This past weekend in Olympic sports, significant developments unfolded across multiple disciplines, setting the stage for the upcoming 2026 Winter Games and offering a glimpse of future Olympic showdowns. The figure skating Grand Prix Final field was finalized, Mikaela Shiffrin continued her commanding start in Alpine skiing, and speed skating and bobsledding competitions highlighted emerging talents and confirmed favorites.
**Figure Skating Grand Prix Final Set for Nagoya**
The field for the December Grand Prix Final in figure skating was completed at the sixth and final regular season Grand Prix event, held in Helsinki, Finland. American skater Amber Glenn, along with U.S. ice dancers Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, secured their spots on the podium and clinched places for the Final. The Grand Prix Final, scheduled for December 4-6 in Nagoya, Japan, is often viewed as a mini preview of the Olympic figure skating competition, bringing together the top six competitors in each discipline from the six Grand Prix Series events held in October and November.
The Final boasts a strong lineup, featuring every medalist from the 2025 World Championships across men’s and women’s singles, pairs, and ice dance. Glenn, who made history last year as the first U.S. woman to win the Final since 2010, continued her impressive run by following a victory at Grand Prix China with a runner-up finish behind Japan’s Mone Chiba in Finland. The Final’s women’s singles field also includes 2025 World champion Alysa Liu and three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan. Sakamoto, Ami Nakai, and Chiba collectively hold the world’s top six scores this season, setting up a fiercely competitive event.
In the men’s competition, two-time world champion Ilia Malinin leads the pack after winning his first two Grand Prix starts. He is set to face his main rival, 2022 Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan, who has also won his two regular season events, including the Finland competition last week. However, Malinin boasts an average score nearly 50 points higher than Kagiyama this season, underscoring his dominance.
Zingas and Kolesnik, the breakthrough U.S. ice dance team this season, earned their places at the Final by finishing second and third in their Grand Prix starts, securing the sixth and final dance spot. After placing fourth at last January’s U.S. Championships, they are now strong contenders for one of three Olympic dance team positions. Their backgrounds are unique: Zingas previously competed as a singles skater for Cyprus, her father’s native country, while Kolesnik, born in Ukraine, has lived in the United States since 2017. Despite his family’s separation due to the ongoing conflict, with his mother residing in Michigan and his father and brother still in Ukraine, Kolesnik has persevered to reach this elite level.
The ice dance competition at the Final will also test the dominance of three-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who are vying for their first Olympic dance medals. Chock and Bates hold the world’s top score this season, but they will face strong competition from the French duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who have won both their Grand Prix starts this season. Notably, both couples share coaches in Montreal, adding an intriguing dynamic to their first head-to-head meeting at the Final.
Reflecting on their rapid rise, Zingas and Kolesnik expressed confidence and determination. “It would be amazing to be on the Olympic team, but we want to remind everyone we are here to stay,” they said, signaling their intention to remain key figures in U.S. ice dance beyond the upcoming Games.
**Mikaela Shiffrin Dominates Early Alpine Skiing Season**
In Alpine skiing, American star Mikaela Shiffrin continued to assert her dominance by winning her second consecutive World Cup slalom race to start the season. Shiffrin’s latest victory came on Sunday in Gurgl, Austria, where she won by a commanding margin of 1.23 seconds over 19-year-old Lara Colturi of Albania. This win followed Shiffrin’s triumph eight days earlier in Levi, Finland, where she prevailed by an even larger margin of 1.66 seconds, also over Colturi.
Describing her performance in Gurgl, Sh