Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
ISU Skate to Milano
Figure skating competition From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
The ISU Skate to Milano Figure Skating Qualifier was held on 18–21 September 2025 at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. This was the final figure skating qualification competition for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. Seventeen quota spots for the Olympics that had not been awarded at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships in Boston were assigned. Medals were also awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance.[1] In addition, the Figure Skating Federation of Russia and the Skating Union of Belarus were permitted to nominate one skater or team from each discipline to participate at this event as a means to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs). Each nominee was required to pass a special screening process to assess whether they had displayed any active support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine or any contractual links to Russian or Belarusian military and other national security agencies.[2][3]
Remove ads
Changes to preliminary assignments
Summarize
Perspective
In May 2025, the International Skating Union (ISU) announced the Russian and Belarusian skaters who had been granted AIN status. No Russian pair skating and ice dance team nominations were approved by the ISU.[4][5] The ISU published the initial list of entrants on 20 August 2025.[6][7][8][9]
Remove ads
Required performance elements
Summarize
Perspective
Single skating
Men competing in single skating first performed their short program on Saturday, 20 September, while women performed their short program on Friday, 19 September.[1] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds,[14] the short program had to include the following elements:
For men: one double or triple Axel; one triple or quadruple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, two triple jumps, or a quadruple jump and a double jump or triple jump; one flying spin; one camel spin or sit spin with a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and a step sequence using the full ice surface.[15]
For women: one double or triple Axel; one triple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, or two triple jumps; one flying spin; one layback spin, sideways leaning spin, camel spin, or sit spin without a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and one step sequence using the full ice surface.[15]
Women performed their free skates on Saturday, 20 September, while men performed theirs on Sunday, 21 September.[1] The free skate performance for both men and women could last no more than 4 minutes,[14] and had to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one had to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one had to be a flying spin, and one had to be a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.[16]
Pairs
Couples competing in pair skating first performed their short program on Friday, 19 September.[1] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds,[14] the short program had to include the following elements: one pair lift, one double or triple twist lift, one double or triple throw jump, one double or triple solo jump, one solo spin combination with a change of foot, one death spiral, and a step sequence using the full ice surface.[17]
Couples performed their free skates on Saturday, 20 September.[1] The free skate performance could last no more than 4 minutes,[14] and had to include the following: three pair lifts, of which one has to be a twist lift; two different throw jumps; one solo jump; one jump combination or sequence; one pair spin combination; one death spiral; and a choreographic sequence.[18]
Ice dance
Couples competing in ice dance performed their rhythm dances on Friday, 19 September.[1] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 50 seconds,[14] the theme of the rhythm dance this season was "music, dance styles, and feeling of the 1990s". Examples of applicable dance styles and music included, but were not limited to: pop, Latin, house, techno, hip-hop, and grunge.[19] The rhythm dance had to include the following elements: one pattern dance step sequence, one choreographic rhythm sequence, one dance lift, one set of sequential twizzles, and one step sequence.[19]
Couples then performed their free dances on Sunday, 21 September.[1] The free dance performance could last no longer than 4 minutes,[14] and had to include the following: three dance lifts, one dance spin, one set of synchronized twizzles, one step sequence in hold, one step sequence while on one skate and not touching, and three choreographic elements.[19]
Remove ads
Judging
Summarize
Perspective
For the 2025–2026 season, all of the technical elements in any figure skating performance – such as jumps, spins, and lifts – were assigned a predetermined base point value and were then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution.[20] The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, an average after deleting the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE was added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total element score.[21] At the same time, judges evaluated each performance based on five program components – skating skills, transitions, performance, composition, and interpretation of the music – and assigned a score from .25 to 10 in .25 point increments. The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score.[22]
Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.[24] The total element score and total program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.[25]
Medal summary
The 2025 Skate to Milano champions: Petr Gumennik of Russia (men's singles); Adeliia Petrosian of Russia (women's singles); Zhang Jiaxuan and Huang Yihang of China (pair skating); and Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius of Lithuania (ice dance)
Remove ads
Results
Summarize
Perspective
Men's singles
Petr Gumennik of Russia earned a spot at the 2026 Winter Olympics as an "Individual Neutral Athlete". Gumennik led after the short program and despite some errors on his quadruple Lutz and quadruple loop, he finished first in the free skate and won the competition. The other four quota spots in men's singles were awarded to South Korea, Mexico, Ukraine, and Chinese Taipei. As Mexico's dominant men's skater, Donovan Carrillo will undoubtedly be chosen to compete at the Olympics. "It's what I was dreaming, what I've been working for, and I'm just so happy that it's now a reality and also excited for the next chapter," Carillo stated after learning that he had qualified for the Olympics.[27] Li Yu-Hsiang of Taiwan finished in fifth place, earning Chinese Taipei its first Olympic berth since David Liu competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics.[27]
Women's singles
Adeliia Petrosian of Russia and Viktoriia Safonova of Belarus each earned a spot at the 2026 Winter Olympics as "Individual Neutral Athletes". The other three quota spots in women's singles were awarded to Georgia, Belgium, and China. Petrosian had led after the short program, and maintained her lead with a "passionate tango program" that featured seven clean triple jumps. Safonova had been in seventh place after the short program, but rallied back in the free skate to finish in fourth place. Anastasiia Gubanova had had a very disappointing performance at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, which left Georgia without a berth for the Olympics, but she redeemed herself with a silver medal finish and a quota spot for Georgia. Likewise, Loena Hendrickx, who had missed almost the entire 2024–25 season due to injury, was able to secure a second quota spot for Belgium with her "sophisticated flamenco program" that featured five triple jumps and precise spins. "For me, this competition was very important after coming back from my injury; I am proud to stand here again. I know I can do better, but I am satisfied and happy how this competition went," Hendrickx stated afterward.[29]
Pairs
The three quota spots in pair skating were awarded to China, Armenia, and Japan. Zhang Jiaxuan and Huang Yihang, who had won the 2025 Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, finished first in both the short program and the free skate, securing another berth for China at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Although Zhang and Huang won this competition, they are still not guaranteed a spot at the Olympics as China has several dominant pairs teams."[29] At this competition, we showed our level from what we can do in practice," Huang stated afterward.[29] Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin finished in second place, earning Armenia its first Olympic berth in pair skating since Maria Krasiltseva and Artem Znachkov competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi of Japan had finished in fourth place after the short program, but rallied back in the free skate to finish third overall and earn Japan another Olympic berth.[29]
Ice dance
The four quota spots in ice dance were awarded to Lithuania, Australia, Spain, and China. Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius won the ice dance event by a significant margin. They had narrowly missed out on earning Lithuania a quota spot to the 2026 Winter Olympics when they finished in twenty-first place at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships.[32] Their bid to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics had also been thwarted when Reed's application for Lithuanian citizenship was denied.[33] "We're there to perform, we're there to place, and our goals are way, way higher and, just really, really looking forward to representing Lithuania," Reed stated.[32] Holly Harris and Jason Chan had also narrowly missed out on competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics, and also narrowly missed out on earning Australia an Olympic berth at the 2025 World Championships. They finished in second place in both the rhythm dance and free dance. Sofía Val and Asaf Kazimov of Spain had been in fifth place after the rhythm dance, but lucked out when Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita of Japan, who had been in fourth place after the rhythm dance, scored lower enough in the free dance to allow Val and Kazimov to earn Spain a second quota spot in ice dance.[32]
Remove ads
Olympic qualification event
At Skate to Milano, a total of five quota spots were granted in each singles events, three in the pairs event, and four in the ice dance event.[35]
Remove ads
References
Works cited
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads