Australian Iceโฃ Dance duo Qualify for 2026 Winter โขOlympics
Bergamo, Italy – November โข11, 2023 – Australians Holly Harris and Jason Chanโค have secured โฃa covetedโ spot at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, qualifying in โiceโฃ dance at โthe ISU Challenger Series event โin Bergamo.
ice dancing debuted at the Olympic โคGames in 1976,while pairs skating-alongโค with men’s and women’sโค singles-has beenโข a fixture since 1908.
“We are just really โฃgrateful to everyone back home in Australia, โฃeveryoneโข back home in Montreal,” Chanโ said. โข”It’s amazing to share this experience with so many friends. I โขthink this is a โขculmination of a lot of hard work and a reflection โฃof our journey.”
The qualificationโฃ event also saw strong performances fromโข other skaters vying forโ Olympic spots. Russian โคfigure skaterโค Adeliia โPetrosian emerged as a medal contender, scoring 209.63 total โขpoints forโข her Michael Jackson-themedโฃ short program โขand Argentine tango free skate, surpassing Anastasiia Gubanovaโ of Georgia (206.23) โขand โBelgium’s Loena Hendrickx โฃ(204.96).
Competing as Individual Neutral Athletes, this marked the firstโ international competition for โRussian skatersโข since theโข 2022โ Beijing Olympics. The event represents the โsole possibility for Russian โฃskaters toโฃ earn Olympic quota spots following their exclusion from the worldโ championships โฃin Boston in March. The ISU previously โapproved a list ofโข Russian skaters for competition in Beijing, including petrosian and Alina Gorbacheva in women’s singles,โ and Gumennik and Vladislav Dikidzhi in men’s singles; no pairs or โice danceโค teams were approved. Gumennik further โขdemonstrated his olympic potential by winning the final qualifying event with a 34-point margin.
Allison Reed and Saulius Ambruleviciusโ of Lithuania won the ice dance competition.