By Lori Ewing MILAN, Feb 12 (Reuters) - When Ilia Malinin launched himself into a backflip at the Milano Cortina Olympics, it detonated through the crowd like a firecracker and even brought tennis great Novak Djokovic to his feet with his hands on his head in disbelief.

The Olympic gold medal will be awarded Friday at the conclusion of the Men's Free Skate Final, which will see Ilia Malinin attempt to add to a dazzling resume and reputation as the world's best in his sport.

Figure skating is to the Winter Olympics like gymnastics is to the Summer Olympics: It’s the thing to watch, except when there’s no competition, and you’ve already seen it all live. Consistently ranked as the most popular and viewed Winter Olympic sport globally,

MILAN (AP) — Ilia Malinin playfully threw a couple of jabs at a TV camera while skating off the ice Tuesday night, the pressure of his first Olympics having seemingly vanished following a team gold medal and a near-perfect short program to begin the men's competition.

Team USA already has two figure skating medals in the bag at the 2026 Winter Olympics. At least one more medal will be earned by the Americans through Ilia Malinin in the men's singles event. A fourth medal is very likely in the women's singles, but which skater or skaters reach the podium is unknown.

From triples to quads, these charts show how Olympic figure skating has increased in difficulty over time. See what it will take to win gold in Milan.

The Olympic figure skating team event got underway Friday morning with the rhythm dance, pairs short program and women's short program. Ten national teams compete for a place in the final and the chance to stand on the Olympic podium.

Jordan Stolz broke the Olympic record in the men's 1,000 meters and officially started his quest for four golds at the 2026 Winter Olympics.