The 2026 Winter Olympics, held in the Italian cities Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, were a roller coaster of trials and emotions for all of the athletes competing, especially figure skaters. It was harrowing yet inspiring to watch, seeing how the big names dealt with Olympic pressures and falls. Seeing them helped encourage and awe both casual watchers and competitive figure skaters at North.
“I really enjoyed watching the Olympics, especially as someone who is working towards getting synchronized skating into the Olympics. I really enjoy watching how the different athletes prepare themselves and all of the energy that radiates in the arena,” said Kiley Scoleri, a junior at North who is also a competitive figure skater.
One of the many people who have influenced North students like Scoleri is Alysa Liu, a figure skating prodigy who came back after a two-year break. She made history as the first American woman to get an individual medal in over 20 years. Liu’s infectious enthusiasm and spirit transcended across the sport, with many praising her for her mindset and her courage to be herself.
“I was really more focused on Alysa, though, just because she kind of came in not caring, and she was just having fun,” said senior Matthew Curtis, a figure skater at North who got the bronze in the novice category at the 2025 US National Figure Skating Championships with his skating partner, Giuliana Gariti. “[Once], I was talking to one of my teachers, and he even mentioned [that] she just looks like she’s having fun.”
Additionally, Liu also scored another gold in the team event with notable figures like Ilia Malinin, nicknamed “The Quad God,” and Amber Glenn.
However, Malinin and Glenn had their own struggles, with Malinin falling to eighth after several falls and Glenn only managing to get thirteenth after her first program. Malinin especially was expected to blaze through the Olympics. He landed seven quadruple jumps while training, which takes an incredible amount of focus and precision. He is also the only skater in the world to legally land a quadruple axel in the Olympics, which means he spun 4.5 times in the air before landing back on the ice. But even still, he fell several times in his program, leading to an unprecedented position of eighth, most likely due to the intense amount of pressure he faced.
“Ilia, he’s known for his jumps, because he’s the only one in the world who has ever done a quad axle,” said Curtis. “[So] the biggest shock was Ilia. He was expected to win, for sure, but the pressure just got to him because he won a competition for two years straight, he hasn’t lost.”
While it is easy to believe that athletes only go through physical challenges, people can forget the huge mental challenges they face, especially while the whole world is watching them. In his interviews, Malinin said that medals do not define athletes.
“In the end, it’s really hard, physically, mentally, emotionally. There’s so much that goes into this sport, and the people don’t really realize what’s happening,” Malinin said in an interview with CBS News.
Ultimately, this year’s Olympics, particularly figure skating, did not just show viewers crazy feats or beautiful performances; they showed real people performing their best, dealing with Olympic pressure and picking themselves up whenever they fell.“When I watch the Olympians, I feel the story they are portraying,” said Scoleri. “That is something that my team has been focusing on for a while now, and it’s cool to see that Olympians are working on the same thing as we are.”
