I Would Like to Request Funding to Study Pairs Figure Skaters’ Brains

This is part of Slate’s 2026 Olympics coverage. Read more here. 

Pairs is the best discipline in figure skating. Yes, I’m biased because I used to do it myself, but I’m right. No other event has such a variety of elements. In addition to the jumps, spins, and footwork you’d see in a singles program there are lifts, twists, throws, and death spirals! Pairs skaters are the American Ninja Warriors of figure skating, doing X Games–level stunts with the gentility and grace of the Bolshoi Ballet.

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When a pairs program is clean, it is something transcendent. When it goes wrong, it can go oh-so-wrong. No discipline in the sport has harder falls. So, whether you’re looking for beauty or you enjoy the NASCAR thrill of impending disaster, pairs has something for everyone.

Now, if you’re a casual skating fan, an every-four-years type, you probably don’t know many names in this event. In fact, I don’t know that there have been household names in pairs since Gordeeva and Grinkov in the ‘80s and ‘90s. But after the horrors of the men’s free skate on Friday, the pairs short program was the palate cleanser that skating fans needed. And in the absence of a “god” of the sport, or even a clear favorite, the skating itself was the star of the night.

The United States hasn’t been a factor in pairs figure skating for some time; no American team has won a pairs medal since 1988, and no U.S. team has ever brought home gold. But though the Americans are once again not top medal contenders, both teams represented U.S. Figure Skating well on Sunday.

Emily Chan and Spencer Howe are happy just to be at these Olympics, qualifying after placing only fourth at U.S. Nationals. U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov were ineligible to compete because Efimova has not yet obtained her U.S. citizenship, thus opening up a slot for Chan and Howe. Howe is the first figure skater to be a member of the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program, and he certainly seemed battle-ready in his first outing on Olympic ice.  Skating to a flamenco-inspired track from the Mission: Impossible soundtrack, Chan and Howe showed off considerable strength and clean lines in a short program that included a huge triple twist and clean side-by-side triple toe loops on the way to a ninth-place finish.

Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea flash their gigawatt smiles. JULIEN DE ROSA/Getty Images

Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea are already Olympic gold medalists in the team event, and dare I say it, the heart and soul of the U.S. figure skating team at these Games. Their gigawatt smiles could power a small Alpine village—with no one predicting a medal for them, they’re exceeding expectations, and their jubilation has shown in every performance. Skating to a k.d. lang cover of “Hallelujah,” Kam and O’Shea opened with a lovely triple twist that had great flow coming out of it. They hit side-by-side triple salchows, usually an iffy element for them, and she hung on for dear life to a throw triple loop, putting a hand down but staying vertical.

There’s something ebullient about how this pair interprets the music in their program that gives me goosebumps. I especially enjoy watching their effortless overhead lifts, which are anchored by O’Shea’s sturdy footwork. Kam and O’Shea earned a season’s best score that landed them in seventh place. While there is very stiff competition above them, a few errors up top could open the door a crack. After favorites fell and unknowns rose in the men’s free skate, no placements are certain at these Olympics.

The favorites coming in were Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, reigning World Champions. They’re also my personal favorites stylistically. There’s something spellbinding about the way they work together, a joining of two skaters as one rather than what one sees too often in this discipline: a clumsy giant hurling a bedazzled toddler.

Miura and Kihara skate to an ominous-sounding orchestral version of “Paint It Black,” powerful music that in recent years has suffered from overuse. (I would like to start a letter-writing campaign to temporarily ban it from the sport.) They opened with a high-flying triple twist that had wonderful speed. Next up, side-by-side triple toe loops that looked effortless. Then, disaster: Midway through a one-handed overhead lift, Miura reached for a change in position and somehow missed connecting with Kihara. The lift collapsed onto his back, and while he placed her down safely, it was a massive mistake, one that could have ended their gold-medal chances in a split-second.

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, dismayed. Elsa/Getty Images

Afterwards, Miura stayed mentally strong enough to hold on to the landing of a throw triple lutz. But from the moment the lift went down, it felt like the pair was in shock, merely going through the motions. When the program ended, Kihara stayed down on one knee on the ice, Miura staring at him in disbelief, rubbing his back and pulling him to his feet. They are in a shocking fifth place, 6.9 points out of the lead.

One of the night’s big surprises was the fourth-place finish of Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko. The young Hungarian team has never medaled at a World Championships and only won bronze at the most recent European Championships, but they surpassed expectations by earning a personal best score . Skating to “Earth Song” by Michael Jackson, they executed a triple twist, a throw triple lutz, and side-by-side triple toe loops in an error-free skate. It wasn’t entirely perfect; her air position felt a bit awkward in their overhead lift and at times it felt like they were looking down at the ice rather than up and out to the audience. The last time Hungary won a medal in pairs figure skating was in 1956, but if Pavlova and Sviatchenko deliver a free skate as solid as their short program, that 70-year drought may be over.

Another happy surprise came from the Canadian pair of Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud. Although they only placed 11th at the 2025 World Championships, they won their first Canadian national title in January and seemed to be riding off that momentum here. In the short program, they skated to “Say You Love Me” by Jessie Ware (who sent them flowers for good luck). In their short program, they completed a triple twist, a throw triple loop, and a magnificent one-handed overhead lift with Pereira folded into a split position, a highlight for me. Michaud is one of the most strapping skaters out there (he wouldn’t look out of place in Heated Rivalry) and that strength helped him hold onto an iffy landing on their side-by-side triple toe loops. What I loved from Michaud in this program was his tenderness, and how he complemented Pereira. This pair felt inside the music, displaying a connection that was emotional but not overwrought. Pereira and Michaud earned a personal best score and are currently in third place.

Georgia has never won a medal at the Winter Olympics, but the nation has a good chance of a podium finish with the team of Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava. Only together since 2023, they are the reigning European Champions and rising stars in the discipline.

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, off to a striking start. Elsa/Getty Images

They know how to stand out from the beginning, with Berulava holding Metelkina in a headstand as their starting position. Unlike most of the women in the event, Metelkina has opted to wear bright red pants instead of a dress. I think it’s a smart and striking choice, showing off her long lines and making the two of them seem like halves of the same whole. Her styling was my favorite of the night, complete with snake-like bangs plastered to her forehead. Yes, this is an athletic event, but it’s also a mini Met Gala, and for me, she wins.

They skate to “Bolero,” one of the most famous and most overused pieces of music in skating. It’s overused because it’s an amazing piece of music, but Torvill and Dean skated it so iconically that it’s hard for any other skaters to live up to their legacy. Still, I loved the fierce attack and thrilling speed of this team. She was like a feather in the air on their triple twist, they nailed their side-by-side triple salchows, and I think they had the best side-by-side spin of the day. She stepped out of the landing on her throw triple flip, and his lift footwork needs improvement, but other than that it was a declarative “we’re here” of an Olympic debut. They stand in second after the second program.

The leaders after Sunday, Germany’s Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin, have collected two World Championship medals and two golds at the Grand Prix Final in just three years together. After Sunday’s short program, an Olympic gold medal is theirs to lose, as they sit 4.55 points above the field.

It was a commanding, star-making performance for Hase and Nikita Volodin, who seemed precise and passionate for the entire duration of their skate. Their music is “El Abrazo,” a tango piece composed especially for them, and it really showed the power of having music that complements your style. Technically, everything felt right in place. Their triple twist seemed to float in the air. Their side-by-side triple salchows were landed confidently. And when she pulled off the throw triple loop with a buttery, soft-kneed landing, I knew this team would be the one to beat. A tiny trip from Hase at the start of the sequence was the only error I could find in an otherwise perfect program. It’s such a joy to see two people in such synchronicity. Their grade of execution on their elements earned them 10 additional points, as much as adding another lift to their program. Hase and Volodin proved it takes two to tango to the top.

We’re sending these pairs gladiators right back into the arena on Monday for the free skate. If Sunday’s short program was any indication, we’re in for a battle for the podium. It’s going to come down to who can throw down a clean skate, who will rise to their Olympic moment, and who can sell us on their connection while forgetting for four minutes that every element they’re performing is absolutely insane.

Remember the free climber Alex Honnold from the documentary Free Solo? A brain scan revealed that he had incredibly low activity in the fear-processing center of his brain, a huge asset in his ability to conquer cliff faces. After tonight, I would like to request funding to study pairs skaters’ minds as well, because I’m pretty sure their brains are just as beautifully broken.

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