Meet The 2026 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team

Team USA has certainly seen its fair share of figure skating stars over the decades. Powerhouses like Kristi Yamaguchi, Tara Lipinski, Brian Boitano, and Nathan Chen, who made history in 2022, all not only won gold at the Olympics, but became legends of the sport. Those are, without question, some seriously big skates to fill, but the athletes who qualified for the U.S. Olympic figure skating team sure seem more than up for the task.

With only three spots available each for women's, men's, and ice dance tournaments, and two spots for the pairs event, making the U.S. Olympic figure skating team is a feat unto itself. It's no stretch to say the athletes who qualified for the 2026 Games are at the top of their game. As Justin Dillon, U.S. Figure Skating's senior director of athlete high performance, told NPR, he believes this particular team is sure to leave behind a legacy. "We're not just going in just with a couple athletes here or there that hopefully will have some performance impact, but I believe we have a team that across the board will be remembered for years to come," Dillon said. 

The U.S. figure skating team is ready to hit the ice for the ultimate competition: the Winter Olympics in Milan. Meet the 16 figure skaters who will represent Team USA and try to Salchow their way towards the gold. 

Texas may not be the first place that comes to mind when people think of a winter sport like figure skating, but Amber Glenn has shown that everything really is bigger in the Lone Star State, including raw talent. Originally from the city of Plano, this is Amber's first time competing in the Olympics, but she has been figure skating most of her life. Her mother, Cathlene Glenn, proudly told People, "[Amber] landed her first single axel at the age of 6. That was kind of a big deal."

Amber was the 2025 women's national champion, but her life has not been without challenges. The 26-year-old is one of the Olympians who have faced major health battles; she has been open about suffering from depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder. After receiving treatment, Amber is back competing and excited about her part in the Winter Olympics. Per U.S. Figure Skating, she said, "I'm so thrilled to be able to have the privilege of representing my country at the Olympics. ... I hope I can make my country and myself proud." As the oldest female U.S. individual skater to compete in almost 100 years and the first openly queer woman on America's figure skating team, she already has plenty to be proud of. Amber is quite literally paving the ice for many figure skaters to come.

The youngest of the three female U.S. figure skating competitors at only 18 years old, Isabeau Levito is understandably looking forward to staying in the Olympic Village for the first time. Levito told ESPN, "I see TikToks, I see videos, I see articles about it, and I hear about it firsthand, but I just am so excited about that. I just know it'll be the time of my life." Although she is young, Levito already has some major accomplishments under her belt; she is the 2023 U.S. champion and won the silver medal in 2024.

Levito is often referred to as "Tinkerbeau" because of her graceful skating style, although she is known for her triple jumps as well. Her fans and family alike are excited to witness her stunning turns while she competes in the 2026 Winter Olympics. As an Italian American whose mother is from Milan, the New Jersey native is sure to feel at home on the ice in Italy with extended family presumably cheering her on from the audience.

Hailing from the Bay Area, Alysa Liu is the reigning world figure skating champion. Like the other members of the women's 2026 U.S. Olympic figure skating team, her skating career began at an early age. At only 13 years old, Liu was the youngest figure skater to win the senior U.S. national championship. However, she stepped away from the sport three years later because she wanted to live a regular life without the pressure of competition. "Like I wouldn't step in the rink," she told KCRA3. "Honestly, I was low-key traumatized."

After her temporary retirement, Liu returned to figure skating reenergized after being reminded of her love for the sport after a ski trip. She eventually became the Grand Prix final champion and was also part of the 2022 U.S. Olympic figure skating team where she helped to earn the bronze medal in the Beijing Olympic Games. 

Although her skating skills and unique personal style will surely wow fans, Liu is simply thrilled about the opportunity to have the world as her stage. Per U.S. Figure Skating, Liu said, "I'm so excited to go on the stage to show me off. My hope is to get seen — not even just my skating, just me."

Much like their female counterparts, the male competitors in the 2026 U.S. figure skating singles group bring the heat too. USA team member Ilia Malinin has not lost a skating competition since 2023, making him one of the strongest contenders in the men's singles figure skating category. Hailing from Virginia, this first time Olympic competitor was seemingly born to skate; both of Malinin's parents are former Olympic competitors for Uzbekistan. However, in the 2026 Olympics his parents will be cheering for Team USA all the way since they both coach their son.

Although Malinin's nickname may suggest a talent for playing hacky sack on a college quad, the "Quad God" actually earned the moniker because of his next level quadruple jump skills. While the four-time U.S. champion is projected to take home the gold, the 21-year-old told USA Today Sports that winning is not his focus."When I go to competitions, I don't think about the medals," the figure skater explained. "I always think about the performance and think about what I have to do, what my job is as a skater." With this focused mentality, the Quad God will more than likely deliver a performance on the ice that is not to be missed.

Andrew Torgashev is another member of the team who was born into a skating family. Torgashev's parents were both figure skaters, and now he is following in their ice marks. This first time Olympic competitor began figure skating when he was only 9 years old and later trained with renowned coach Rafael Arutunyan. The Florida native had a past difficult season but is putting that behind him so he can bring home gold for the 2026 U.S. Olympic men's figure skating team. Torgashev spoke with ESPN and admitted that throughout the Grand Prix competitions, he was not performing to the best of his abilities but hopes to change that. 

Although he once contemplated quitting the sport altogether after several injuries, after his move to California his love for figure skating was revived. His skating technique changed drastically, and now Torgashev maintains a positive attitude no matter what happens in his skating career. "I accepted a little while ago that regardless if I can call myself an Olympian or not one day, I think the Olympic spirit is in all of us," the figure skater told the sports news outlet. Regardless of whether he takes home any medals at the Winter Olympics, Torgashev is living his dream and can finally call himself an Olympian.

Maxim Naumov intends to make his parents, world-renowned skating pair competitors Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, proud at the 2026 Winter Olympics. In January 2025, his mother and father died in a plane crash along with over two dozen other prominent skaters. A year after their tragic passing, Maxim made the 2026 U.S. Olympic figure skating team when he placed third at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis.

Following the men's free skate at the 2026 championships, where he not only took the bronze but won his very first national medal, Maxim held up a picture of himself as a child with his parents so they could be a part of the momentous occasion with him. "It means absolutely everything to me to fulfill the dream we collectively had as a family since I was first on the ice at 5 years old," he told Time. "I know they are looking down, smiling and proud." 

Neither of the figure skating pairs competing for Team USA in the 2026 Olympic Winter Games took the gold at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The pair that won the tournament had citizenship issues, as did the pair that took third, so the second and fourth place competitors are heading to the winter Olympics instead.

Danny O'Shea and Ellie Kam, who placed second at the championships in 2026, had only been skating together for a couple of years when they became national champs in 2024. Kam initially got into figure skating when she was a little kid because of her brothers' involvement in the sport. Her partner, O'Shea, has been skating for over three decades and originally competed on an individual level. He was about ready to retire before he met Kam in 2022, and the duo started competing together. 

Per the U.S. Figure Skating website, O'Shea explained that while they will give their all skating in the Olympics, the pair plans to live in the moment. "We want to go out there and skate the way we know we can, but at the same time experience skating across those Olympic ice rinks, looking at the crowd at the Olympics, experiencing having our families with us having achieved the dream of our 4-year-old selves," he said. 

Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe's training at the Skating Club of Boston paid off; they skated their way to victory and won the silver medal in 2023. After placing fourth at the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Chan and Howe are set to take their talents to the 2026 Winter Olympic games. As previously noted, the duo that placed first, Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, and the team that placed third, Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman, did not make the Olympic team due to immigration status issues.

Like her fellow 2026 U.S. Olympic figure skating team member Danny O'Shea, Chan originally competed as a solo figure skater before partnering with Howe in 2019. Chan has an impressive background in ice skating. In 2015, she was the U.S. novice champion in figure skating, and the next year she was the U.S. junior champion. Howe is in the army and competes through the Army's World Class Athlete Program. In an interview with Golden Skate, Howe said, "Every year, especially as me and Emily have gotten more seasoned with each other as partners, we've really done well to set goals and work towards something each season." As one of only two pairs on the 2026 U.S. Olympic figure skating team, these partners are sure to bring their best.

As the reigning world figure skating champions who previously won three world championships but have yet to win an individual Olympic medal, the world will be watching this ice dance skating duo at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Evan Bates and Madison Chock previously competed in three Olympics with each other for partners and also have won seven national titles together. 

The pair trained at the prestigious Ice Academy of Montreal and are known for their creative skating choices, from their costumes to their artful performances to popular music. What's more, they've been a team for quite a while: Bates and Chock have trained together since 2011. While the pair have competed in the Olympics before, Chock told U.S Skating, "I'm just as excited as I was the first [time] we made the team ... All of the people on the team are so incredible, so special and so talented."

These two are more than just professional partners. In 2022, there were rumblings about whether or not the figure skating team of Chock and Bates were dating too. The couple eventually wed in 2024, proving the rumors true. Bates and Chock partly fell in love through their shared appreciation for figure skating, and their chemistry off of the ice comes through in their skating dances. While they are certainly not the only ice skating duo to find love on the rink — just look at Alexa and Chris Knierim's real life love story or former couple Madison Hubbell And Zachary Donohue — it doesn't make their story any less sweet.

As any member of the 2026 U.S. Olympic figure skating team certainly knows all too well, their chosen sport certainly does not come without a risk of injury. Vadym Kolesnik learned that firsthand when he had to undergo surgery for a sports hernia in March 2025. After his procedure, Kolesnik was not sure he would ever be able to compete in a figure skating competition again. Fortunately his days of hitting the ice are not behind him: The 2026 Winter Olympics are his chance to shine again with his ice dance partner, Emelia Zingas. Like their teammates Evan Bates and Madison Chock, Kolesnik and Zingas also happen to be a couple.

Kolesnik's family relocated to Detroit from Ukraine when he was a teenager so he could train with ice dancing coach Igor Shpilband. Although Kolesnik and his mother were deported soon after their arrival, the figure skater was able to get a visa and is now getting ready to head to the Olympics. "For me, it's a dream of my life to represent the U.S.," he said, per the U.S. Figure Skating website. Ever since I moved here at the age 15, I knew that I wanted to represent the U.S. and go to the Olympics and do my absolute best, so it's an honor for me." 

Zingas used to participate in the singles figure skating competition and represented Cyprus, but now this Michigan native is proudly Team USA. Zingas has been ice dance skating partners with Kolesnik since 2022, and the ice dance partners won silver at nationals in St. Louis in early 2026.

Like other members of the 2026 U.S. Olympic figure skating team, ice skating is a family affair for ice dance partners Anthony Ponomarenko and Christina Carreira. Ponomarenko's parents are ice dance champions; his father coached him in figure skating, and Carreira's mom is also a skating coach. Although Carreira was born in Canada, she got her U.S. citizenship in 2025 and will be representing Team USA for the first time in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Like their fellow ice dance competitors, Evan Bates and Madison Chock, Ponomarenko and Carreira also train at the Ice Academy of Montreal but in London, Ontario. For a time, in order to maintain residency in the U.S. and still practice figure skating, Carreira drove over the border daily to train. 

Although they have been skating together for almost 12 years, this will be their first time at the Olympics. According to Carreira, they would not be able to excel at ice dancing if it were not for the strong bond they share together. As Carreira said in a 2024 interview with Anything Goes, "Our connection with each other is the most important thing; more than training, more than anything, just being able to work together is really important." She went on to say that she could not imagine competing with any other ice dance partner.