Armenia’s Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakhmanin pair skating duo leaves for Milan

By Lusine Shahbazyan

The second delegation of Armenia at the 2026 Winter Olympics has left for Italy.

At 21:30 Armenia time, the Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakhmanin duo, representing Armenia in the figure pair skating competition, departed for the Olympic city on a direct Yerevan-Milan flight, Melanya Stepanyan, a member of the board of the Figure Skating Federation of Armenia, told NEWS.am Sport.

The figure skaters will participate in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Friday, then leave for Switzerland for a 5-day training camp until the day of their competitions.

“Our team left for the Olympic city. Karina and Nikita will participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Milan, they will be the flag bearers of Armenia in the Olympic parade. Our team will leave for a nearby city in Switzerland on February 7, where a training camp will be held until February 13. They will return to Milan and will already be preparing for their competitions,” Stepanyan said.

The Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakhmanin pair skating duo will take to the Olympic ice on February 15 and will compete in the short program qualification round. The short program of the figure skating tournament will start at 00:45 Armenia time (February 16).

Armenia’s pair skating duo will compete in the free program on February 16, which will start at 01:00 Armenia time (February 17).

The Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakhmanin pair skating duo had held their last training in Yerevan before leaving for the Winter Olympics, which was also followed by NEWS.am Sport.

Alpine skier Harutyun Harutyunyan was the first from the Armenian Olympic team to leave for the competition venue.

Armenia’s cross-country skiers Mikael Mikaelyan and Katya Galstyan will leave for the Olympic city on Thursday.

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