Only USA's Alysa Liu broke up Japan's trio of Ami Nakai, Kaori Sakamoto and Mone Chiba, who finished first, second and fourth after the short program.

Japan won its first Olympic pairs gold and Georgia earned its first Winter Games medal at Milan Cortina 2026, rewriting figure skating history.

Ami Nakai topped the women’s short program Tuesday at the Milano-Cortina Olympics. Landing a huge triple Axel, Nakai edged out world champions Alysa Liu and Kaori Sakamoto, while Amber Glenn struggled again on Olympic ice.

Last updated: Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. ET Top takeaway: Norway has stretched its lead to 14 gold medals and 31 total medals, while host Italy is up to 9 gold (24 total) and Team USA has climbed to 6 gold (21 total) as another wave of finals hits the standings

In her final Olympic appearance, Japan's Kaori Sakamoto will be facing some stiff competition from her own teammates at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games.

Japan has set a new record for the most medals in its history by winning its 19th medal at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, surpassing its previous best of 18 medals from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara have delivered Japan’s first Olympic gold medal in pairs skating MILAN — Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara thought their chances of Olympic gold had gone by the wayside when the Japanese skaters made an uncharacteristic slip-up during their short program at the Milan Cortina Games .

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — A generation ago, the sight of an Olympic halfpipe podium drenched in red, white and blue was as common as fresh powder on the mountain — a fitting and expected celebration for a sport born and raised in the United States.

Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany took a sizable lead in the Olympic pairs figure skating short program in Milano-Cortina, topping a tightly contested field ahead of Monday’s free skate.