The 2026 Winter Olympics have come to an end and Team USA brought 33 medals home, with five gold medals being awarded in multiple figure skating events. Colorado Springs earned the designated title of Olympic City USA, bringing in elite athletes to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center.
Coming from a long line of UCCS Olympians and Paralympians, two of our very own Mountain Lions, current student Ellie Kam and UCCS alum and team event captain Danny O’Shea, competed in the team skate event, earning their personal best score.
The pressure was on, with Team USA and Team Japan facing off for the tie breaking score in the men’s singles skating event.
Kam and O’Shea rose to the challenge, and through intricate choreography featuring high-level axels, lifts and spins, they delivered their finest-ever free skate, according to U.S. Figure Skating.
Their highest scoring program element, a closing Level 4 Axel lasso, showcased their technical ability as a pair and demonstrated their strength, coordination, timing and trust in each other, concluding their career-best performance with 8.80 points.
As American figure skater Ilia Malinin won the gold in the men’s singles event and the duo earned 135.36 points, placing them in fourth and adding seven pivotal points to the team figure skating score that won the gold for Team USA.
“I was so proud of Ilia and everybody on our team,” O’Shea said in an interview with US Figure Skating, “It took every single point for us to do it today, and at the end of the day, that’s what it takes. The team event is something special because it really does bring everyone together to support each other, build each other up and find ways to get one more point.”
O’Shea, a 2023 graduate, earned a business degree with a focus in mechanical engineering. Kam is studying health science.
According to NPR, O’Shea briefly returned to competition in 2021 after retiring in 2020 for a short-lived partnership, leaving the sport again. At the same time, Kam, who had also been skating since age 4, was looking for a partner to practice with after her previous partnership ended in mid-2022.
While attending school, they began skating together as they trained at the Olympic and Paralympic training facility.
The duo clicked, officially pairing up in 2022, going on to win bronze at national championships in 2023 and gold in 2024, making them 2024 U.S. figure skating champions.
The duo competed in the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, with O’Shea skating on an injured foot that was discovered to be broken after the competition concluded.
After his recovery, they took back to the ice and exceeded expectations in the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic games.
As we continue to celebrate Team USA’s record-setting performance after this year’s winter games, the athletes worthy of accolades for their athletic prowess, Kam and O’Shea represent Mountain Lion pride on the global stage.
UCCS student Ellie Kam and alumnus Daniel O’Shea. Photo by Fox 31.