Meet the US Olympic figure skaters: A soldier, a daredevil ice queen and a son who triumphed over tragedy will head to Milan
By Holly Yan, CNN
(CNN) — After a slew of electrifying performances at the national championships, 16 figure skaters will represent the US at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics – including the men’s, women’s and ice dance world champions. But the country’s best pairs team won’t be allowed to go due to citizenship issues.
Here’s what makes each skater’s journey to Milan unique:
Men
Maxim Naumov
No one knew if Maxim Naumov could muster the strength to compete again – not even himself.
His parents and lifelong coaches – world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov – were killed in a midair plane crash last winter. Another 65 people died, including some of the couple’s young students from the skating program they had founded.
Maxim, an only child, had no one who could understand the depth of his pain – no one who could guide him the way his parents did on and off the ice.
So he carved his own path: assembling a new coaching team from scratch, doubling down on his training and taking over his parents’ jobs as director of Tomorrow’s Champions – their skating school for young athletes.
Maxim, who placed fourth at each of the previous three US championships, was stuck in that same dreaded position after the men’s short program. But he rallied in the free skate, defeating a two-time Olympian in Jason Brown, winning a bronze medal and achieving what he and his parents had always dreamed of – representing the US at the Olympics.
Ilia Malinin
The “Quad God” didn’t just throw down an array of dizzying quadruple jumps – he also tossed in some backflips on his way to his fourth US title.
Dubbed the “Simone Biles of figure skating,” Ilia Malinin keeps pushing the athletic boundaries of the sport. He’s the only human on Earth who has landed a quadruple Axel jump.
Andrew Torgashev
On the ice, Torgashev is known for his rare blend of athletic and artistic excellence. Off the ice, he’s known for his unorthodox pizza diet.
“As I was recovering from Injury and coming back to competitions, in the Summer of 2022 I discovered the Pizza Diet,” he wrote on his website. “In an effort to enjoy the food I was eating and get into shape, I started on a mission to eat one pizza per day.”
No doubt Torgashev will have access to amazing pizza in Milan.
Women
Amber Glenn
After more than a decade of public struggles, 26-year-old Amber Glenn just won her third consecutive US title and will be the oldest US ladies’ singles skater to compete at the Olympics since 1927.
Despite Glenn’s “senior” age, she’s the only American woman attempting (and landing) the mind-boggling triple Axel in competition.
Alysa Liu
After her first Olympics, Alysa Liu retired at the ripe old age of 16. She became a normal teenager and went to college. But then she started missing skating – not the medals or the titles, but just the joy of the sport.
So last season, she came out of retirement – and shockingly won the world championship.
Isabeau Levito
Whether she’s portraying Audrey Hepburn or Sophia Loren, 18-year-old Isabeau Levito epitomizes old Hollywood glamor while still delivering a hefty dose of athletic prowess.
Her trip to Milan means Levito will get to compete in her mother’s hometown.
Ice dance
Madison Chock and Evan Bates
Madison Chock and Evan Bates just won a record-setting seventh US title. This will be their fourth Olympics as a team – and their first as a married couple.
The 33-year-old and 36-year-old have won three world championships and every other title imaginable – except for individual Olympic gold.
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik
Whether they’re skating to Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison” or a dark interpretation of “Romeo and Juliet,” this team’s energy is unsurpassed.
The meteoric rise of Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik – who are also a couple off the ice – contrasts starkly with the situation in Kolesnik’s home country of Ukraine, where family members still live and where his childhood house was bombed, acccording to NBC Sports.
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko
Don’t call him a nepo baby. Anthony Ponomarenko, the son of 1992 Olympic ice dance champions Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, has developed a sizzling, distinctive style with Christina Carreira – a Canadian who became a US citizen two months ago, just in time for the Olympics.
Their character acting is so vivid, reigning Olympic ice dance champion Gabriella Papadakis has called their performances Oscar-worthy. Their free dance is set to music from the psychological thriller “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.”
Pairs
Not on the team: US champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov
Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov have proven they’re the best pairs team in the US – twice. But that’s not enough to land them a spot on the Olympic team.
Efimova, a native of Finland, teamed up with American-born Mitrofanov in mid-2023 and settled in Boston. They soon became an off-the-ice couple, got married, and won the US championships in 2025 and 2026.
But US Olympians must have a US passport to be named to the team, and there wasn’t enough time to meet a required three-year waiting period to get a US passport – despite Efimova’s efforts to get a waiver.
On the team: Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea
This will be the first Olympics for both Ellie Kam, 21, and Danny O’Shea, 34 – who has been trying to make the team with various partners since 2014.
O’Shea’s longevity is matched by his pain tolerance and grit. “Team KamO” competed at the 2025 World Championships while O’Shea had a broken foot.
On the team: Emily Chan and Spencer Howe
Anyone who saw Emily Chan and Spencer Howe’s disastrous, eighth-place short program probably thought their Olympic dreams were shattered. But the duo proved they can rally under pressure, staging an epic comeback by placing third in the free skate portion and nabbing a spot on the US team.
Howe already has plenty of practice wearing an American uniform. He’s also an Army soldier.
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