The 2026 Olympics features just two Team USA pairs: Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, as well as Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
One of these pairs has already made history, in that Kam and O’Shea have a nearly 14-year age difference, which makes them the team with the largest age gap for any U.S. pair to have competed at worlds since at least 1990, according to NBC News research.
Kam, 21, and O’Shea, 35, have only been skating together since 2022, and they’ve already come a long way in just a few years in the ice. According to NBC News, the two competed five times during their first season together, including Kam’s first international competition, first Challenger Series event, first senior U.S. Championships, first Four Continents Championships and first World Championships.
Now, they’re skating together at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, in the quest for a gold.
As for more history, in 2026, Kam can become the youngest U.S. Olympic pairs skater since 2014, and O’Shea became the oldest.
“Being on an Olympic team in 16 months would be absolutely amazing, but to be honest with you, at this point, I’m just so happy to enjoy the ride, enjoy the journey,” O’Shea told NBC News before making the Games. “I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to be out here again, to be medaling in a Grand Prix and to be pushing myself to limits that I have not achieved in the past.”
O’Shea added, So, yes, I would love to make the Olympic team, and that is the goal, right? I won’t shy away from that. On top of that, I’m going to do it while really enjoying the process.”
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An article published ahead of the Games in February 2026 from Women’s Health looks at the duo’s age difference. They make it a Gen-Z vs. millennial debate.
Women’s Health notes, “Kam and O’Shea, who have been skating together since 2022, have totally different communication styles as a Gen Z and millennial, said their coach, Drew Meekins. It’s been an interesting challenge for Meekins, who some may call their ‘couples’ therapist.'”
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He added, “The dynamic of the relationship is just critical to the success of the team. We’ve had to work through a lot of figuring out what each other is trying to say and how the other person wants to receive that information and all of that stuff. My job is usually kind of helping them navigate it.”
