This Spanish Skater Finally Got To Perform His "Minions" Routine At The Olympics And It Was Everything
"This season I competed with my Minions short program to bring joy and a playful style to the ice while still meeting every required element to show that skating as a male Olympic figure skater can be fun."
Spanish figure skater Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté has finally performed his popular Minions-themed routine at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics after facing last-minute copyright issues.
26-year-old Guarino Sabaté is Spain’s six-time national champion.
He has been competing throughout the season leading up to the Olympics in a yellow shirt and blue overalls mimicking the “Minions” from “Despicable Me,” a cartoon film series by Illumination, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures.
His Minions-themed short program features a montage of four different songs, including "Vicious Funk" by Heitor Pereira and "Freedom" by Pharrell Williams, according to Reuters.
On Jan. 30, just days ahead of the Winter Olympics, Guarino Sabaté announced in an Instagram post that he would not be able to compete with his Minions short program due to Universal’s refusal to give him the copyright.
"This season I competed with my Minions short program to bring joy and a playful style to the ice while still meeting every required element to show that skating as a male Olympic figure skater can be fun," he wrote.
Guarino Sabaté said he had followed all the required procedures and sent his music through the International Skating Union (ISU) ClicknClear system in August.
People on social media expressed their disappointment and urged for his music to be approved.
On Feb. 3, Guarino Sabaté said that Universal finally cleared the way for him to use the music in his program.
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, Guarino Sabaté performed his Minion-themed short program, kicking it off with a lively “Pa-pa-paaaaa” from the “Universal Fanfare”, a fun Minion take on Universal’s theme song and wrapped with “Minions Bounce” remix by Spanish DJ Juan Alcaraz.
At the end, “Tu le pera con la papaya,” which in Minionese, the language of the Minions, means “You are beautiful like a papaya,” could be heard.
Guarino Sabaté tripped on his first jump, but recovered quickly, giving a one-of-a-kind, fun performance for the audience and judges.
He finished with a score of 69.80, placing him in 25th place, not qualifying for the free skate competition on Feb. 11.
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Steph Lu
Steph Lu
Steph Lu
