2026 Winter Olympics: Armenia’s Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakhmanin skating duo place 12th in short program

The Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakhmanin pair skating duo representing Armenia took 12th place with the program "Artsakh" and passed the qualification round of the figure skating competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.

The pair, who are participating in the Olympics for the first time, secured their participation in the free program to be held on Monday.

As reported earlier, in the short program, the pair performed the eponymous program under the song “Artsakh,” written by renowned Armenian composer Ara Gevorgyan, and scored 66.27 points. Technique was rated 38.66 points, complexity 28.11 points.

The top 16 pairs passed the qualification round in the short program of the Winter Olympics.

Azerbaijan had filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the name of the Armenian Olympic pair's short program, "Artsakh," the Armenian word for Nagorno-Karabakh. The IOC had upheld the complaint and changed the name of this program in the official list as "Music by Ara Gevorgyan."

Monday’s free program, with the participation of Armenia’s Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakhmanin duo, will start at 11pm Armenia time. And Armenia’s duo will perform a program with Indian motifs.