Milano Cortina 2026: Japan Takes Silver Medal in Team Figure Skating; Finishes Just 1 Point Behind U.S. For Second Consecutive Silver

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:28 JST, February 9, 2026

MILAN — Japan won the silver medal in team figure skating at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games on Sunday, its second consecutive silver in this event.

The team competition started on Friday, with Japan racking up team points thanks to the high scores achieved by its skaters, including Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara in the pairs.

Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto took first place in the women’s singles free skate, earning 10 team points. Japan went into the final segment, the men’s singles free skate, tied with the United States at 59 points overall.

Shun Sato delivered a superb performance but finished second, and Japan ended just one point short of the defending champion U.S. team on total points.

“I believe this result will be a wonderful experience for everyone,” Sakamoto said. “After Beijing, Riku and Ryu and Yuma [Kagiyama] and I talked about working hard to win another medal four years later.”

“I think everyone has grown even more compared to four years ago,” she said.