Figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Women's singles

The women's singles figure skating competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics was held on 17 and 19 February at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy. This exciting event brought together talented skaters from around the world to compete for Olympic glory.

Alysa Liu of the United States won the gold medal, making it her second gold at the 2026 Olympics. She was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in individual figure skating since 2002. Kaori Sakamoto of Japan took home the silver medal, and Ami Nakai, also from Japan, won the bronze medal. Both Sakamoto and Nakai had previously helped Japan win silver in the team event.

This competition marked an important moment because, for the first time since 2010, the gold medal was not won by a skater from Russia. It was a fantastic display of skill, artistry, and determination by all the athletes involved.

Background

Because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee did not allow teams from Russia and Belarus to compete normally. However, each country could send one skater who passed a special check to make sure they did not support the invasion. Adeliia Petrosian from Russia and Viktoriia Safonova from Belarus competed as Individual Neutral Athletes.

The women's singles figure skating competition took place on February 17 and 19 at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy. Meda Variakojytė from Lithuania was the first woman from her country to qualify for the Winter Olympics in single skating.

Three skaters from the United States — Amber Glenn, Isabeau Levito, and Alysa Liu — were strong competitors. They called themselves the "Blade Angels." All three had won national championships in past years. Liu had also won a gold medal at the 2025 World Championships and returned to skating in 2024 after a break. Both Glenn and Liu were part of the American team that won the team event earlier in the Olympics.

Japan also had strong skaters: Mone Chiba, Ami Nakai, and Kaori Sakamoto. Sakamoto had already won a silver medal in the team event. She is a three-time world champion and had won many other big competitions.

Qualification

Main article: Figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

Twenty-four spots for the women's figure skating event were given to countries based on their results at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships. Five more spots were given at the Skate to Milano.

Required performance elements

The women's singles figure skaters performed their short programs on February 17. Each short program could last up to 2 minutes and 40 seconds and needed to include certain moves: one double or triple Axel, one triple jump, one jump combination, one flying spin, one special spin like a layback spin, sideways leaning spin, camel spin, or sit spin, one spin combination with a change of foot, and one step sequence across the ice.

The top twenty-four skaters from the short program moved on to the free skating on February 19. The free skate could last up to 4 minutes and needed to have seven jumps, including one Axel-type jump, three spins (one as a combination, one as a flying spin, and one with only one position), one step sequence, and one choreographic sequence.

Judging

See also: ISU Judging System

Skaters were judged on the skills they showed, like jumps and spins, and how they presented their whole program. Judges look at three parts: skating skills, how the skater presents themselves, and how the program is put together.

Each skill, such as a triple Axel, has a set number of points. Judges give extra points based on how well the skater does each skill. All the points from the skills are added up to get a total score. Judges also score the presentation parts and add those points to the skill points to find the final score for each skater.

Results

The women's singles figure skating competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics took place on February 17 and 19 at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy. Alysa Liu from the United States won the gold medal. Kaori Sakamoto from Japan won the silver medal, and Ami Nakai, also from Japan, won the bronze medal.

In the short program on February 17, Ami Nakai finished first, followed by Kaori Sakamoto in second and Alysa Liu in third. The free skate on February 19 saw Alysa Liu move up to win the gold medal. Kaori Sakamoto took silver, and Ami Nakai earned bronze despite some errors in her jumps. This was Liu's second gold medal at the 2026 Olympics, as she was also part of the winning American team in the figure skating team event.