American Pairs Duo Delivers Pivotal Performance at Milan Cortina Olympics
In a crucial moment for Team USA, figure skaters Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea delivered what they described as the best free skate performance of their pairs career on Sunday night at the Milano Ice Skating Arena. Their exceptional showing kept the reigning champion Americans ahead of Japan with just two events remaining in the team figure skating competition at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
A Career-Defining Performance Under Pressure
Kam and O'Shea scored an impressive 135.36 points for their program, which featured a musical selection that opened with Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics and concluded with Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears. This score proved sufficient to outperform the Canadian team among the five pairs that advanced to the free skate segment, preventing the United States from conceding a critical point to Japan's formidable duo of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara.
The Japanese pair, who are two-time world champions, actually won the pairs segment with a remarkable 155.55 points—a career-best performance that surpassed their previous record by nearly eight points. Miura and Kihara's outstanding showing allowed Japan to narrow what had been a five-point deficit at the beginning of the evening to just two points as the competition progressed.
The Tight Team Standings
Following the pairs event, the United States maintained a slim lead with 51 points, while Japan closely trailed with 49 points as the two nations continued their intense duel for the gold medal. Italy's Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii secured third place in the pairs competition, leaving their team with 45 points overall. This positioned Italy four points ahead of both Canada and Georgia, who remained locked in a battle for the bronze medal position.
Strategic Decisions and Anticipated Showdowns
Team USA made a strategic adjustment in the women's competition, substituting world champion Alysa Liu with three-time reigning national champion Amber Glenn, who was poised to make her long-awaited Olympic debut. Meanwhile, Japan's Kaori Sakamoto returned to the ice after winning the short program segment.
However, the entire three-day team competition could ultimately hinge on the men's free skate event. After witnessing Japan's Yuma Kagiyama upset favored American star Ilia Malinin in the short program, the Japanese team opted to bench Kagiyama in favor of Shun Sato for the free skate segment. Malinin was scheduled to return to the ice for the Americans, with the two-time and reigning world champion hoping to redeem himself after what he considered a mediocre short program performance by his exceptional standards.
The stage was set for a dramatic conclusion to the team figure skating competition, with the United States seeking to secure a second consecutive team gold medal while facing determined challenges from Japan and other contenders in the final events at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
