Streamlly Original
Milan's Ice Raises Questions After Unusual Olympic Falls
Reported by Alecia Venkataraman, Michael Jorge, Jesse Jines
- Published: Feb 19, 2026, 11:43 AM EST
- Updated: Feb 15, 2026, 12:43 PM EST
- Filed from: Milan, Italy
- Views: 511
Milan's Olympic ice saw one of the highest fall rates in modern history. Athletes and fans noticed repeated slips, often in the same zone of the rink.
Credits
- Alecia VenkataramanReporter/Writer/Director/staff/aleciavenk
- Curtiss PhilipsenOn-Camera Talent/staff/curtiss-philipsen
- Lloyd MorrisVO Artist/staff/lloyd-morris
- Michael JorgeSenior Video Editor/staff/michael-jorge
- Jesse JinesEditor/staff/jesse-jines
Transcript
It wasn't just nerves.
The men's free skate in Milan had one of the highest fall rates in modern history.
I pulled 10 years of Olympic and world finals data for the last group.
Milan was double the average.
And the only event with a higher fall rate was also in Milan, in the same building, 8 years ago.
I mapped every fall and random slip, and I noticed they were happening in similar zones.
Most bizarre, on the left side first Adam Siao Him Fa slips just skating backwards.
Then Yuma Kagiyama, Olympic silver medalist, also slips just skating forward.
And then Ilia Malinin, undefeated since 2023.
He lands multiple jumps clean on the right.
But when he enters this left-side zone, he had falls we almost never see from him, and they were in the same area where the other 2 previous skaters had slipped.
And it wasn't just figure skating.
Short track speed skating saw multiple unexplained non-contact falls.
Top athletes kept going down because they slipped.
Some even described it as the ice gave way.
Both sports share the same ice, but they require different temperatures.
Okay.
But if it was the ice, then why did some skaters skate clean- It's like potholes in the road.
One car can drive through untouched.
The next has a blowout.
There are more questions than answers, but the pattern matches what athletes and fans have felt, that something unusual was happening.
And whatever it is, it appears to have happened 8 years ago, too, in the exact same arena.