2026-02-07T16:28:00-0500 / CBS/美联社
伊利亚·马林宁的奥运花样滑冰金牌梦恐怕没那么容易实现了。
美国队同样面临挑战。
上山结也在周六晚间的短节目中完成了两套近乎完美的四周跳（其中一套同三周半跳结合），得分108.67分。这一成绩超过了马林宁（以98.00分位居第二），帮助日本队在比赛最后一天前仍保持着距离上届冠军美国队的竞争力。
得益于麦迪逊·乔克和埃文·贝茨当晚随后的出色自由舞蹈，美国队当天以44个积分结束比赛。日本队落后5分，将于周日通过男子单人滑、女子单人滑和双人滑的自由滑决出奖牌归属。
“你知道，我觉得我必须努力，看看会发生什么，下次会做得更好。我们会解决问题。”这位蝉联两届世界冠军、过去两年多的最后14场完赛全部获胜的选手说道。
“能来到这里，我正努力享受每一刻，对一切心存感激，”马林宁继续说道，”因为生活中会有很多意想不到的事情发生，我都铭记在心。”
随着美国队与日本队争夺金牌，铜牌之争同样胶着：意大利队积37分，加拿大队35分，格鲁吉亚队32分。
短节目后排名前五的队伍晋级，加拿大队依靠斯蒂芬·戈戈列夫创个人最佳的92.99分惊险晋级。法国选手凯文·阿莫兹未能与之匹敌，使其队伍积分刚好低于晋级线。
“我现在更专注于自己，”戈戈列夫表示，”显然，这将为队伍争取到尽可能高的排名。”
至于马林宁，他在奥运首秀前曾身着印有”Quad God”（四周跳之神）字样的黑色背心穿过米兰滑冰馆的隧道。这个昵称源于他完成超凡脱俗的四周跳动作的方式。这个名字源于他曾尝试修改Instagram账号时，”我想，’哦，我完成了一个四周跳？四周跳之神，就是它了，好的，就这么定了。’”他在上周接受哥伦比亚广播公司新闻采访时说。”然后大家都问，’你为什么叫自己四周跳之神？你只有一个四周跳。’我就说，’嗯，现在想想，也许我应该尝试完成所有四周跳来获得’四周跳之神’的地位。’”
这位21岁的天才选手在周六晚间没有尝试只有他在比赛中完成过的4.5周跳（阿克塞尔四周跳），而是完成了一个不稳的三周跳。马林宁开场完成了一个高难度的四周跳翻转，并用一个四周跳-三周半跳组合结束了节目，在节目后半段获得了组合跳跃的加分。
但当他的得分公布时，马林宁似乎对上山结也击败了他——且差距达10分——感到十分震惊。
“这只是我在这里全部潜力的50%，”马林宁说。
马林宁的父母曾是乌兹别克斯坦奥运会花样滑冰选手，祖父曾是苏联花样滑冰选手，他6岁开始滑冰。
他在2024年和2025年国际滑冰联盟花样滑冰世界锦标赛中均获得金牌。
上山结也以一个四周跳-三周跳组合开场，完成了一个四周跳后内点冰跳，并以无可匹敌的三周半跳结束了他的短节目。与马林宁不同的是，当上山结也的得分公布时，他激动地从座位上跳起，双拳高举。
“我一直从伊利亚那里获得很好的动力，因为他是创造了花样滑冰这个时代的选手之一，”上山结也说，”他是个优秀的跳跃者，能完成四周跳，所以我一直想超越他。”
自2022年北京奥运会以来，美国队就肩负着使命，当时他们的奥运金牌因俄罗斯兴奋剂争议而蒙上阴影。随后的调查使他们的金牌悬置了两年多，直到乔克和贝茨在2024年巴黎夏季奥运会的颁奖典礼上终于获得了这枚金牌。
日本长期以来一直被视为他们最大的竞争对手。而他们也不负众望，通过坂本花织的短节目、世界冠军组合三浦璃来和木原龙一的双人滑，再加上上山结也周六的出色表现，成功保持竞争力。
乔克和贝茨在团体赛中表演并赢得了他们的两个节目，这再合适不过了。
他们的自由舞蹈是根据反乌托邦科幻西部片《西部世界》中的《Paint It Black》编排的弗拉门戈风格节目，最终让全场观众起立欢呼。他们赛季最佳的133.23分给急需动力的美国队带来了巨大提升。
Ilia “Quad God” Malinin stunned by Yuma Kagiyama, but U.S. holds lead over Japan in Olympic team figure skating
2026-02-07T16:28:00-0500 / CBS/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 reigning world champion, who is unbeaten in his last 14 full competitions stretching back more than two years.
Ilia Malinin reacts with his teammates as his score comes through after performing his routine during men’s single skating short program at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in the Winter Olympics on Feb. 7, 2026. Tim Clayton / Getty Images
“Being here, I’m trying to enjoy every single moment and just be grateful for everything,” Malinin continued, “because there’s a lot of unexpected things that can happen in life and I’m taking everything to heart.”
As the U.S. and Japan duel for gold, the race for bronze also is tight: Italy has 37 points, Canada has 35 and Georgia has 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.
Ilia Malinin competes in the short program at Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Feb. 7, 2026. Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images
“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 name came about when he tried changing his Instagram handle.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I landed a quad? Quad God, there it is, okay, let’s put it in,’”he told CBS Newsin an interview last week. “And from there everyone’s like, ‘Why’d you name yourself Quad God? You only have one quad.” And I’m like, ‘Well, now that I think about it, maybe I should try to land all of them to get the Quad God status.’”
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.
Yuma Kagiyama of Team Japan competes in men’s single skating – short program. Feb. 7, 2026. Joosep Martinson / Getty Images
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.
Malinan, whose parents were Olympic figure skaters for Uzbekistan and whose grandfather was a figure skater for the USSR, started skating at 6.
He won gold at both the 2024 and 2025 ISU Figure Skating World Championships.
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,” Kagiyama said. “He’s a good jumper, and he can do quads, so I always think that I want to catch him.”
The Americans have been on a mission ever since the 2022 Beijing Games, where their Olympic triumph was overshadowed by a Russian doping controversy. The ensuing investigation held their gold medals in limbo for more than two years, until Chock and Bates were part of the squad that finally received them in a ceremony during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Japan has long been considered their biggest rivals. And they have lived up to those expectations, getting short programs by Kaori Sakamoto and pairs world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara to go with Kagiyama’s triumph Saturday night.
Madison Chock and partner Evan Bates of Team USA compete in figure skating ice dance team event on day one of the Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 7, 2026, in Milan, Italy. Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
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.
