competition that saw the judges stunned Sunday, the medal performances will bring what could be another surprising finish to Olympic ice.
The event is the first since the wildly unexpected ending to the men’s figure skating program, which stunned the world at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
The short program began Sunday with several favorites faltering, leaving an even bigger question over who would medal Monday. Could it leave an opening for Chicago-area skating sensation Danny O’Shea and his partner Ellie Kam?
Here’s what to know:
What time does pairs figure skating start?
The medal free skate event will begin at 1 p.m. CT Monday. The women’s figure skating program follows later in the week.
Where to watch the figure skating pairs short program?
The event will air live on USA at the start, with the second half airing on NBC starting at 2:55 p.m. CT.
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Order of skaters
Only skaters with the top 16 scores will advance to the final free skate.
Group 1
Camille Kovalev / Pavel Kovalev FRAIoulia Chtchetinina / Michal Wozniak POLDeanne Stellato-Dudek / Maxime Deschamps CANAnastasia Vaipan-Law / Luke Digby GBR
Group 2
Karina AKopova / Nikita Rahkmanin ARMAnnika Hocke / Robert Kunkel GERRebecca Ghilari / Filippo Ambrosini ITAEmily Chan / Spencer Akira Howe USA
Group 3
Sara Conti / Niccolo Macii ITAEllia Kam / Danny O’Shea USAWenjing Sui / Cong Han CHNRiku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara JPN
Group 4
Maria Pavlova / Alexei Sviatchenko HUNLia Pereira / Trennt Michaud CANAnastasiia Metelkina / Luka Berulava GEOMinera Fabienne Hase / Nikita Volodin GER
Who to watch
Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin
Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin were the beneficiaries of another unpredictable night of Olympic figure skating.
The German pair, who have struggled with consistency themselves, made it through their short program cleanly while all of the other favorites faltered Sunday night, giving them a comfortable lead going into the free skate.
Performing to “El Abrazo” by French composer Maxime Rodriguez, Hase and Volodin opened with a brilliant triple twist, landed their side-by-side triple salchows, and their throw triple loop put an exclamation mark on a program that earned them 80.01 points.
Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava
Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, who made a mistake on their throw triple flip but were otherwise solid, were in second place heading into the final with 75.46 points as they try to give Georgia its first ever medal at the Winter Games.
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud of Canada were third with 74.60 in what could be a tight competition for the podium Monday night.
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, the world champions from Japan and heavy favorites to win gold, will have to stage a big comeback after a major mistake on their lift cost them nearly six points. Miura awkwardly slid off Kihara’s shoulders near the end of the element, and that error was enough to send them tumbling all the way to fifth place with 73.11 points.
By comparison, Miura and Kihara scored a career-best 82.84 points for the same program during the team event last weekend.
Sui Wenjing and Han Cong
The defending Olympic champions, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, went long before the rest of the favorites because the order is based partly on world rankings. And because they only began a comeback last June after a two-year retirement brought on by Han’s injuries, their ranking had suffered, and they wound up being the second pair to take the ice.
They also became the first of the favorites to stumble; Sui fell on their opening triple toe loop and they finished with 72.66 points.
Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps
Former world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek, the 42-year-old from the Chicago area, and her Canadian partner Maxime Deschamps weren’t even sure they would compete at these Olympics when she sustained a head injury in a recent practice fall.
They had a strong program going until Stellato-Dudek’s fluke fall at the end of their reverse lasso lift. They scored just 66.04.
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, who helped the U.S. capture team gold last week, were the top American pair in seventh place with 71.87 points. Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe, a private first class in the U.S. Army, were ninth with 70.06 points.
“Everybody’s goal is to go out there and skate clean and nail all the elements,” Howe said. “For me, a big goal has always been getting out there and feeling good. Because if you can feel good, then you have your best chances of delivering what you need to do.”
The Americans have not won an Olympic pairs medal since 1988, but they appear to be on an upswing in the discipline. And their top team, national champs Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, isn’t even at the Winter Games because the Finish-born Efimova was not able to secure her American citizenship in time, which is one of the requirements of the International Olympic Committee.
“There are some amazing pairs teams within the U.S., and I think that you’ll see all three of them at the world championships this year,” O’Shea said. “It’s awesome, because pairs in the U.S. is very dear to my heart.”
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