Alysa Liu and Karen Chen named to U.S. Olympic figure skating team, more AAPI athletes in contention

Madison Chock and Evan Bates won gold at the U.S. championships held in Nashville, Tenn.

Nathan Chen is back. After his short program Saturday, he's leading the men' figure skaters before the long program later today (Jan. 9, 2022) when the men's Olympic competitors will be named. 

Chen narrowly leads fellow 2018 Olympian Vincent Zhou and if all goes as expected, Zhou will join Chen when they compete in the Beijing Games next month. Zhou set a new personal best with his 112.78 score.

Asian Americans will once again be well represented in the figure skating team. As expected, Alysa Liu, who had to withdraw from competition Friday because she tested negative for COVID-19, was named to the women's Olympics figure skating team, joining new U.S. champion Mariah Bell and silver medalist Karen Chen.

Hawaii's Madison Chock and her partner Evan Bates won the dance team competition over Madison Hubbel and Zachary Donohue. The two teams, who train under the same coaches, have finished either first or second in the national championships for almost a decade and will most likely be named to the Olympic team.

Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson will wait to hear if they make the U.S. Olympic team.

Who will represent the U.S. in the pairs competition is less certain. Filipino American Jessica Calalang teamed with Brian Johnson to win the silver in the pairs competition at the figure skating championships. They were edged by the pairs team of Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc, the champions in 2019. COVID-19 forced the withdrawal of the No. 1 ranked pair of Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier. While Knerim and Frazier are expected to be named as Olympians, there is only one pairs spot left for the Olympics.

The remainder of the U.S. figure skating team will be named later Sunday after the men's final.