2026 Olympics: Five Asian American figure skaters make US Olympic team bringing total of 14 AAPI going to the Games

Evan Bates and Madison Chock have gold medal hopes.

UPDATED: Jan 20 to include the three speed skaters on the US Olympic team; and Feb. 1 to include alpine skiier Tallulah Prouix; and Feb. 9 to add Bea Kim.

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.

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."

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.

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:

Olympic hero Chloe Kim is back.

Snowboard Half-pipe

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.

Another teammate, Bea Kim,  (no relation)18, from Palos Verdes, California, will be making her Olympic debut in the half-pipe.

"The Olympics are more than just sport. They represent global unity and peace," wrote the 18-year-old Bea Kim in a social media post on Sunday. "Diversity is what makes the United States so special. It is woven into the very fabric of our country."

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.

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.

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."

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.

Alpine Ski

Born in Berkeley, California, Tallulah Proulx is a 17-year-old alpine skier who made history in January by becoming the first female and the youngest athlete from the Philippines to qualify for the Winter Olympics. She moved to Park City, Utah, to attend the Rowmark Ski Academy at Rowland Hall, where she trains up to six days a week. She will compete in the Women's Slalom and Giant Slalom.

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. 

Chock-Bates: Ice dancing champions; Emily Chan and Ellie Kam make US skating team

SKATE AMERICA

Madison Chock and Evan Bates win US ice dancing title.

 It looks like ice dance champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates will be on the US Winter Olympics team in 2026 ... if they want to go.

That's a question the pair will have to ask themselves when the Olympic qualifying competitions begin in the next few years.

After their triumph by placing first at US Figure Skating Championships last weekend in San Jose, California, they are the favorites to represent the US at the Winter Games.

Chock and Bates, fourth at the Olympics and third at last March’s world championships, totaled 229.75 points between the rhythm dance and free dance. They prevailed by 22.29 over Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, the largest margin of victory in a U.S. ice dance since it was shortened from three programs to two in 2011.

“This is probably the best we’ve ever skated in our careers,” Bates said on NBC. “I think that’s the statement that we wanted to make.”

“I don’t know what the next four years will hold,” said Chock, whose full name is Madison La'akea Te-Lan Hall Chock, reflecting her mixed racial heritage. “But we’re committed to each other and our goals, and we’ll decide when the time comes.”

Chock was born in Redondo Beach, California where she went to high school. She is of Chinese-Hawaiian descent on her father's side and European descent on her mother's side. La'akea means "sacred light from heaven" and Te-Lan (德蘭) means "virtuous orchid."

When the 2026 Winter Games come around Chock, 34, and Bates, 37, competing against young athletes. They have been competing for a long time. And their trophy case is packed to the gills, with the only gaps a world title and an individual Olympic medal. And, most importantly, they are engaged to be married in the summer of 2024.

Bates, who last year became the oldest U.S. champion in any discipline in decades, has made 13 career senior nationals podiums with Chock and former partner Emily Samuelson. It is believed that breaks the US record for a single discipline that he shared with Michelle Kwan, Nathaniel Niles and Theresa Weld Blanchard.

In their career as an ice dancing team, they earned silver or bronze a total of three times.

Until this year, Chock and Bates had faced formidable rivals on the national scene – 2014 Olympic champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White; 2018 Olympic bronze medalists Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani; and 2022 Olympic bronze medalists Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, with whom Chock and Bates traded gold medals over the previous four seasons. All have retired from competition.

After last weekend's competition, they've shown they are at the top of their game.

Those records matter less to Chock and Bates than what they’re hoping is a career first in March: a world championships gold medal.

“If we don’t win gold at worlds, we’ll be disappointed,” Bates, whose first senior nationals in 2008 came when new US women’s newly crowned singles champion Isabeau Levito was 10 months old, said earlier this month. “We’ve set the goal for ourselves in the past and haven’t met it yet.”

Where are the Asian Americans?

The US figure skating team heading to World's will look very different from  recent years. At the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, five of the 12 skaters were Asian American. This season, there are only three.

Besides Chock, There will be two relatively new faces for the AANHPI figure skating fans to cheer on: The paires team of Emily Chan from Texas and  Spencer Howe finished second; Ellie Kam and her partner Danny O'Shea finished third in pairs.

Olympian Nathan Chen, who won gold in men's figure skating last year, is deep into his studies at Yale and didn't compete this year. Two-time Olympian Vincent Zhou is busy at Brown University. Two-time US champion Alysa Liu retired. Karen Chen, the third US  woman in Beijing and a student at Cornell University, has not formally ended her competitive career but is not competing this season. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

U.S. figure skating star announces her retirement

Alysa Liu is retiring from competitive figure skating.

Two weeks after winning a bronze medal in the World Figure Skating Championship, ALysa Liu, one of the U.S.'s brightest figure skating stars, has decided to hang up her skates and announced she is  "going to be moving on with my life."

At just 16 years of age, it was widely believed that she would be one of the U.S.'s highest hopes for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Instead, the Richmond, California youngster surprised the figure skating world when she announced Saturday via social media that she is "satisfied" with her skating career and would retire to study and become a regular teenager.

"Heyyyyy so I'm here to announce that I am retiring from skating," she wrote ion her Instagram account.

"I started skating when I was 5 so that's about 11 years on the ice and it's been an insane 11 years. A lot of good and a lot of bad but yk [you know] that's just how it is. I've made so many friends, and so so sooo many good memories that I'll have for the rest of my life," she continued.

"I honestly never thought I would've accomplished as much as I did LMAOO I'm so happy. I feel so satisfied with how my skating career has gone. Now that I'm finally done with my goals in skating I'm going to be moving on with my life."

Liu's retirement comes after her father revealed last month that she had been embroiled in an apparent Chinese spying scandal. However, there is no indication if her retirement is linked her father's political activism. He left China in 1989 after taking part in the Tianamen Square protests and subsequent massacre of the protestors by the Chinese government.

Liu's retirement comes under a month after her father revealed that she had been embroiled in an apparent Chinese spying scandal in which the Chinese government was accused of trying to intimidate Chinese dissidents living in the U.S. Arthur Liu was informed by the FBI prior to the Beijing Olympics that he was one of the people targeted by China.

During the Winter Games held in Beijing last February, Alysa Liu was provided with protection by the U.S. government because of the spying allegations.

During her career, Liu won two senior U.S. national championship titles, becoming the youngest athlete to win the women's crown when she did so in 2019 when she was just 13. She retained her title in 2020, prior to the pandemic, which – coupled with injuries and a growth spurt – slowed Liu down.

She won Team USA an additional Olympic spot for Beijing 2022 at the Nebelhorn Trophy last October and, although she had to withdraw from the 2022 nationals after contracting Covid, was named to the Olympic squad.

Liu finished seventh in Beijing, opting against attempting the triple Axel or any quadruple jumps, which she had previously landed in Junior Grand Prix competition. The full results of the women's singles event in Beijing remain provisional depending on the outcome of the World Skating Federation on the Russian woman skater using illegal performance enhancing drugs.

Her final competition was the World Championships last month in Montpellier, France, where she improved from fifth after the short program to win bronze.

Speaking after that medal, Liu said of the past two years: "I lost a lot of my motivation. I was barely going to the rink, not doing off-ice [workouts]. Then I grew a lot and got injured quite a bit. I had an on-and-off injury and that really slowed me down. Honestly, I have no idea how I got my motivation back and got to this point."

This season was Liu's first year at the senior level. She previously won two ISU Challenger Series golds, two ISU Junior Grand Prix golds, a Junior Grand Prix Final silver, and a World Junior Championships bronze medal.

"this skating thing has taught me a lot more about life than i anticipated," Liu concluded her lengthy explanation on social media.

"i’m really glad i skated."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Olympics 2022: US figure skaters do their best but fail to medal

US figure skaters, from left, Karen Chen, Mariah Bell and Alysa Liu.

Updated Feb. 18.

American figure skaters Alysa Liu and Mariah Bell had impressive performances on Thursday (Feb. 17) evening but wound up in 7th and 10th place respectively.

The American figure skaters each put out performances to remember at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 but it was not enough to overtake the leaders. 

Alysa, from Richmond, Calif., was even in the lead for a while after 19 skaters had performed. However, after the final group performed their routines, she ended up in seventh place.

“I’m just really glad that all my training paid off because I’m here competing,” Liu told NBC. “And the goal of my whole life and my skating career was to compete at the Olympics. So now I can officially say I’m an Olympian.”

The women's competition was eventually won by Russian skater and World Champion Anna Shcherbakova. Another Russian, Alexandra Trusova won the silver and Japan's Kaori Sakamoto took bronze.

The skater expected to win it all, and the most controversial, 15-year old Kamila Valieva, fell during her free skate routine dropping Russia's top skater to fourth place and off the medal podium.

Kamila is at the center of controversy after test results showed that she had taken a banned drug before the Olympics. Her performance in the team competition vaulted the Russian team to first place but since the drug test results were discovered, the final results of the team competition remains up in the air.

Despite the controversial drug test results, the Russian teenager was allowed to compete in the individual skating competition. After the short program Tuesday, she was in first place.

Alysa Liu led the U.S. figure skaters finishin in 7th place.

Sixteen-year-old, Alysa was the US champion in 2019 and 2020 - her first title making her the youngest American ever to win a national title - at age 13. At age 16 years, she is the youngest member (in any sport) sent to Beijing by Team USA.

The California teen opened her "Violin Concerto in D" free skate with a triple Axel attempt, landing the jump but having it downgraded as she finished her rotation on the ice. She would score a 139.45 in the segment. Added to the score from her short program, her final score totaled 208.95.

Gone are the difficult quads that gave Alysa the US championships. She was the only US woman to perform the judge-pleasing four-revolution jumps.

“It was a lot easier when I was smaller, and a lot shorter,” said Liu, who stands approximately 5 feet, 2 inches. “It’s just been harder. Especially when COVID hit, I couldn’t train it as much. I stopped training it for a period. So, there was a lot of other factors, but definitely puberty (was one factor).”

“I’m so happy with two clean programs,” Liu said. “It’s better than I ever thought I would do at the Olympics, and I’m really happy about it.”

MORE OLYMPIC STORIES:

California-born Eileen Gu wins her second medal in freestyle

Filipino American snowboarder qualifies for for finals in Big Air

Ice dancers Chock and Bates will continue to compete after missing podium

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate for a medal

Nathan Chen, Chloe Kim win gold medals in their events.

Eileen Gu evades question about citizenship after winning gold medal

US wins silver in figure skating team event

Born and raised in San Francisco, Eileen Gu will represent China

Five AAPI skaters named to USA Figure Skating team.

NBC puts Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim in the spotlight to promote their coverage

Snowboarding star Chloe Kim: "I'm going to go off"

20 Asian Americans and Asian Canadians to watch at the Winter Olympics

Emotions flood over Chinese American athletes in Beiging Games

Prior to Liu's skate, Bell, 25, performed her routine to "Hallelujah" earning her a 136.92 total. Her combined score of 202.30 left her in tenth place.

Liu was in eighth place after the women's short program, while Bell sat  at 11th.

Karen Chen, 22, finished her routine after falling during her routine.

Earlier, their American teammate Karen Chen, from Fremont, Calif., struggled in her free skate, her total score registering a 179.93 that gave her the 16th spot.

“It’s incredible to just know that I’ve made it here,” Chen said. “It did not go the way I wanted to, but I also had my moment in the team event, too. So, there are a lot of positive things to look at.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

Olympics 2022: Skating pair Chock and Bates will continue competing after missing medal podium

Madison Chock and Evan Bates take a risk with their routine.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates scored a career-best score, 130.63, for their free dance routine at the Beijing Olympics. Sunday's score added to the rhythm dance points gave them an impressive total score of 214.77, but it wasn't enough to win a medal.

Their unusual interstellar theme -- a risky decision in a sport that exudes sexiness -- earned an outstanding score and put pressure on the skating teams to follow.  Unfortunately for the US pair, their rivals also came through with good enough scores to maintain their leads.

“We are disappointed we didn’t medal but we are still proud of our career and what we have achieved,” said Chock, who is Hawaiian and Chinese. 

The French team of Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron had a total score of 226.98 to capture the gold medal.

They were followed by the Russian pair of Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov who notched a season's best to win silver with a total score of 220.5. Bronze went to Team USA's Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue with 218.02 points.

MORE OLYMPIC NEWS:

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate for a medal

Nathan Chen, Chloe Kim win gold medals in their events.

Eileen Gu evades question about citizenship after winning gold medal

US wins silver in figure skating team event

Born and raised in San Francisco, Eileen Gu will represent China

Five AAPI skaters named to USA Figure Skating team.

NBC puts Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim in the spotlight to promote their coverage

Snowboarding star Chloe Kim: "I'm going to go off"

20 Asian Americans and Asian Canadians to watch at the Winter Olympics

Emotions flood over Chinese American athletes in Beiging Games

The veteran pair — Chock in her third Olympics, Bates in his fourth — are leaving Beijing with at least one Olympic medal, a silver earned in the team competition. After the final scores were posted, Chock and Bates told the media that they had no plans to hang up their skates. 

"We're not deciding to retire after the season," Bates tells PEOPLE. "We are still really passionate about skating. We still feel young and we still feel like there's room for improvement and growth. And I keep hearing about four Games and being one of the oldest skaters. And I'm like, 'How did that happen?' I don't feel like I'm just as seasoned as that makes me sound."

The chemistry that they have on the ice is the result of their relationship off the ice. They say there's no set date for wedding bells.

"When we do decide to retire, we will definitely be having a big celebration," says Chock. "And that will probably include a wedding."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

Olympics 2022: Mixed emotions as US figure skating team wins silver; Zhou contracts COVID-19

US figure skaters celebrate their silver medal for the team competition.

American figure skaters gathered on the podium to celebrate their silver medal accomplishment, the highest finish since the figure skating team event was introduced in the 2014 Olympics 

"Where's Vincent?" asked Karen Chen, who came back from a stumble Sunday to help the team zoom up to the second-place finish behind the Russians.

The dance pair of Madison Chock and Evan Bates told the rest of the skaters that Vincent Zhou had tested positive on a COVID-19 test deflating the medal ceremony for the Americans. 

Zhou failed his second COVID-19 test Monday and had to withdraw from the men's figure-skating competition.

In an emotional five-minute video, Zhou said, “It’s pretty unreal that of all the people, it would happen to myself. And that’s not just because I’m still processing this turn of events, but also because I have been doing everything in my power to stay free of covid since the start of the pandemic.”

After a spectacular start on the first day, mostly because of Nathan Chen's spectacular skate, the US was about to drop to third after the second day stumbles of Zhou and Karen Chen.

“I definitely felt a little more pressure because I felt like I needed to redeem myself,” said Chen on Monday. “I think definitely just coming back from yesterday is a huge thing for me.”

Chen's performance plus the Chock and Evan's near flawless dance earned them the No. 1 spot over the favorite team from Russia. “I think it was hard to be completely oblivious to the nature of the scores,” Bates said. “At the end of the day, we just focused on what we could do to contribute in a significant way. We knew we could win the free dance.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

Nathan Chen: Three quads is now expected as he wins Skate America

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE

Nathan Chen at Skate America.

ASAM NEWS

Nathan Chen, 20, won his third straight Skate America Grand Prix championship Saturday.
“I’m really happy with that,” said Chen according to Yahoo! Sports after his free skate clinched his first place finish in the Las Vegas competition. “That’s a good score. Hopefully I can continue to build off of that. Of course I made a couple of errors, so I need to clean those up.”

Yahoo! Sports reported that Chen beat runner-up Jason Brown by 44 points with a total score of 299.09 In his free skate, Chen did three quadruple jumps.

Before the competition, Chen spoke with NBC Sports about his plans for the performance He said that he wanted to do an least three quads in his free skate. Chen also skated to Elton John’s music, which he is a big fan.

As a college sophomore at Yale, Chen has to find time for both skating and studying.

“Skating is always tough, always a challenge,” he told NBC Sports. “But I would say, relative to last season, skating might be a little bit on the easier side. I think classes are definitely a lot harder… You have to really grind for a long period of time or else you don’t do well.”

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Nathan Chen wins Grand Prix championship

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NATHAN CHEN

ASAM NEWS

NATHAN CHEN is taking the skating world with a vengeance.
Since placing a disappointing fifth in the Winter Olympics, Chen has won nine straight competitions including three this year- Skate America, Internationaux de France and now after this weekend, the Grand Prix Final, according to Team USA.

“I just want to keep improving,” Chen told reporters. “I missed that Lutz (in the free skate), so that’s what I’m thinking about right now. I like to focus on the present and try not to dwell on the past. It’s on to the next.”

ight now Chen has his eyes set on the U.S. Skating Championship in late January. Despite his first place finish, he’s determined to improve on his flaws.

“I definitely did not do my greatest programs, both short and long, mistakes here and there,” said Chen to NBC Sports. “Basically right back to the books.”

Mirai Nagasu - from the skating rink to the dance floor

ABC
Figure skater Mirai Nagasu with her dance partner, Alan Bersten.

WELL, she got her wish. Mirai Nagasu is trading in her blades for high heels as she competes in Dancing With the Stars.

Remember when U.S. Olympic figure skater Mirai Naagasu made a joke about being on Dancing With the Stars? 

She got ripped for joking around when she failed to perform up to her best. She flubbed her triple axel in the individual free skate to help the U.S. team get a bronze medal. Her historic performance raised hope for a medal in the individual performances.

Back in February, in the heat of the Olympic competition, she failed to medal in the individual competition. She wasn't alone. All three of the U.S. women's figure skater performed below expectations. Mirai was unable to repeat the triple axel. She ended up in 10th place.

The 25-year old Southern Californian was disappointed and tired and in one interview, she quipped that the Olympics was just an audition for Dancing With the Stars “because I want to be a star.”

It looks like Mirai gets the last laugh.

“I think I’ve literally cried my way through these Olympic Games,” she tells PEOPLE in an interview one day after her final performance in Gangneung, South Korea. “It’s been an experience that I will never forget.”

This season of the popular dance competition will feature all athletes. Mirai will be competing agains the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tonya Harding, Johnny Damon and fellow Winter Olympians: snow boarder Jamie Anderson, luger Chris Mazdzer, figure skater and close fiend Adam Rippon and more

"Since it's so competitive, we're trying to hit the ground running," said Alan Bersten, Mirai's partner and dance coach. "We're not even doing a Week 1 dance, we're doing a Week 7 dance," which will be the salsa.

While Mirai admits she's a little uncomfortable on the dance floor but she is ready to be a dance champion.

"I fall all the time, but I get back up and keep going," she said.

Dancing with the Stars: Athletes premieres Monday, April 30 on ABC, 8 p.m. ET.______________________________________________________________________________

Chen, Zhou make the U.S. men's figure skating team

Nathan Chen, left, Vincent Zhoou and Adam Rippon will represent the U.S. in men's figure skating.

TWO ASIAN/AMERICANS were named to the 2018 U.S. men's Olympic figure skating team.  

Nathan Chen, 18, simply the best male figure skater in the world, was a given to make the team. The drama was which two skaters would join him.

Bay Area native Vincent Zhou, 17, who placed third in the scoring, had a strong showing in the US Figure Skating National Championship in San Jose, California, made the team. 

Ross Miner, the second-place finisher Saturday night, was dropped in an intricate selection process that includes criteria that includes season-long performance. His spot on the team, instead, went to fourth place finisher Adam Rippon, 28. 

The selection committee vote for the men's team selection was 11-1 for team that was selected, a nearly unanimous decision said Sam Auxier, president of U.S. Figure Skating, Sam Auxier. He noted that Miner’s average competition scores in recent competitions was among the lowest in the pool being considered for the Olympic team. Miner was named as the second alternate, behind Jason Brown, who finished sixth last night.

The men's team selection controversy was the second time in during this competition when the judging panel's decisions were questioned.

Ashley Wagner, who finished fourth behind third-place finisher and current U.S. champion Karen Chen, was furious at her scores, which she felt should have been higher.

"I think all these girls delivered when they needed to, but I want to be on that Olympic team and I'm really mad that I'm in this position again," said Wagner, 26.

Asked whether she believes she should be selected to the Olympic team, Wagner emphatically said, "Yes, I do."

A day earlier, Jan. 6, it was announced that two Asian/American women made the women's figure-skating team, Mirai Nagasui and Karen Chen. The third member of the team is Bradie Tennell, who finished first in over-all scoring.

SCREEN CAPTURE

Nathan Chen topped all skaters at the U.S. National Championships Saturday night (Jan. 6).

The scoring controversies, something that seems to crop up for figure skating, shouldn't overshadow the performances of the eventual team members, Nathan Chen, America's best chance for a gold medal in figure skating.

Chen, outfitted in his all-black Vera Wang-designed costume, opened with a quad flip-triple toe loop combination at full speed and never looked back.

“I’m very happy with tonight. I laid out a five-quad program, which I haven’t been able to do all season,” Chen said. “Obviously I made a mistake on the axel, and I’ll have to address that at some point back home. Ultimately, I’m very happy with tonight, and I think I really did my job here.”

The 2018 Winter Olympics are set for February 9-25 in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Watch Chen's performance here:

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Nagasu, Chen picked to represent US in women's figure skating

Presenting the USA's women's figure-skating team:Mirai Nagasu. from left, Bradie Tennell and Karen Chen.

ASAM NEWS

IT'S OFFICIAL this morning: Mirai Nagasu is one big bad-ass.
Four years after being denied a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team despite placing third at the 2017 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Nagasu was not going to be denied this time.

The U.S. Olympic Committee named her to the team this morning after her second place finish Friday (Jan. 5) night in San Jose at the 2018 Championship.

She’ll be joined by first place finisher Bradie Tennell and last year’s U.S. Women’s Figure Skating champ, Karen Chen.

The three team members spoke exclusively this morning on Today.

“I really took time to remodel myself because I didn’t want to feel that regret. This has been about my journey , my goal to get here and last night was my dream come true, ” said Nagasu.

Chen who is mentored by skating legend Kristi Yamaguchi says the two have exchanged huge hugs and admitted both were in tears. Both are from Fremont near San Francisco.

All three teammates said they are ready to soak in the culture in South Korea at Pyeongchang

Chen was the most outspoken, simply saying “I think we got a great shot. We’re all very strong and we got this.”

In 2014, Nagasu was passed over for Ashley Wagner who was the fourth place finisher. At the time, Wagner was chosen based on her overall skating record and greater experience in international competition.

Last night, Wagner, 26, was “furious” at the judging and results.

“I know when I go and I lay it down — and I absolutely left one jump on the table — but for me to put out two programs that I did at this competition as solid as I skated, to get those scores, I am furious,” reported the Mercury News. “And I think deservedly so. I am a performer, and that second mark [for program components] is just not there.

“I am absolutely OK with them being strict on my rotations,” she added. “That’s what I think U.S. Figure Skating should demand from their judges. But you know, it has to be across the board, and I don’t necessarily feel like it’s been that way at this event. So we’ll see how things pan out.” “I feel like I need to stick up for myself, and I think I delivered when I needed to. But I want to be on that Olympic team, and I’m really mad that I’m in this position again.”

Nagasu last night had a different take on the results.

“I’m usually not one to be at a loss for words, but I am super happy with how things have gone,” Nagasu said to Team USA.org. “With mistakes, I scored the highest I’ve scored at a U.S. championships and right now I am super proud of myself… I think I really, really put in my vote for the Olympic team.”

Chen herself had quite a journey. She followed her championship in 2017 with a dud of a season. She finished no better than seventh at the Grand Prix assignments last year. On top of that, she came to this year’s championships with a virus. Despite feeling the aches and pains that comes with being sick, she persevered and put in her best performances of the season.

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