Russian Figure Skater Competes at Winter Olympics to Composer Edgar Hakobyan’s Music

At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Russian figure skater Petr Gumennik delivered his men’s short program to the music of Armenian composer Edgar Hakobyan — a rare appearance of Armenian-composed music on the Olympic stage.

Gumennik, competing under a neutral flag due to international sporting regulations, took to the ice on February 10 with his short program set to Hakobyan’s “Waltz 1805,” a piece drawn from the soundtrack of the film Onegin. The selection followed last-minute copyright issues surrounding his originally planned music, prompting the athlete and his team to pivot to Hakobyan’s work — for which proper performance rights were secured just in time for the Games.

Performing first in the lineup, Gumennik completed a technically demanding routine featuring elements such as a quadruple flip, quadruple Lutz and triple Axel, and earned a score of 86.72 points from the judges for his short program.

The appearance of “Waltz 1805” on the Olympic ice represents a notable moment of Armenian cultural presence at the Winter Games, showing the international reach of Armenian artistic contributions in the world of elite sport.

The men’s figure skating competition will continue with the free skate portion later in the week, where skaters will have a final chance to vie for medals in the individual event.

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