Defending champ US takes lead into final day of team figure skating at the Milano Cortina Olympics

MILAN (AP) — Ilia Malinin's quest for Olympic figure skating gold might not be so easy after all.

Same goes for his American team.

Yuma Kagiyama landed a pair of near-perfect quads, one in combination with a triple toe loop, and scored 108.67 points in his short program on Saturday night. That topped Malinin in the segment — he was second with 98.00 — and helped to keep the Japanese team within distance of the defending champion U.S. heading into the final day of competition.

Thanks to a brilliant free skate by Madison Chock and Evan Bates later in the night, the U.S. ended the day with 44 points. Japan was five points back going into the men's, women's and pairs free skates to decide the medals Sunday.

“You know, I think I got to buckle down and see what happens and get better next time. We will work it out," said Malinin, the two-time and reigning world champion, who is unbeaten in his last 14 full competitions stretching back more than two years.

Malinin will have to work it out in a hurry: The U.S. is sending him back out for the free skate on the decisive day.

Japan is likewise sending Kagiyama back out for his free skate.

“I did watch his skate,” Malinin said of Kagiyama, also his biggest rival in the individual competition later in the Winter Games, “and I was so happy for him. He was so happy. It looked like he was enjoying every single moment. It’s just so unreal that all of us are here on the Olympic stage. I really feel so much energy and so much excitement.”

Given the lineups for Sunday, for all practical purposes, the U.S. and Japan are in a duel for gold. But the race for the bronze medal is also tight with Italy standing on 37 points, Canada two points back and Georgia with 32.

The top five teams advanced after short programs, and the Canadians squeaked through thanks to Stephen Gogolev's personal-best 92.99 score. Kevin Aymoz was unable to match him for France, leaving his team one point below the cut line.

“I’m focusing more on myself," Gogolev said, "and obviously that is going to translate to the highest ranking possible for the team.”

As for Malinin, he had stalked through the tunnels inside Milano Ice Skating Arena before his Olympic debut, wearing a black tank top that read “Quad God,” the nickname borne of the way that he performs his otherworldly four-revolution jumps.

The 21-year-old wunderkind did not attempt the quad axel, the 4 1/2-revolution jump only he has ever landed in competition, on Saturday night and did a shaky version of a triple instead. Malinin hit a big opening quad flip and finished his program with a quad lutz-triple toe loop, getting bonus points for the combination in the second half of the program.

But when his score was read, Malinin seemed almost stunned that Kagiyama had beaten him — and by a 10-point margin.

“That's only 50% of my full potential here,” Malinin said.

Kagiyama opened with a quad toe-triple toe combination, landed a quad salchow and finished his short program with a peerless triple axel. And unlike Malinin, when Kagiyama's score was read he jumped out of his seat with clenched fists raised high.

“I always receive good motivation from Ilia because he is one of the skaters who created this figure skating moment,” said Kagiyama, who was second to Malinin at the Grand Prix Final in December. "I always think that I want to catch him.”

The U.S. has been on a mission since the 2022 Beijing Games, when its Olympic triumph was overshadowed by a Russian doping controversy. The ensuing investigation held the gold medals in limbo for more than two years, until Chock and Bates were part of the American squad that finally received them in a ceremony during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

It was only fitting that Chock and Bates would perform — and win — both of their programs during the team competition.

Their free dance, a flamenco-styled program set to “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi western “Westworld,” had the crowd on its feet by the end. Their season-best score of 133.23 points gave a big boost to a U.S. squad in need of some momentum.

The Japanese have long been considered its biggest rivals. And they have lived up to those expectations with winning short programs from Kaori Sakamoto and the pair of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara to go with Kagiyama's triumph Saturday night.

All of them will be on the ice once more for the Japanese team Sunday.

Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea will be back in pairs for the U.S., while Amber Glenn will replace Alysa Liu in the women's free skate.

“We’re really excited to cheer on our team,” Chock said. “I think our team is incredibly strong, arguably the strongest it’s ever been, and I have the utmost faith in them, and I’ll be proud of them no matter what the outcome is.”

AP Olympic coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States react to their scores after competing during the figure skating ice dance team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States wave to the crowd before the figure skating ice dance team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Stephen Gogolev of Canada competes during the figure skating men's team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Yuma Kagiyama of Japan competes during the figure skating men's team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Ilia Malinin of the United States competes during the figure skating men's team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Yuma Kagiyama of Japan competes during the figure skating men's team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Ilia Malinin of the United States competes during the figure skating men's team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO (AP) — There are four matches happening at once in Cortina's curling stadium, yet you’d hardly know it. All attention in the venue seems trained on young, high-ponytailed Stefania Constantini, the defending gold medalist who hails from Cortina and is battling for a spot in the next round of the competition.

Even with top contenders — the U.S. and Great Britain — broom to broom, Italian fans are dominating this arena. The crowds are chanting “Italia, Italia, Italia!," putting American and British contingents to shame. They're banging on the wooden barristers, sending reverberations ricocheting across the arena. With a tiny wave of her hand, the 26-year-old Constantini sends them into crazy cheers.

Constantini grew up in this tiny Tyrolean town, training on courts nestled between the high peaks of the Dolomites.

After her win with partner Amos Mosaner, from northern Italy, in Beijing 2022, these Olympics are widely seen as her chance to prove Italy's dominance in the event. But the team's on shaky ground in the standings after losing to the Swedes on Saturday and the Canadians a day earlier. The latest loss knocked the pair out of the top four. They need to avoid racking up more missteps if they hope to advance out of the round-robin phase and qualify for the playoffs.

“Today we struggled a little bit to adapt from the games yesterday to today,” Constantini said after her first match of the day.

“We have to restart,” agreed Mosaner. “Try to avoid the mistakes and make our best performance tonight and we’ll see about tomorrow.”

Before her gold-winning performance in Beijing, Constantini worked as a saleswoman in The North Face store on the Corso Italia — a job she kept until a month before the Beijing Games. Now, Constantini and Mosaner’s bid is spreading the curling gospel through Italy, where the sport had a limited fan base until recently.

Limited, that is, except for in Cortina. Turns out the tiny town is seen as the national cradle of the sport. Even its mayor, Gianluca Lorenzi, is a former member of Italy’s national team — and the son of the sport’s founding father in Italy.

That means the pressure is on for Constantini and Mosaner to perform. But, they say the high-stakes atmosphere in the arena doesn’t get to them. In fact, Constantini said, the cheering is what gets her through the games.

“It’s special,” she said. “Because they are really supporting us. It’s really good to play with this crowd.”

Later Saturday, Italy defeated Norway and has matches against Czechia and Great Britain set for Sunday.

“They seemed nervous today,” said Carla Pelosin, an Italian with the country's flag painted on her face who traveled to Cortina from the Venetian town of Noale to watch the duo. “But we’re confident in them for the coming days.”

Asked if she had a message for the athletes, Pelosin said: “I would just tell them just to give their best. The Italian people are confident in them and believe in them.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Italy's Amos Mosaner and Stefania Constantini and Sweden's Isabella Wranaa and Rasmus Wranaa compete during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Italy's Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner compete during a curling mixed doubles round robin session against Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Italy's Stefania Constantini celebrates their win during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition against Estonia, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Italy's Amos Mosaner and Stefania Constantini strategize during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition against Sweden, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Italy's Stefania Constantini in action during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition against Estonia, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)