Ilia Malinin
Atsushi Tomura – International Skating Union//Getty Images
Ilia Malinin is a two-time World, three-time Grand Prix final, and four-time U.S. National Champion. He’s also the reigning title holder for all three. Nicknamed the “Quad God” for his unparalleled ability to routinely nail not just one or two, but multiple quadruple jumps in a single routine consistently from competition to competition. In December 2025, he made history by landing a record seven quadruple jumps in a single program at the Grand Prix Final during the men’s long program. For his technical prowess, the U.S. has slated Malinin for the short program, which will take place on Saturday, February 7. Skaters go in reverse order of world rankings, so Malinin will skate last in his group.
Alysa Liu
VCG//Getty Images
This is Alysa Liu’s second time on Olympic ice, but her first time participating in the team event. Liu placed sixth in the women’s singles event in Beijing, and initially retired later that year. But she returned to the sport with a newfound spirit and something of a vengeance in 2024. Liu arrived in Milan as the reigning Grand Prix and World Champion. Known for her consistency, Liu was selected to handle the women’s short program for the Americans. Often described as “do-or-die,” the short program consists of seven required elements skaters must hit within two minutes and 50 seconds. Any errors carry heavy point losses under the current scoring system.
Liu nailed her back-to-back triple Lutz and triple loop (the Lutz is the second most difficult jump), giving the U.S. a nice cushion going into the long program. She placed second within the women’s group to three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Madison Chock and Evan Bates
VCG//Getty Images
The gold medal favorites for the ice dance competition, Madison Chock and Evan Bates offer the most Olympic experience for Team USA. Bates has been to every Olympic Games since Vancouver (the first one was with a different partner, Emily Samuelson), and Chock made her Olympic debut with him at Sochi in 2014. They are also the only returning members of the gold medal-winning roster from the 2022 team event. As three-time and reigning World Champions and seven-time U.S. National Champions, Chock and Bates dominated the rhythm dance on Friday, and were the only ice dance team to break the 90-point barrier. This is a notable feat and extremely rare as most teams usually only score in the 70s and 80s range, meaning they had a higher level of difficulty in their choreography and nailed all of their planned technical elements.
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea
Jurij Kodrun – International Skating Union//Getty Images
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea will skate for Team USA in the pairs short program. The 2024 U.S. champions have earned four Grand Prix medals as a team since they started skating together in 2022. This is the first Olympics for both, although O’Shea was previously an alternate for the 2018 Games with his former partner, Tarah Kayne. Kam and O’Shea started strong in the short program, although suffered a fall on a throw triple loop, resulting in a major deduction. That dropped them to fifth within the pairs group, but the higher rankings in women’s and ice dance kept the U.S. in first place.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Readers Also Read
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below