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| Evan Bates and Madison Chock have gold medal hopes. |
UPDATED: Jan 20 to include the three speed skaters on the US Olympic team.
The United States figure skating team for the 2026 Olympics was announced January 11 after the US Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis.
Five Asian Americans will be part of 16-member 2026 US Olympic team hoping to earn Olympic medals at the Winter Games that will be held in Milan-Cortina, Italy beginning Feb. 6.
Alysa Liu, who retired after the 2022 Beijing games is in her secong Olympics. Last year the California-born UCLA student returned to world of the competitive sport and is the reigning World Champion. However, at the US championships, she finished second behind veteran Amber Glenn and ahead of Isabeau Levito.
After winning their record-setting seventh national title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on January 10, 2026m Chock and Bates are among the favorites to win the elusive Gold Medal. It will be her fourth Olympics and Bates' fifth and won a bronze medal in Beijing.
"We are so excited," says Chock. "The Olympics definitely never loses its luster. I'm just as excited as I was the first we made the team. It's such an honor to be a part of Team USA and represent our country and U.S. Figure Skating at the Olympics. I feel so grateful to be part of this team. All of the people on the team are so incredible, so special and so talented."
"This month is important because it emphasizes the importance of embracing Asian culture and background and encourages people to also understand and be curious about their identities," Chan said. "My family is a mix of different Asian cultures, so I'm always learning who I am in that combination."
Snowboard Half-pipe
Kim will be competing in her third consecutive Olympic Games, having previously won gold medals in the halfpipe in PyeongChang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022. She is aiming to become the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic halfpipe gold medals.
Filipino American Langland is a two-time Olympian and a key member of the US women's pro slopestyle team. After sitting out the 2024-25 season due to injury, she has returned to the World Cup circuit for the current Olympic qualifying season and recently secured a second-place finish at a US Grand Prix event in October 2025.
Skelton
Eunice Lee: Heading to her second Olympics, Lee is a relay silver medalist from the 2025 World Championships, representing Washington state.
Andrew Heo: Also a second-time Olympian, Heo brings a bronze medal from the 2024 World Championships and recent World Tour success.
In 2019, Gu committed to representing China in international competitions with the desire to develop a deeper connection to her heritage and inspire young Chinese athletes.
At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Gu became the first freestyle skier to win three medals at the entire event, securing gold in Big Air, gold in Halfpipe, and silver in Slopestyle.
Five Asian Americans will be part of 16-member 2026 US Olympic team hoping to earn Olympic medals at the Winter Games that will be held in Milan-Cortina, Italy beginning Feb. 6.
The Asian Americans on the team are:
Alysa Liu, who retired after the 2022 Beijing games is in her secong Olympics. Last year the California-born UCLA student returned to world of the competitive sport and is the reigning World Champion. However, at the US championships, she finished second behind veteran Amber Glenn and ahead of Isabeau Levito.
As one of the best known skaters on the team and not lacking in confidence, the 20-year old said: "Well I'm not the youngest this time," Liu joked after the event. "I'm feeling older... not really, I'm really, really good!"
FYI: For more information on the full US Olympic figure skating team, you can visit the official U.S. Figure Skating website or the NBC Olympics site.
Hawaii-born Madison Chock is teaming up with her husband and long-time partner Evan Bates to compete in ice-dance competition.
After winning their record-setting seventh national title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on January 10, 2026m Chock and Bates are among the favorites to win the elusive Gold Medal. It will be her fourth Olympics and Bates' fifth and won a bronze medal in Beijing.
"We are so excited," says Chock. "The Olympics definitely never loses its luster. I'm just as excited as I was the first we made the team. It's such an honor to be a part of Team USA and represent our country and U.S. Figure Skating at the Olympics. I feel so grateful to be part of this team. All of the people on the team are so incredible, so special and so talented."
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| Kam and O'Shea |
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea are perhaps the sleeper of the Games. Together only two years, the pair went on to do well in international competitions. after her initial partner left, O'Shea stepped in. Together they earned a gold medal in the US championships.
She was born on Yokota Air Base in Western Tokyo to a mom who was a competitive runner representing Japan and a dad who was a surgeon in the US Air Force.
Kam's original partner left her two years ago and O'Shea, 33, had retired years earlier and was acting as a coach. When Kam needed a partner for practice, O'Shea stepped in. The chemistry was good and they went on to compete as a team.
Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe are the second pair for Team USA. Although they finished fourth at the 2026 US Championships, the gold medalists (Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov) and bronze medalists (Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman) were ineligible due to not having US citizenship, which made Chan and Howe the second eligible American pair selected for the Olympic team based on a committee decision.
"[Asian Pacific American Heritage Month] means connecting with your roots. It's a blessing for me to have Japanese heritage," says Howe, who is learning to speak Japanese.
"[Asian Pacific American Heritage Month] means connecting with your roots. It's a blessing for me to have Japanese heritage," says Howe, who is learning to speak Japanese.
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US SKATE Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe will be competing in their first Olympics. |
"This month is important because it emphasizes the importance of embracing Asian culture and background and encourages people to also understand and be curious about their identities," Chan said. "My family is a mix of different Asian cultures, so I'm always learning who I am in that combination."
At the 2022 Winter Games, the US figure skating team also had five AAPI athletes represeinting the US. Except for Nathan Chen, no one won a gold medal.
Nathan Chen, who is the reigning Olympic gold medalist in men's singles, decided to not compete this year after an injury and instead, focus on his medical studies at Yale.
Despite Chen's absence, the US has a good chance to capture the men's gold medal again. Ilia Malinin, AKS the "Quad God," is one of the finest skaters in the world today.
Other AAPI athletes in the 2026 Winter Games:
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| Olympic hero Chloe Kim is back. |
Chloe Kim has already qualified for the US Olympic team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. She secured her spot in May 2025 by winning the 2025 World Championships and ranking as the top American in the top three on the World Snowboard Points List.
Kim will be competing in her third consecutive Olympic Games, having previously won gold medals in the halfpipe in PyeongChang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022. She is aiming to become the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic halfpipe gold medals.
Snowboard Sloopestyle
Hailey Langland has been nominated to the 2025-2026 US Snowboard Team, making her a strong prospect to compete for a spot in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. The official US Olympic team selections for the 2026 Games are currently underway during the 2025-2026 season.
Hailey Langland has been nominated to the 2025-2026 US Snowboard Team, making her a strong prospect to compete for a spot in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. The official US Olympic team selections for the 2026 Games are currently underway during the 2025-2026 season.
Filipino American Langland is a two-time Olympian and a key member of the US women's pro slopestyle team. After sitting out the 2024-25 season due to injury, she has returned to the World Cup circuit for the current Olympic qualifying season and recently secured a second-place finish at a US Grand Prix event in October 2025.
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| Former track athlete Mystique Ro will compete in the skelton |
Skelton
Mystique Ro, a Korean American, will compete in her first Olympics realizing a dream. In high school and college, she competed as a track athlete. After she ipeaked out as a hurdler, she transferred her skills to a new sport: Women's Skeleton and the newly added Skeleton Mixed Team Relay, where she and partner Austin Florian are reigning World Champions, aimisto bring Team USA its first skeleton gold in over two decades.
"I'm one of 11 children nd I’m the second oldest." said the 31-year old Ro, who was born in California and raised in Virginia. "A sport was my outlet to be more individualistic – to be myself."
"I'm one of 11 children nd I’m the second oldest." said the 31-year old Ro, who was born in California and raised in Virginia. "A sport was my outlet to be more individualistic – to be myself."
Speed Skating
Brandon Kim: A first-time Olympian, he qualified as a national champion and world cup medalist, balancing training with studies at Stanford.Eunice Lee: Heading to her second Olympics, Lee is a relay silver medalist from the 2025 World Championships, representing Washington state.
Andrew Heo: Also a second-time Olympian, Heo brings a bronze medal from the 2024 World Championships and recent World Tour success.
Free Ski
Although born in San Francisco, CA., Stanford student Eileen Gu will compete for the People's Republic of China again.In 2019, Gu committed to representing China in international competitions with the desire to develop a deeper connection to her heritage and inspire young Chinese athletes.
At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Gu became the first freestyle skier to win three medals at the entire event, securing gold in Big Air, gold in Halfpipe, and silver in Slopestyle.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge.
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