When Alysa Liu and Ilia Malinin stepped onto the ice together at the 2026 Winter Olympic exhibition, it was supposed to be lighthearted — a celebratory encore after the pressure of medals had passed. But from the very first beat, something shifted. “Are they even breathing at the same time?” one commentator was heard whispering off-mic as they launched into perfectly synchronized jumps, rotating like mirror images and landing with uncanny precision.

Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu and more figure skating stars took the ice one final time at the Milan Cortina Games.

The "Quad God" will take part in the Olympic figure skating exhibition on Saturday.
The “Quad God” will take part in the Olympic figure skating exhibition on Saturday. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The top figure skaters from the 2026 Winter Olympics performed one last time at the Games during the exhibition gala on Saturday.

Americans Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and ice dance team Madison Chock and Evan Bates were among the stars that delivered stellar final skates while others performed more light-hearted routines, including Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov, who took the ice in his iconic panda suit.

There was no judging and there were no medals on the line, just another opportunity for these superb skaters to entertain as they have done throughout the Milan Cortina Games.

Catch up on the final skates from Milan with Sports Illustrated’s live blog on the gala:

 

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