The U.S. Figure Skating National Team commences this Olympic season on a high. For the first time ever at an ISU World Figure Skating Championships, American skaters won three of the four disciplines in 2025 in Boston. Thus, the timing couldn't be better. Here are my seven burning questions for U.S. skaters as we look forward to what promises to be a riveting Olympic campaign.
How will the Olympic season affect the dynamics of the Grand Prix campaign?
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is an important piece of the Olympic selection process for U.S. skaters. It is especially significant for the athletes who may be on the fringe of qualification; skaters who make the case for their body of work over the entire season will figure into the qualification procedures. Skaters and their teams are aware of this, and so they will look for strong results in the Grand Prix Series; it'll be a different kind of pressure than usual.
How will the reigning World champions make a mark?
For the reigning World champions — Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Alysa Liu and Ilia Malinin — those dynamics will absolutely be different. They'll seek to cement their positions as podium favorites in Milan, and momentum for them will be crucial. Chock and Bates and Malinin have been through this before, as they have spent this Olympic quad at the top of the podium in most of their competitions. Liu, however, is in a somewhat unexpected position, given that she's a little more than one year removed from her un-retirement from competition.
Will the veterans take it up another notch?
As with every Olympic season, there are a slew of veterans looking at this one as the culmination of years of work. For some, it feels like any other season; for others, it will be one last push. Chock and Bates have served the longest tenure of anyone on the U.S. team, with Bates going for his fifth Olympics and Chock her fourth. Jason Brown, reinvigorated after a late surge last season, will challenge for his third Olympic berth in four cycles. Amber Glenn comes in with a different path. Having debuted as a senior at the U.S. Championships 11 seasons ago, she is looking to make her first Olympic team at the height of her career and her athleticism.
Who will make a splash coming from the junior ranks?
At the other end of the spectrum, there are new challengers making their senior international debuts. Jacob Sanchez won the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final last season and placed seventh in his senior U.S. Championships debut; a strong Grand Prix Series could place him in the conversation for an Olympic berth. Josephine Lee makes her senior Grand Prix debut as well. She's had a history of strong skates at the U.S. Championships. For her, Grand Prix success is crucial if she is to have a chance at an Olympic berth. The pairs team of Olivia Flores and Luke Wang, the 2024 World Junior silver medalists, could make some noise as well.
Who will bring us the biggest surprise?
Looking at all the disciplines, pairs may be the one with the most uncertainty. New American pair debuts have been commonplace over the years, and the addition of Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy last season, who were fifth at the U.S. Championships, gives even more depth to the U.S. field. We all saw the roller-coaster pairs event last season at the U.S. Championships. The Grand Prix results for this field of pairs will be of even more importance when it comes to the Olympic selection process.
Who will continue their comeback momentum?
A number of skaters have been on the road back from injury; some of them made strong impressions at the end of last season. Isabeau Levito and Bradie Tennell both took parts of the past two seasons off. Levito came back and finished fourth at Worlds in March, and Tennell capped off last season with one of the biggest scores of her career. On the men's side, Lucas Broussard showed enormous potential as a junior, but his first two senior seasons were plagued with injuries and bad luck. If there is a time for a career-defining comeback, it is the Olympic season. In pairs, Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez return healthy and hopeful after missing last season due to Fernandez's knee injury. They competed at the 2024 World Championships.
And speaking of comebacks, what about the two who haven't competed since 2018?
I've buried the lede, but Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani certainly made headlines with their comeback announcement. Their last event was the 2018 Olympics, where they won two bronze medals. Since then, Maia Shibutani has dealt with a health scare, and both of them have taken time off the ice. Their first Grand Prix event back will be NHK Trophy in November, and it will be intriguing to see how they fit into an ice dance field that looks much different than the one they left seven years ago.
Jackie Wong is a figure skating analyst at Rocker Skating. He has been involved in figure skating for 22 years as a skater, coach, choreographer and judge. You can follow him at rockerskating.com, X and Instagram @rockerskating for comprehensive coverage of figure skating events all season long.
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