Adam Rippon, Mirai Nagasu make figure skating team event debut in 2018

Adam Rippon will make his Olympic debut at age 28, as part of Team USA’s lineup in the figure skating team event. Rippon will skate the men’s free skate on Sunday evening, live in Primetime on NBC and NBCOlympics.com.

2010 Olympian Mirai Nagasu was tapped for the ladies’ free skate. Brother-sister ice dance team Maia and Alex Shibutani will compete in the free dance, closing out the team event.

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Teams entered in the event are allowed a maximum of two substitutions; for example, Bradie Tennell skated the ladies’ short program, but Nagasu will do the free skate. Similarly, Rippon will compete the men’s free skate, but his training partner, Nathan Chen, did the men’s short program on Wednesday.

“I think the free is sort of my secret weapon,” Rippon said at a press conference in PyeongChang before being given the nod. “My game plan is a lot different than a lot of the other guys: It's get as many points on each element as possible and then sneak in there.

“The free is where I make my attack, so I feel I will be most beneficial there.”

Brother-sister ice dance team Maia and Alex Shibutani, who performed their short dance on Saturday night for Team USA, were tapped to do the free dance.