The United States sits atop the standings in the team event on the opening day of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.  

Competing in their fourth Olympics, Madison Chock and Evan Bates got Team USA off to a flying start with a dazzling performance of their rhythm dance to Lenny Kravitz hits.

The three-time and reigning World ice dance champions attacked each element of their program with finesse, showing off the unison and chemistry built over their 15-year partnership and gaining consecutive +4 and +5 GOEs (grades of execution) on their middle three elements. 

The near-flawless routine at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan earned a season-high 91.06 points for first place, giving Team USA a crucial 10 points. 

With Alysa Liu's second-place finish in the women's short program and Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea's fifth-place effort in the pairs event, Team USA leads the team event standings with 25 points at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

"It's a great start for the rest of the day. I'm happy to be able to put out this performance for them as a team," Chock said.

"As we finished, I think we both felt the excitement in getting the Olympics on the way," Bates said.

The skaters look forward to supporting their teammates who, except for Alysa Liu, are competing at their first Olympic Games. Chock and Bates are 2022 Olympic team event gold medalists.

"We're here to support the younger athletes whenever they need it," Chock said. "They're all incredibly professional, very gifted and have good heads on their shoulders, so they know what to do. We are confident in them and trust them, but of course, we're here when they need help."

Bates added it's been exciting to be part of the sport's resurrection regarding its popularity in recent years.

"I'm so happy for our sport, the federation and U.S. Figure Skating," Bates said. "You know the history of our sport for the last 30 years and one of the goals of this generation is to bring skating back to the forefront of pop culture, and I think we have the stars to do that. There's the Blade Angels — they're so fun and so entertaining — and the Quad God. I think we have the firepower to make skating popular again."

In her Olympic team event debut, Liu performed her short program to Laufey's "Promise" and skated the way she has all season long: relaxed, confident and with joy. 

After opening with a triple flip and double Axel, the reigning World champion executed the most difficult combination of the event, a triple Lutz-triple loop, with the loop deemed on the quarter by the technical panel. Liu shone in the final half of the program with effortless Level 4 spins and steps and earned 74.90 points – less  than one point off her international personal-best score – for second place and nine points for Team USA.

"There's so many parts I did love in that short program," said Liu, who is the reigning World and Grand Prix Final champion. "I liked my spins a lot, especially the last layback. And I liked what my intention was with some of the movements." 

"But I really loved the crowd, and I love having my teammates right there rinkside to cheer me on. To have them all be with me when I get off is — that's how it should be."

Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea did their job for Team USA, delivering a polished performance to k.d. lang's "Hallelujah" in their Olympic debut

The reigning U.S. pairs silver medalists opened with a solid triple twist and nailed their side-by-side triple Salchows, and although Kam fell on the landing of a throw triple loop, they closed their program strong with a sublime Level 4 Axel lasso lift, the second-highest scoring element of the event.

The Colorado Springs-based skaters earned 66.59 points for fifth place, contributing six points to the team's tally.

"It was crazy," Kam said of the fans' reaction to their program. "You could hear it when we landed our side-by-side jumps; it was so loud I couldn't hear anything and I couldn't hear our music for a second, so it was like, 'OK, lock in, we need to do the rest of this program.'"

"We had some high points within that performance and things that we are proud of, and we had the obvious fall," O'Shea said. "Ice is slippery sometimes, unfortunately. We both have to make sure that we are in that perfect zone in that given day and that given moment, so it's disappointing whenever you make a mistake, but I think we did an amazing job of picking ourselves back up and getting back into the program and finishing with some really strong elements."

O'Shea, the team event captain, said the experience of being an Olympian has been all he thought it would be.

"It's special to be on Team USA," O'Shea said. "To have the opportunity to do something that we've both trained for and fought for since we were 4 years old, to come out on the world stage and represent the country that we are from is an amazing experience."

Ilia Malinin will make his Olympic debut on Saturday in the men's short program of the team event. Undefeated for more than two years, Malinin is the reigning and two-time World champion, three-time Grand Prix Final champion and four-time and reigning U.S. champion.

The United States has medaled in the team event every Olympic Winter Games since the event began in 2014. After securing bronze in 2014 and 2018, Team USA clinched gold in 2022.

To follow Team USA during the team event, including the full schedule, bios, news and more, visit the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 Competition Central.