Armenia’s Karina Akopova from Milan: We are happy to able to perform with this piece

By Lusine Shahbazyan

Figure skater Karina Akopova, representing Armenia, commented on their participation in the qualification round of the figure skating competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, with the eponymous program under the song “Artsakh,” written by renowned Armenian composer Ara Gevorgyan.

“The impressions are excellent. We are happy that we were able to perform with this piece,” Akopova told NEWS.am Sport.

The Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakhmanin pair skating duo representing Armenia placed 12th and passed the qualification round. As a result, the pair, who are competing in the Olympics for the first time, secured their place in the free program to be held on Monday.

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

As reported earlier, Azerbaijan had filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the name of the aforesaid Armenian Olympic figure skating 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 program list as "Music by Ara Gevorgyan."