Awkward Olympic Figure Skating Moments That Were Caught On Camera

From speedy spins to compromising costumes, anything can go wrong in a flash in competitive ice skating — the 2026 U.S. Olympic figure skating team knows all too well. Thanks to broadcasting and social media, an awkward or embarrassing moment is often caught on camera for millions to see. The most common mishap for professional figure skaters is experiencing a wardrobe malfunction, whether a shoulder strap comes undone or a jewel falls on the ice — in that case, skaters could get a deduction for causing a potential safety hazard.

However, fashion faux pas are not the only awkward moments pro ice dancers have experienced on camera. Many athletes have created embarrassing situations due to their own behaviors by throwing tantrums when not receiving gold medals, crying mid-performance until they retied their lace, and mouthing expletives when receiving a low score. Despite the loose threads and tantrums, though, these pros know more than anyone that the show must go on, even if millions are watching.

Figure skating has a long history of awkward Olympic moments, and the Russian skater Sergei Ponomarenko knows it. In 1984, Ponomarenko competed at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo — where he and his ice dancing partner, and wife, Marina Klimova, cinched the bronze medal. What should have been a happy occasion for the talented pair turned rather uncomfortable, however, when it came time for them to perform their victory lap.

Thrilled with their place on the podium, Ponomarenko and Klimova glided across the ice and performed some of their most dramatic moves to the applause of the crowd. Unfortunately, though, the couple may have gotten a little too enthusiastic — leading Ponomarenko to bust the seams at the front of his costume. This wouldn't have been such a big deal, if it hadn't meant that the skater's entire belly was exposed to the thousands of people watching the Olympics around the world.

Making matters even more mortifying, Ponomarenko was forced — if only by convention — to complete his victory lap with a customary bow. He also threw his two hands stylishly up into the air to mark the end of the performance. These moves just accentuated the visibility of his stomach. As commentator, Dick Button, exclaimed at the time, "The poor guy! He's really going to go home, and I think, get a lot of ribbing from his friends" (via YouTube).

When it comes to competitive ice skating, some wardrobe malfunctions are merely awkward. Others can be deadly. Such was the case of the controversial American figure skater Tonya Harding who has been remembered for her Olympic-sized drama. During the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Harding realized that the laces of one of her skates had broken. Because this wardrobe malfunction could actually pose a danger to her physical safety, Harding approached the judges in the middle of her performance and tearfully begged them for the chance to re-do her performance with the proper equipment. 

Ultimately, the judges decided that Harding could have a second chance, but that didn't mean they viewed her request favorably. Audrey Williams was one of the judges present at the rink on that fateful day in Lillehammer, and she was not a fan of the energy that Harding brought to the situation. Reflecting on the episode in a 2017 interview with Good Housekeeping (via Yahoo!), Williams compared the real-life incident to the way it was portrayed in the movie, "I, Tonya," which was based on Harding's life. Williams said, "That scene with the lace appears in the movie, and it's so dramatic that I had to go back and watch the video to remember if it was really that dramatic in real life. Yup, it was." Williams then noted the inappropriate nature of the moment, "I just couldn't believe that she would do it." It wouldn't be the last time tears took center stage at the Olympics' figure skating arena.

Falling is an unfortunate part of figure skating, but by the time big international competitions come rolling around, athletes are expected to have perfectly polished routines. During the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in 2012, American skater, Ashley Wagner, should have been able to execute her routine to a tee. Instead, footage of the competition showed Wagner tumbling to the ground after over-rotating one of her turns. Making things even worse, the skater then slid onto her stomach in what amounted to a rather penguin-like bellyflop.

While many skaters would have let this awkward moment get them down, Wagner was not any skater. Determined to focus on the remainder of her routine, Wagner picked herself off the ground and carried on. She executed her next few moves with both pluck and precision, establishing her as an athlete of exceptional mental toughness.

Unfortunately for Wagner, resolve alone was not enough to make her career. As she vied for an Olympic future, the skater struggled with the pressure to bring home the gold, and fell at several key competitions. At the 2014 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, she stumbled and crashed to the ground twice after battling nerves. Wagner was later quoted in Wbur as saying, "I didn't pull through at the national championships when I felt the pressure." For skaters, awkward moments can turn into career-stopping incidents.

Sometimes costumes can interact with each other in unexpected ways, as experienced by Alex and Maia Shibutani at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. The ice dancing siblings were skating to Michael Jackson's music during a free dance and decked out in sparkly black sequins. But during a lift where Alex was supposed to flip Maia up onto his shoulder, their sequined costumes got stuck together. With some quick thinking, footage on YouTube shows the pair juggled performing and untangling to finish up the routine. 

"When you get caught, you can't really do too much about it. We were trying to un-rip it without setting the lift down and keeping the lift up," Maia said (via USA Today). Their teamwork salvaged both their performance and their costumes. Maia only experienced minimal damage in the form of ripped tights in one leg.

Ashley Wagner's unforgettable bellyflop was not the only awkward moment that defined her competitive ice skating career. The Olympic figure skater is perhaps best remembered for displaying a rather strong reaction to a low score. Indeed, during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Wagner was displeased with the way the judges scored her short program performance. But rather than quietly complain about her results, Wagner allowed her jaw to drop open on camera. She then smiled slightly, shook her head in complete disbelief, and uttered "bulls***."

Unfortunately for Wagner, this iconic moment was captured on camera. Amused by the cringy-ness of it all, some Internet users decided to create memes out of Wagner's reaction. Before long, she was competing with fellow Team USA member, McKayla Maroney, for the most awkward facial expression to ever go viral during the Olympics. Although it would have been easy for Wagner to feel humiliated by all the negative attention that followed, she took it all with a grain of salt. Eager to prove she could laugh at herself, Wagner appeared on "Today" — where she recreated that viral moment for the show hosts. 

On a more serious note, she told the Associated Press (via NBC Sports), "I might be a pretty decent figure skater out on the ice, but in the kiss-and-cry, I still haven't mastered that figure skater attitude where you sit there and smile until the bitter end."

Only 10 seconds into her ice dancing routine at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, French skater Gabriella Papadakis felt the clasp break on the top of her costume. Despite the distraction of this unnerving incident, she and her partner, Guillaume Cizeron, finished second in the event. The pair went on to win silver as well as set a world record the next day. Papadakis' breast was briefly exposed during the dance, so broadcasters stuck with wider shots to help minimize the situation.

Unfortunately for Papadakis, the ordeal was less than ideal. As the ice dancer would later tell the press, per Franceinfo, she was rattled by the timing of it all. "It really made me lose my concentration. My worst nightmare happened at the Olympics," the athlete lamented. Although Papadakis found the faux pas deeply unnerving, she did her best to hold her head high. "It happened during the first seconds of the program. I told myself that I didn't have a choice, that I had to continue. It's what we do," she shared. This powerful attitude is likely what helped Papadakis secure the silver medal in spite of her poorly designed clothes.

Papadakis could also count on Cizeron to keep an eye on her costume for the rest of the program, although, at a cost. Cizeron had to concentrate so much on Papadakis' clothing that he couldn't dedicate himself fully to his moves. He called the situation "frustrating."

At the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, Korean-American skater, Yura Min, experienced a costume fail at the very beginning of her ice dance with her partner, Alexander Gamelin. Footage of the incident showed Min's leotard unclipping at the top just as she started her routine. During a series of twisties, Min spun around, only for the button to become completely undone. This incident proved extremely distracting for the young skater.

"This is my first Olympics, our first program and if my top were to come down, that would have been a disaster," Min told the Detroit Free Press. Anxiety plagued Min throughout the performance, as she grappled with the implications of what it would mean to be exposed to viewers across the world. "I was terrified the entire program," she admitted.

Although things were tense for Min throughout the performance, she tried her best to focus on the ice. "I didn't stop. I went from the beginning to the end," Min said triumphantly. "I didn't stop because you get a deduction if you stop in the middle of a program." This determination allowed her to finish among the world's top 20 ice dance teams, despite the odds.

Winning a silver medal should be one of those exciting Olympic moments guaranteed to make you cry. However, for Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China, receiving their second-place medals was just plain awkward. The ice dancing duo amazed the crowds and the judges at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. "This silver medal is more important for us. We want to say thank you to our team, our coaches, our staff, and our country," Cong gushed in an interview with CGTN Sports following their big win. While this moment was totally sweet, it didn't come without a cringey interaction.

Footage from the Olympic Games shows Wenjing and Cong standing to receive their medals, and acting with utmost politeness. Wenjing smiled graciously when an Olympic representative placed the medal around her neck. Never one to lack gratitude, Wenjing extended her hand to offer a handshake to the rep. However, before he could notice the skater's gesture, he turned away from her, leaving Wenjing holding her hand out awkwardly in front of her.

While many skaters would have floundered under the discomfort of such an interaction, Wenjing took it all in stride. She shot Cong a humorous look, which he reciprocated, before turning her attention back to the medal ceremony. This response, ultimately, revealed that Wenjing's grace on the ice carried over to the rest of her life.

Scheduled skaters aren't the only ones experiencing awkward moments on the ice. Mark Roberts, a known crasher at multiple sporting events, appeared on the speed skating track at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in a frilly pink tutu and a monkey penis pouch. Roberts took to the ice wearing the unusual ensemble along with the words "Peace + Love" painted on his chest. He crept onto the ice in black sneakers while slipping a few times. Some of Roberts' previous streaking appearances were connected with promoting brands or websites, however, the 2018 event didn't seem to have any promotional ties.

A year before the Winter Games, the British streaker told Yahoo Sports that he had streaked 561 times in 22 countries. The reason why he does this? Well, the same reason that pro athletes get a thrill out of performing in front of crowds. "There's 65,000 people in the stadium, all at once going crazy, man," Roberts told the outlet. "The energy, I felt it. It's like, 'Oh wow.' It's just unreal."

Figure skating competitions may be the source of excitement for some, but the Olympic Games can be a disappointment for many athletes. At the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022, Russian skater Alexandra "Sasha" Trusova made history by performing five quadruple jumps during the women's free skating event. But what should have been a moment of triumph for Trusova ended in tears when her score wasn't quite enough to get her the gold.

Rather than accept these results with grace, Trusova made things awkward by blowing up at her coaches on-camera in front of the entire world. "Everyone has a gold medal! Everyone has! Only I don't! I hate figure skating! I hate! I will never step on the ice again! Never," she screamed in Russian, according to NBC Sports. Trusova's public display of emotion didn't do much for her reputation as an athlete.

Making matters worse, Trusova did get a gold medal in 2022 for being part of Team Russia — which originally came in first place in the skating competition. However, Trusova ultimately became one of the Olympic athletes who had their medals taken away after an analysis of her teammate Kamila Valieva's misuse of illicit substances. In the end, though, Trusova went home with a silver medal in the women's singles event, proving that her efforts on the ice were hardly for nought.