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Olympic figure skaters will feel the eyes of the world on them when they take to the ice for their programs at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games this month, but there is additional pressure on their shoulders heading into the Winter Games.
Hitting the right notes.
It’s not so much a question of whether the figure skaters will be able to move at the right pace and the beats playing through the speakers, but rather whether any music will be played.
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Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate of Spain competes in the men’s short program during the 2026 ISU European Figure Skating Championships at Utilita Arena Sheffield in Sheffield, United Kingdom, on January 15, 2026. (Yuan Tian/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Spanish skater Tomás-Llorenc Guarino Sabate has tried to get permission to use music from the movie “Minions” since his short program is a medley of four different songs from the franchise. He has three of four songs cleared as of Wednesday and is working to get a fourth Pharrell Williams song approved, according to U.S. champion Amber Glenn.
Guarino Sabate has yet to win an Olympic medal in his career.
Glenn said she told family and friends that there will be “Minions” at the Olympics and that she didn’t “want to be a liar.”
“We’ve done our best to make everything clear, do what we can, and honestly, a producer might just decide, ‘Hey, it doesn’t matter, no,'” he said.
“Honestly, I’m seeing, from the avenues available to me, that it’s clear and then I’m just hoping and praying that I don’t get an email saying, ‘By the way, they reached out to me and said they don’t want you to use it.’ So I think it’s been a very exhausting process for a lot of us.”
Amber Glenn performs during the 2026 US Figure Skating Championships at Enterprise Center on January 11, 2026. (Jeff Curry/Image Images)
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Glenn skates his short program to Madonna’s “Like A Prayer,” but even if the pop legend objected, he would take it as a victory.
“If I get a message from Madonna saying she doesn’t want me to skate to her music, I’ll be excited to get a message from Madonna,” he said. “But let’s hope that doesn’t happen.”
Fellow American star Ilia Malinin said she is trying to put a personal touch on her routine.
“It’s something that we all care about, and me especially, I like to make really unique pieces of music that I skate to,” Malinin said. “I like to communicate directly with the artist and try it as an option. Most of the time it works out in my favor. Especially this year, everyone was very hopeful and very 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 skate in the individual competitions. None of the competitors have Olympic medals so far.
