U.S. Leads Figure Skating Team Event After Strong Start

In the opening segments of the figure skating team event at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, the United States took an early lead Friday at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, propelled by standout performances from world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates in the rhythm dance and Alysa Liu in the women's short program.

Chock and Bates, competing in their fourth Olympics together, delivered a season's best score of 91.06 points to music by The Guess Who and Lenny Kravitz, securing first place and 10 points for the American team. Their precise execution edged out France's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who scored 89.98 points skating to Madonna's "Vogue" and earned nine points. Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson placed third with 86.85 points, contributing eight to their team's tally. South Korea's Hannah Lim and Quan Ye, in their Olympic debut, finished seventh with 70.55 points, adding four points to their nation's total.

Liu, the 20-year-old reigning world champion from Richmond, California, followed with a solid short program to Icelandic-Chinese singer Laufey's "Promise," overcoming minor errors on her triple lutz-triple loop combination to score 74.90...