Fans tuning into the Winter Paralympics will have spotted figure skating missing from the programme at Milan-Cortina despite it being one of the most popular sports at the Olympics.
There are just six sports at the Games: Para-Alpine skiing, Para-biathlon, Para-cross-country skiing, Para-ice hockey, wheelchair curling and Para-snowboard.
For skating to be included in the Winter Paralympics, the International Skating Union (ISU) needs to become recognised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The IPC would also need to approve a range of conditions affecting how the sport is run – including venues, costs and deciding classification categories for competing athletes.
But there are growing calls from skaters for the sport to be included and the IPC says it is keen to expand the Paralympic programme.
No new sports have been added since Para-snowboard in 2014.
Speaking before Milan-Cortina, IPC chief Andrew Parsons said: “We have not reached the limit as per our agreement with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) in terms of the number of athletes in sports. But it is not only about the limit, it is about obviously the quality of the sport at an international level.”
“For example, we don’t have skating sports, we don’t have short course, we don’t have figure skating, because these sports are not on an international level,” he added.
Welcome to the Olympic Edition of the Sports Report, an L.A. Times newsletter published every morning during the Winter Olympics. To sign up to receive it via email (it’s free), go here and select the Sports Report. If you’ve already signed up for the Sports Report, you will receive the Olympics edition as well.
Welcome to your daily review and preview of this year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics. My name is John Cherwa and I’m your tour director for the Games as we enter the final day with the U.S. setting a record for golds and closing in on total medals.
Guessing we can call these Games a success for the U.S. after it won its 11th gold medal Saturday — the most ever for the U.S. in a single Winter Olympics. Now the U.S. is hoping to beat or tie its best mark of 34 medals set at Salt Lake City in 2002. With five events yet to be completed, the U.S. is at 33 counting a guaranteed medal in men’s hockey. (A few days ago, we predicted the U.S. would finish with 33.)
There is no chance the U.S. will catch Norway, which has 40 total medals, including 18 golds.
So, with five events remaining does the U.S. have a chance to tie or set a record?
Cross-country skiing. The final event is the women’s 50-kilometer mass start. The podium is likely to be populated by Sweden and Norway, but Jesse Diggins of the U.S. has an outside chance of making the podium.
The U.S. is ninth and 12th heading into the final two runs of the four-man bobsled. Could be another Germany sweep.
The U.S. is out of the women’s curling tournament. Switzerland and Sweden play for the gold.
The U.S. has a guaranteed silver in ice hockey when it plays Canada.
The U.S. will not likely medal in the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe but it could have. One of the favorites is Eileen Gu, who is from the Bay Area but competes for China. Vice president JD Vance criticized her, among other athletes.
Getting them onto the cusp of tying or breaking the total medal record and breaking the gold medal total on Saturday was the U.S. mixed team freestyle aerials group of Kalia Kuhn, Connor Curran and Christopher Lillis, who gave the U.S. back-to-back golds in this event. It was the 11th gold medal.
The U.S. also picked up a bronze when Mia Manganello came in behind the Netherlands and Canada in the speedskating women’s mass start. The men’s mass start was also won by the Netherlands. Three-time medalist Jordan Stolz of the U.S. was fourth.
The U.S. finished the day with a bronze in the two-woman bobsled. Kaillie Humphries and Jasmine Jones were in the sled where, as usual, Germany took gold and silver. Kaysha Love and Azaria Hill finished fifth.
So the U.S needs one more to tie the record. That means either Jesse Diggins or the four-man bobsled have to have career-defining performances.
The big event today is the men’s hockey gold medal game between the U.S. and Canada. The tournament is so much better with the return of NHL players after 12 years.
Here’s a look at NHL players on each team:
United States: Matt Boldy (Minnesota), Kyle Connor (Winnipeg), Jack Eichel (Vegas), Jack Hughes (New Jersey), Jake Guentzel (Tampa Bay), Clayton Keller (Utah), Dylan Larkin (Detroit), Auston Matthews (Toronto), J.T. Miller (NY Rangers), Brock Nelson (Colorado), Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa), Matthew Tkachuk (Florida), Tage Thompson (Buffalo), Vincent Trocheck (NY Rangers), Brock Faber (Minnesota), Noah Hanifin (Vegas), Quinn Hughes (Minnesota), Jackson LaCombe (Ducks), Charlie McAvoy (Boston), Jake Sanderson (Ottawa), Jaccob Slavin (Carolina), Zach Werenski (Columbus), Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg), Jake Oettinger (Dallas), Jeremy Swayman (Boston).
Canada: Sam Bennett (Florida), Macklin Celebrini (San Jose), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh), Brandon Hagel (Tampa Bay), Bo Horvat (NY Islanders), Seth Jarvis (Carolina), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado), Brad Marchand (Florida), Mitch Marner (Vegas), Connor McDavid (Edmonton), Sam Reinhart (Florida), Mark Stone (Vegas), Nick Suzuki (Montreal), Tom Wilson (Washington), Drew Doughty (Kings), Thomas Harley (Dallas), Cale Makar (Colorado), Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg), Colton Parayko (St. Louis), Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia), Shea Theodore (Vegas), Devon Toews (Colorado), Jordan Binnington (St. Louis), Darcy Kuemper (Kings—injured), Logan Thompson (Washington).
Elsewhere on Saturday
Oceane Michelon of France approaches the finish line to win gold in the women’s 12.5-kilometer biathlon mass start on Saturday.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
France picked up gold and silver in the biathlon women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start. There were no U.S. competitors.
The U.S. closed its curling competition by losing the women’s bronze medal match 10-7 to Canada. Canada won the men’s gold, beating Britain, 9-6.
Finland beat Slovakia, 6-1, for the men’s bronze in ice hockey.
The men’s 50-kilometer mass start in cross-country skiing was an all Norway medal stand as they swept the medals and lengthened its lead in total medals. Gus Schumacher of the U.S. was 13th.
The new must-watch sport of ski mountaineering (skimo) finished with the mixed relay, which was won by France. The U.S. pair of Anna Gibson and Cameron Smith was fourth.
Best thing to watch on TV today
The centerpiece of Sunday’s final day is the closing ceremony, which is less of a ceremony than a party. Athletes just flood the zone and the party begins. The event is not in Milan or Cortina d’Ampezzo but Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet fame. (Speaking of Shakespeare, the movie Hamnet is a must watch.) It starts at 11:30 a.m. PST and should last about 2½ hours. But, before all that is the gold medal hockey game between the U.S. and Canada. It starts at 5:10 a.m. PST. The final heat of the four-man bobsled is at 3:15 a.m. PST.
Favorite photo
U.S. speedskater Mia Manganello celebrates after earning a bronze medal in the women’s mass start final in Milan on Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Times photographer Robert Gauthier is at the Winter Olympics. Each day, Times newsletter editor Houston Mitchell will select a favorite photo from the many Gauthier has taken.
Sunday’s Olympic TV and streaming schedule
CLOSING CEREMONY 11:30 a.m. — NBC
MULTIPLE SPORTS 2 p.m. — Best of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Games | NBC 9 p.m. — “Primetime in Milan” (delay): Closing ceremony, bobsled, cross-country skiing, curling, hockey. | NBC
BOBSLED 1 a.m. — Four-man bobsled, Run 3 | Peacock 3:15 a.m. — 🏅Four-man bobsled, final run | Peacock 3:35 a.m. — 🏅Four-man bobsled, final run (in progress) | USA 4:15 a.m. — Four-man bobsled, final run (delay) | NBC 8 a.m. — Four-man bobsled, runs 3-4 (re-air) | NBC
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING 1 a.m. — 🏅Women’s 50-kilometer mass start classic | USA 4 a.m. — Women’s 50-kilometer mass start classic (re-air) | USA 8:45 a.m. — Women’s 50-kilometer mass start classic (re-air) | NBC
CURLING 🏅Women’s gold-medal match 2:05 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Sweden | Peacock 4 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Sweden (delay) | USA, NBC 10:30 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Sweden (re-air) | USA
HOCKEY 🏅Men’s gold-medal match 5:10 a.m. — United States vs. Canada | NBC 1:30 p.m. — United States vs. Canada (re-air) | USA
In case you missed it …
Check out the following Milan-Cortina Olympics dispatches from the L.A. Times team on the ground in Italy:
That concludes today’s Sports Report Olympic Edition newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email newsletter editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here and select the Sports Report.
Welcome to the Olympic Edition of the Sports Report, an L.A. Times newsletter published every morning during the Winter Olympics. To sign up to receive it via email (it’s free), go here and select the Sports Report. If you’ve already signed up for the Sports Report, you will receive the Olympics edition as well.
Welcome to your daily review and preview of this year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics. My name is John Cherwa and I’m your tour director for the Games as the U.S. surpassed the gold total of its last five Winter Olympics early Saturday. The U.S. men’s hockey team could add to that mark.
It’s been two pretty good Olympic hockey tournaments. And the U.S. could win both of them. On Friday, the U.S. men beat Slovakia, 6-2, in the semifinals and will meet Canada for the gold on Sunday. The better game was Canada and Finland. Our once-friendly neighbor to the north fell behind 2-0, tied the game with 9½ minutes to go and then won with 35 seconds left. We’ll preview that game more tomorrow.
And, who can forget the U.S. women beating Canada, 2-1, in overtime in a gold-medal quality game.
The ninth gold for the U.S. was in the men’s freestyle halfpipe Friday when, as we predicted in yesterday’s newsletter, Alex Ferreira got the gold on his last run. It completed the lifetime gold, silver, bronze trifecta for the 31-year-old from Colorado. The U.S. also had the bronze until the last run when Nick Goepper was bumped to fourth.
The only other U.S. medal of the day was Corinne Stoddard’s bronze in the women’s 1,500 meters in short track speed skating. South Korea was first and second. The Netherlands won the men’s 5,000 relay. The U.S. did not make the finals.
It’s kind of a light day, so let’s do some random thoughts on the TV coverage.
Snoop Dogg attends mixed doubles curling in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Feb. 6.
(Fatima Shbair / Associated Press)
Snoop Dogg was fresh and exciting in Paris. The act isn’t as fresh or exciting in Italy. Snoop and buddy Martha Stewart remind me of CBS’ Gayle King’s unofficial “I’m Privileged and You’re Not Tour” where she goes to awards shows, Broadway plays, Jeff Bezos’ wedding, Bad Bunny in Puerto Rico and into “space.” Well, Snoop and Martha seem almost as privileged, getting into all the best places that you or I couldn’t. Just saying, for a reported $500,000 a day for Snoop, it wasn’t as good as Paris. No idea how much Martha is making, but she’s not likely being paid in garden vegetables.
I’ve heard the Captain and Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together” more times the last two weeks than in all of 1975, when it was No. 1 for four consecutive weeks.
Do you think an NBC executive made the wrong decision to put the women’s figure skating on NBC and the U.S.-Canada women’s hockey game on USA? I do. You could have shown the game, use the time between periods to cut to the figure skating and it would seem as if you had the pulse of the Games. And the hockey game was over before the medal skaters took the ice.
Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir on figure skating get our vote for best analysts.
Kenny Albert (hockey) and Dan Hicks (skiing) have been the best play-by-play announcers.
Did you know that most of the Games are being called from Connecticut and not Italy? Sports called from stateside are curling, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined, speedskating and most freestyle skiing. And a lot of the studio shows were also from Stamford. (In fairness, this newsletter is being done from Florida. But Thuc Nhi, Sam, Kevin and Robert are in Italy.)
The Games have been a ratings success for NBC with numbers almost double what they were in 2022 in Beijing. The time difference between the U.S. and Italy was six hours and it worked to the benefit of U.S. viewers.
Mike Tirico is very good at whatever he does. Glad to see they gave him some afternoon time.
When Hoda Kotb interviewed the “Blade Angels” on Friday, I told those around me she would tell them that she loved them. I was right.
Best Thing to Watch on TV today
The gold medal chances of the U.S. women’s curling team died on the last shot in the last frame when Switzerland, holding the hammer, knocked the U.S. rock out of the house and got two points to win, 7-4. Switzerland will now play Sweden, a 6-3 winner over Canada, for the gold while the U.S. will play Canada for the bronze. On the men’s side, Switzerland won the bronze by beating Norway, 9-1. Britain plays Canada for the gold.
No surprise that Norway picked up a gold and silver in the biathlon men’s 15-kilometer mass start. Campbell Wright of the U.S. was 29th.
Besides the U.S. gold in freestyle skiing halfpipe, Germany won the women’s ski cross. The U.S. did not make the final. And, China got gold and bronze in the men’s aerials. Christopher Lillis was the top U.S. athlete in eighth.
Favorite photo
U.S. forward Jack Eichel celebrates after scoring in the second period of a 6-2 win over Slovakia in the men’s hockey semifinals Friday at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Times photographer Robert Gauthier is at the Winter Olympics. Each day, Times newsletter editor Houston Mitchell will select a favorite photo from the many Gauthier has taken.
Saturday’s Olympic TV and streaming schedule
MULTIPLE SPORTS 8 p.m. — “Primetime in Milan” (delay): Cross-country skiing, bobsled, figure skating, freestyle skiing and more. | NBC
BIATHLON 10:30 a.m. — 🏅Women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start (re-air) | USA
BOBSLED 8 a.m. — Four-man bobsled, runs 1-2 | USA 10 a.m. — Two-woman bobsled, Run 3 | NBC 12:05 p.m. — 🏅Two-woman bobsled, final run | Peacock 12:15 p.m. — 🏅Two-woman bobsled, final run (in progress) | NBC 2:15 p.m. — Two-woman bobsled, runs 3-4 (delay) | NBC
CURLING 🏅Women’s bronze-medal match 5:05 a.m. — U.S. vs. Canada | Peacock 7:20 a.m. — U.S. vs. Canada (delay) | USA 🏅Men’s gold-medal match 10:05 a.m. — Britain vs. Canada | CNBC Women’s bronze-medal match 1 p.m. — U.S. vs. Canada (re-air) | CNBC
FIGURE SKATING 11 a.m. — Exhibition gala | Peacock 11:55 a.m. — Exhibition gala (in progress) | NBC 12:50 p.m. — Exhibition gala (in progress) | NBC
FREESTYLE SKIING 8:45 a.m. — 🏅Men’s skicross, finals (delay) | USA 9:15 a.m. — Mixed team aerials, final (re-air) | USA 10:30 a.m. — 🏅Women’s freeski halfpipe, final | NBC 1:30 p.m. — Mixed team aerials, final (re-air) | NBC
HOCKEY 🏅Men’s bronze-medal game 11:40 a.m. — Finland vs. Slovakia | USA
SPEEDSKATING 6 a.m. — 🏅Men’s and women’s mass start, semifinals and finals | Peacock 7 a.m. — 🏅Men’s and women’s mass start, semifinals and finals (in progress) | NBC
In case you missed it …
Check out the following Milan-Cortina Olympics dispatches from the L.A. Times team on the ground in Italy:
That concludes today’s Sports Report Olympic Edition newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email newsletter editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here and select the Sports Report.
