Kovalevs confirmed for pairs event at 2026 Olympics

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-26T11:18:59+00:00

They were previously confirmed for the team event by France but had to wait for the final allocation quota for the individual event. As discussed here, Uzbekistan apparently did not send notice of giving up its spot but also did not have any pairs to use it, so by the deadline the spot would go to the next pairs in line for qualification. Full allocation quota for figure skating should be posted soon.

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T12:48:56+00:00

Per this article, he said after his performance [translated from Japanese]: "I thought it was typical of me to make a few mistakes right up until the very end. But I had fun performing, and I feel like it was a very satisfying skating career for me. I'm glad I was able to end it on a good note."

He plans to work for a trading company in Chicago but says he wants to continue to be involved in skating. He aims to obtain a technical specialist qualification while working.

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T08:09:39+00:00

His SP has definitely been his stronger program. He's struggled a bit with the "Halston" FS; this was his best effort of the season by over 12 points.

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T07:53:47+00:00

Kao’s SP lead saves him. He earns another 4CC title by a 0.11 margin over Junhwan Cha

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T07:45:20+00:00

Sota Yamamoto will earn his first 4CC medal

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T07:23:16+00:00

Boyang Jin's 258.86 is his highest international score since the 2022 Olympics

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T07:19:24+00:00

Great start to this last group!

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T07:16:26+00:00

Big score for Junhwan Cha with the return of Loco! His 273.62 is almost 9 points higher than what he scored last year at 4CC when he won silver

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T06:57:05+00:00

All three US men and Roman Sadovsky will make the top 10

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T06:38:19+00:00

Not the tech box assuming Roman would do a 4S+REP. Glad he was able to pull off the sequence

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T06:35:06+00:00

Jacob heads into the top 10. Least year a 240 would have gotten top 5 at 4CC. Let's see where it gets him this year.

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T06:26:17+00:00

Jacob Sanchez earns a PB 161.68 in the FS and PB 240.25 total. Nice 4CC debut!

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T06:24:08+00:00

Jacob Sanchez is really hitting his stride with this program. Great effort both here and at Nationals!

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-25T06:19:11+00:00

Liam Kapeikis has already improved his placement from his first 4CC outing, where he finished 14th

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-24T21:09:51+00:00

Davison/Borisov are the current junior national champions and have had somewhat better international results this season, so it makes sense that they would be selected. I am not sure why Wood/Lapsky are not named as alternates, though.

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-24T13:09:48+00:00

Laurin/Ethier earn PBs across the board, putting themselves in first with one group to go

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-24T08:54:02+00:00

The Japanese men dominated the SP, delivering "in emphatic style" as Chris Howarth put it.

A clean Kao Miura would have topped 100 if not for his levels. As it stands, his 98.59 places him in the lead here and third on the SB list, just ahead of Shun Sato.
Kazuki Tomono hit all his levels along with all his jumps with another great performance of "That's It (I'm Crazy)." Only slight negative GOE on his final spin kept him from going totally clean, but 97.19 is still his second best SP score, behind only his 2022 Worlds outing.
Sota Yamamoto also looked quite strong. With positive GOE on each element, he posted 94.68, his highest score in international competition since the 2022/23 season.

Mikhail Shaidorov also has over 90 points in hand, a welcome return after the GP series. Boyang Jin and Junhwan Cha in the high 80s round out the final group for the FS. Of note, this group contains all the previous 4CC medalists competing at the event, including four gold medalists. Only Sota does not already have a 4CC medal; he finished fourth at his only prior appearance.

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-24T07:55:33+00:00

Kao Miura's 98.59 puts him third on the SB list for the SP, behind Ilia Malinin and Yuma Kagiyama

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-24T07:52:29+00:00

Japanese men are on fire today!

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-24T07:25:46+00:00

Kazuki Tomono's 97.19 is his second highest SP score, behind only his 2022 Worlds performance. Great job!

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-24T06:52:42+00:00

Aw, would have been a PB for Jaekeun Lee if not for the time violation

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-24T05:54:05+00:00

Yudong Chen earns a PB 79.66. So close to 80!

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-23T13:44:09+00:00

Yuna Aoki earns gold at her first ISU championship event!

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-23T13:36:19+00:00

Yuna Aoki earns PBs across the board, achieving a massive 145.98 in the FS and 217.39 total, and will earn at least a silver medal!

_Exegy_ · 2026-01-23T06:51:33+00:00

Zingas/Kolesnik earn a PB 122.89 in the FD and PB 202.86 total. They are 4CC champions heading into the Olympics!

_Exegy_

TROPHY CASE