Team Canada leaps into medal contention in team figure skating
Heading into his first Olympic Games, figure skater Stephen Gogolev worked on building his confidence—and it sure paid off.
The 21-year-old had the weight of Team Canada’s hopes on his shoulders on the second day of competition in the figure skating team event at Milano Cortina 2026.
On the first day of competition, Canada had amassed 19 team points through three events. That left the team in fifth place heading into the men’s short program, the last event of the qualification phase.
It was up to Gogolev to maintain Canada’s spot among the top five in order to reach the competition’s final phase.
Having spent years dealing with a recurring back injury and missing numerous competitions, Gogolev had doubted whether he’d even continue as a competitive skater. Yet under the long-awaited Olympic spotlight, he shone.
Gogolev skated a crisp, clean routine, posting an impressives personal-best score of 92.99.
“It was very exciting going onto the ice, and I felt quite confident in my training and my performance,” he said. “I was very happy that I was able to perform this way.”
It would stand as the third-best performance in the men’s short program, earning eight team points for Canada. That not only qualified Canada for the final round, it leapfrogged them into fourth place, just one point behind third-place Italy.
Suddenly the podium was appearing within reach for the Canadians, though that wasn’t on Gogolev’s mind.
“I wouldn’t say I’m really thinking about the team medal,” he said. “I’m more focusing on myself and what I can do in the moment, and obviously that is going to translate to Canada getting the highest ranking possible in this team event.”
Later on Day 2, in the free dance portion of the final phase, long-time partners Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha kept the momentum going for Canada.
The pair posted a season-best score of 120.90, good for third place behind the teams from the USA and Italy.
That bumped Canada’s total team score to 37 and has them sitting fourth heading into the event’s final day. Like Gogolev, the pair found success not by dreaming about the podium, but by focusing on what was in front of them.
“We feel good,” said Lagha. “We just want people to enjoy our skating, and if it helps the team, well that’s awesome, right?”
Even so, Lajoie—who competed alongside Lagha at Beijing 2022—aimed to pump her teammates up with some motivational words the previous day.
“I told them that yeah it’s the Olympics, but like you’re skating not only for yourself but for Team Canada,” she said. “We’re all in this together.
“Like, a little something just because I was not competing and I wanted to be motivated because I wanted to do the free today.”
She got that chance—and perhaps, that motivational speech ended up working on herself as well.
“I tried to create a bubble … but I was really stressed because it’s the Olympics,” she said. “I was like, ‘oh, it’s a big moment’, but the task is the same.
“I think we were really connected and we were trying to shut everything off.”
The figure skating team event concludes on Day 3 with the free skate in the pairs, women’s and men’s programs. Canada has previously won gold (PyeongChang 2018) and silver (Sochi 2014) in the team event.
