Kate Laurensen is a veteran reporter. She started out covering entertainment news for the local city paper before moving up to the City desk. She studied journalism at San Francisco City College for the Arts.
February 11 , 2026
Milano, Italy — Under the bright lights of the Olympic arena on Monday night, Italian figure skater Salvatore Nuara delivered a composed and technically assured performance that secured his place in the next round of men’s singles competition. The skate came just three months after Nuara lost both of his parents in a car accident, a tragedy that drew widespread attention in the skating community and beyond.
Nuara, 22, entered the short program ranked eighth in the world this season. Skating to a contemporary arrangement of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, he executed a clean quad toe loop–triple toe loop combination, followed by a triple Axel and triple Lutz. His spins received high grades of execution, and his step sequence was marked by controlled edge work and expressive transitions.
He finished the segment with a season-best score of 101.34, placing fourth overall and comfortably within the top 24 required to advance to the free skate.
The crowd at the Mediolanum Forum responded with a sustained standing ovation. Nuara acknowledged the applause with a brief nod and raised hand before exiting the ice.
In a brief mixed-zone interview afterward, Nuara said he focused on preparation and routine in the weeks leading up to the Games. “Training has always been my structure,” he said. “Being here, competing at this level, is something my parents supported from the beginning. I wanted to skate the way we had planned for this season.”
Nuara’s parents, Marco and Elisa Nuara, were killed in late November when their vehicle was struck by a truck on a highway outside Turin. The Italian Ice Sports Federation confirmed at the time that Nuara had temporarily suspended training before returning to his base in Bergamo in December.
Coach Elena Petrov described the decision to continue competing as one made gradually. “There was never pressure,” Petrov said. “Salvatore needed space. When he came back, we took it day by day. What you saw tonight is the result of steady work and his professionalism.”
Nuara has been considered one of Italy’s most promising male skaters since his junior career, during which he won bronze at the World Junior Championships. Known for his musical sensitivity and strong basic skating skills, he has steadily added technical difficulty to his programs over the past two seasons.
Monday’s performance reflected that progression. All required elements were completed without major error, and judges rewarded his program components with marks averaging above 9.00 in composition and presentation. Technical panel review confirmed full rotation on his jumps, avoiding the under-rotation calls that have occasionally affected his scores in previous competitions.
Competitors and analysts noted the quality of his skating rather than the circumstances surrounding it. “He looked centered,” said former Olympic medalist Tomas Verner, now a television commentator. “The jumps were confident, and the step sequence had maturity. It was one of his strongest short programs internationally.”
Nuara’s placement keeps him in contention heading into Thursday’s free skate, where he is scheduled to perform to selections from Nino Rota’s film scores. While a podium finish remains competitive in a field led by reigning world champion Yuzuru Takahashi of Japan, Nuara’s score positions him within striking distance of a personal-best total.
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