| Pair skating at the XXV Olympic Winter Games | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Forum di Milano Milan, Italy |
| Date | 15 & 16 February 2026 |
| Figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Qualification | ||
| Singles | men | women |
| Pairs | mixed | |
| Ice dance | mixed | |
| Team event | mixed | |
The pairs figure skating competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held on 15 and 16 February at the Forum di Milano in Milan, Italy. [1]
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee suspended the Olympic Committees of Russia and Belarus for violating the Olympic Truce. The Figure Skating Federation of Russia and the Skating Union of Belarus were each permitted to nominate one skater or team from each discipline to participate at the Skate to Milano as a means to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs). Each nominee was required to pass a special screening process to assess whether they had displayed any active support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine or any contractual links to the Russian or Belarusian military or other national security agencies. [2] [3]
Fifteen quota spots in the pairs event were awarded based on results at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships. [4] An additional three spots were awarded at the Skate to Milano. [5] Uzbekistan originally qualified one quota spot in the pairs event after Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitrii Chigirev finished in tenth place at the 2025 World Championships. [6] However, following the pair's split, Uzbekistan failed to submit a team who met the eligibility requirements, so the spot was re-allocated to France. [7]
| Event | Teams per NOC | Qualifying NOCs | Total teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 World Championships | 3 | N/a | 15 |
| 2 |  Canada  Italy  Germany  United States | ||
| 1 |  Japan  Georgia  Australia  Hungary  Uzbekistan  Great Britain  Poland  Netherlands | ||
| Skate to Milano | 1 |  China  Armenia Japan | 4 |
| Skate to Milano – Reallocation |  France | ||
| Total | 19 | ||
| Nation | Pairs | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Armenia | [8] | |
| Australia | [9] | |
| Canada | [10] | |
| China | [11] | |
| France | [12] | |
| Georgia | [13] | |
| Germany | [14] | |
| Great Britain | [15] | |
| Hungary | [16] | |
| Italy | [17] | |
| Japan | [18] | |
| Netherlands | [19] | |
| Poland | [20] | |
| United States | [21] | |
Pairs will perform their short programs on 15 February. [1] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds, [22] the short program has to include the following elements: one pair lift, one double or triple twist lift, one double or triple throw jump, one double or triple solo jump, one solo spin combination with a change of foot, one death spiral, and a step sequence using the full ice surface. [23]
The top sixteen highest scoring teams will perform their free skates on 16 February. [1] The free skate can last no more than 4 minutes, [22] and has to include the following: three pair lifts, of which one has to be a twist lift; two different throw jumps; one solo jump; one jump combination or sequence; one pair spin combination; one death spiral; and a choreographic sequence. [24]
For the 2025–26 season, all of the technical elements in any figure skating performance –such as jumps and spins –are assigned a predetermined base point value and are then scored by a panel of seven or nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution. [25] The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) is determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, the average after deleting the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE is added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements are added together to generate a total elements score. [26] At the same time, judges evaluate each performance based on three program components –skating skills, presentation, and composition –and assign a score from .25 to 10 in .25 point increments. [27] The judging panel's final score for each program component is also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores are then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results are added together to generate a total program component score. [28]
| Discipline | Short program | Free skate |
|---|---|---|
| Pairs | 1.33 | 2.67 |
Deductions are applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls. [30] The total elements score and total program component score are added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater. [31]
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