Winter Olympics Figure Skating 2022: Top Stars, USA Schedule and Live Stream
After Nathan Chen of the United States won the gold medal in men's figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Thursday, the sport had a short break. Now, things are picking back up on the ice for figure skating in Beijing.
On Saturday, the ice dance competition began with the rhythm skate. France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron placed first, and they will look to secure the gold medal Sunday night (Monday morning in Beijing) in the free dance.
The women's and pairs competitions have yet to take place, so there's plenty more figure skating action to watch over the next week.
Here's a look at the figure skating schedule in Beijing, followed by more on the top stars to watch.
Figure Skating Schedule
Sunday, Feb. 13
Free dance, 8:15 p.m. ET, USA Network
Tuesday, Feb. 15
Women's short program, 5 a.m. ET, USA Network
Thursday, Feb. 17
Women's free skate, 5 a.m. ET, USA Network
Friday, Feb. 18
Pairs short program, 5:30 a.m. ET, USA Network
Saturday, Feb. 19
Pairs free skate, 6 a.m. ET, USA Network
All events can be streamed on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
Ice Dance: Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron, France
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron entered the ice dance competition as the favorites to win the gold medal, and the French duo has gotten off to a good start. They finished first with a score of 90.83 points in the rhythm dance, just ahead of the Russian Olympic Committee's Viktoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsala, who had 88.85 points.
Papadakis and Cizeron broke their own world record with their score, besting their previous mark of 90.03 points, which they set in 2019. They didn't compete in the 2021 World Championships, so this was the first time they had competed at this level in three years.
"I think it wasn't perfect, but it was a really good moment for us on the ice," Cizeron said of the rhythm dance performance, per Nick McCarvel of Olympics.com.
After winning the silver medal in ice dance at the 2018 Winter Games, Papadakis and Cizeron have given themselves a strong chance of winning their first Olympic gold. But the Russian duo of Sinitsina and Katsala, as well as two pairs from the United States (Madison Hubbell/Zach Donohue and Madison Chock/Evan Bates), is in contention for the top spot on the medal stand.
However, Papadakis and Cizeron remain the favorites, and they should be entertaining to watch in the free dance.
Women's: Kamila Valieva, Russian Olympic Committee
During the team figure skating competition, Kamila Valieva dominated the women's events, winning both the short program and free skate in unprecedented fashion, so it's only natural she's favored to win both again during the women's competition.
The only reason Valieva may not win? She might not be allowed to compete. Earlier this week, news broke that Valieva had tested positive for a banned substance following a test taken in December. According to Graham Dunbar of the Associated Press, Valieva will find out whether she can continue to compete at the Winter Olympics on Monday, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport holds an expedited hearing Sunday.
As long as she can participate in the women's event, then the 15-year-old is likely to win the gold. If she can't, then Anna Shcherbakova of the Russian Olympic Committee and the trio of Americans in the field (Mariah Bell, Karen Chen and Alysa Liu) will have a greater chance of claiming the victory.
But it's almost certain they'll be competing for silver if Valieva is in the field. During the team competition, she had a combined score of 269.1, and if she fares that well again, she will capture the individual gold.
Pairs: Anastasia Mishina/Aleksandr Galliamov, Russian Olympic Committee
The pairs event will be the final figure skating competition to take place during the 2022 Winter Olympics. And while there are numerous strong competitors, the duo to watch is Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov of the Russian Olympic Committee.
Mishina and Galliamov won the pairs gold medal at the 2021 World Championships, but this will be their first time participating in the competition at the Olympic level. The duo had a strong showing during the team competition, helping the Russian Olympic Committee capture the gold.
In the pairs free skate during the team event, Mishina and Galliamov finished in first place. That came after they placed second in the pairs short program, which bodes well for more success in Beijing.
If there's any pair that could beat Mishina and Galliamov, it's likely China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, who finished first in the pairs short program during the team event. It's likely one of these two duos will win the gold in the pairs competition.