Armenian Pair Figure Skaters Achieve the Best Result in the Country’s Olympic History

The pairs figure skating event concluded at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, where Armenia was represented by Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin.

The Armenian duo confidently advanced to the free skate after placing 12th in the short program. With a total of 180.66 points across both programs, the pair finished 14th overall.

This result became the highest achievement in Armenia’s history at the Winter Olympic Games across all sports. Previously, the country’s best result was 18th place, earned by ice dance duo Tina Garabedian and Simon Proulx-Sénécal at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Competition Overview

In the short program, Akopova and Rakhmanin performed to “Artsakh” by Ara Gevorgyan and received 66.27 points, which secured their place in the free skate.

In the free program, the Armenian pair skated to music from the film Slumdog Millionaire. Unfortunately, Karina Akopova had one fall, which affected the score — 114.39 points.

The final total of 180.66 points was a respectable result considering the circumstances of their preparation. The pair had not competed internationally for a long time and only returned to active competition in the summer of 2025. The athletes changed their sporting citizenship from Russian to Armenian and were required to complete a mandatory waiting period.

Medalists

The Olympic champions were Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara.

Georgia claimed a historic silver medal thanks to Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava.

The bronze medals went to Germany’s Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin. The German pair had led after the short program but dropped to third place after the combined results.

Akopova and Rakhmanin’s performance marked an important milestone for Armenian sport and opened a new chapter in the country’s figure skating history. They will continue competing and can aim for an even stronger result at the next Olympic Games in 2030.