Figure Skating Team Event Begins as Milan-Cortina Olympics Open; Carey, Bocelli Set for Ceremony

Athletes salute the national flag during South Korea’s team send-off ceremony for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics on Jan. 22 at Olympic Parktel in Seoul. (Yonhap)

The 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics have begun, and South Korea’s team has moved into full competition in pursuit of medals.

About 2,900 athletes from 92 national Olympic committees are competing for 116 gold medals across eight sports and 16 disciplines. South Korea sent a 130-member delegation, including 71 athletes, and is aiming to win at least three gold medals and finish in the top 10 overall.

Ahead of the official opening, mixed doubles curling began on Feb. 5 (Korea time). Because curling matches run long, 10 teams started a round-robin schedule before the opening ceremony.

South Korea’s first athletes in action, Kim Seon-young and Jeong Yeong-seok, opened with a 10-3 loss to Swedish siblings Isabella Brano and Rasmus Brano, former world champions, on Feb. 5 in the morning. They then faced Italy later that day and will go on to play Switzerland, Britain, the Czech Republic, the United States, Estonia, Canada and Norway as they fight for a spot in the semifinals.

Lim Hae-na and Kwon Ye perform their free dance in the ice dance event at the 80th Korean Figure Skating Championships and national team trials on Jan. 4 at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. (Yonhap)

Figure skating’s team event begins Feb. 6 in the afternoon, with the ice dance rhythm dance and the women’s short program scheduled. It is South Korea’s first appearance in the Olympic team event since the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Without a pairs team, South Korea will compete using men’s and women’s singles and ice dance. The United States, Japan, Italy, Canada and other top-10 nations based on international results are also entered.

Lim Hae-na and Kwon Ye are set for the team event ice dance rhythm dance at 5:55 p.m. Lim was born in Canada and holds dual Canadian and South Korean citizenship. Kwon, a Chinese Canadian, received special naturalization from South Korea’s Justice Ministry in December 2024 to compete at the Olympics. Shin Ji-a will skate the women’s short program at 9:35 p.m.

The opening ceremony is scheduled for 4 a.m. Feb. 7 at Milan’s Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. Italian director Marco Balich, who has produced opening and closing ceremonies for major international sports events including the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, is serving as artistic director. The ceremony’s theme is “Armonia,” Italian for “harmony.”

A cauldron installed in a square in Cortina d’Ampezzo glows red on the night of Feb. 4 local time, two days before the opening of the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. (Yonhap)

With about 1,200 performers, the ceremony will feature Mariah Carey, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and Chinese pianist Lang Lang. The International Olympic Committee said it expects the event to showcase “a harmony of Italian culture and global popular arts.”

Events and athlete parades will also be held simultaneously in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Predazzo and Livigno. South Korea’s flag bearers are men’s figure skater Cha Jun-hwan and women’s speed skater Park Ji-woo, who competes in the mass start. Both are appearing at their third Olympics after Pyeongchang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022.

Pita Taufatofua, known for drawing attention at three Olympic opening ceremonies including Pyeongchang in 2018 by appearing shirtless, will carry the Olympic flag. Organizers selected 10 flag bearers, including Taufatofua.

Because the Games are being staged in two cities, cauldrons have been installed in both Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo and will be lit and extinguished at the same time. Milan’s cauldron is at the Arco della Pace, and Cortina d’Ampezzo’s is in Piazza Dibona. The cauldrons were designed with inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s work “Knot,” featuring a spherical form made of aircraft-grade aluminum that holds the Olympic flame.

* This article has been translated by AI.

Kang Sang Heon ksh@ajunews.com