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Olympic figure skaters will feel the eyes of the world on them when they take the ice for their programs at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics this month, but there’s an added pressure on their shoulders going into the Winter Games.
Hitting the right notes.
It’s not so much whether the figure skaters will be able to move to the right rhythm and beats that blare through the loudspeakers, but whether any music will be playing at all.
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Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate of Spain competes in the Men’s Short Program during the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2026 at Utilita Arena Sheffield in Sheffield, United Kingdom, on Jan. 15, 2026. (Yuan Tian/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Spanish skater Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate has tried to get clearances to use music from the “Minions” movie as his short program is a medley of four different songs from the franchise. He has three of the four songs cleared as of Wednesday and is working to get a fourth song from Pharrell Williams passed, according to U.S. champion Amber Glenn.
Guarino Sabate has yet to win an Olympic medal in his career.
Glenn said she’s told family and friends there will be “Minions” at the Olympics and didn’t “want to be a liar.”
“We have tried our hardest to get everything clear, do what we can, and honestly, a producer could just decide, ‘Hey, never mind, no,’” she said.
“I’m honestly just seeing, from what avenues I have available to me, that it is clear and then I’m just hoping and praying that I don’t get an email saying, ‘By the way, they reached out and they said they don’t want you to use it.’ So I think it’s been a very strenuous process for many of us.”
Amber Glenn performs during the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Enterprise Center on Jan. 11, 2026. (Jeff Curry/Imagn Images)
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Glenn skates her short program to Madonna’s “Like A Prayer,” but even if the pop legend objected, she would take it as a win.
“If I do get a message from Madonna saying she doesn’t want me to skate to her music, I’ll just be excited to get a message from Madonna,” she said. “But let’s hope that doesn’t happen.”
Fellow American star Ilia Malinin said he’s trying to give his routine a personal touch.
“It’s something that we all worry about, and for me especially, I like to make really unique pieces of music that I skate to,” Malinin said. “I like to reach out to the artist directly and try that as an option. Most of the time it works out in my favor. Especially this year, everyone was so hopeful and so supportive.”
Ilia Malinin, of the United States, practices during a figure skating training session ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
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Glenn and Malinin are skating in the singles competitions. Neither competitor has Olympic medals as of yet.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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