With less than 100 days until the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, there is a lot that goes into preparing for those special moments on Olympic ice.
The Summer Preparation
The Olympic season preparation begins as soon as the World Championships finishes the year before the Olympics.
April and May are devoted to finding music and choreographing programs that teams will compete the entire Olympic season, including the heavy-hitter qualifications for the OGs.
Once programs are finished, summer training starts early for the Olympic season, usually preparing for late summer or early fall competitions to debut your material. This is a great chance to get early feedback and make adjustments before the big qualifying competitions start.
The International Season
For U.S. skaters, the international season including the Grand Prix Series and Grand Prix Final mark a big opportunity to prepare for the National Championships. Because U.S. Figure Skating’s Olympic Selection Procedure is based on a series of competitive results, unlike some sports that are a single Olympic trial, the Grand Prix season is very important to position yourself as a top contender for the Olympic spots available.
The National Championships
This is the big event – the event where the Olympic team is announced and skaters’ dreams are realized. The US Figure Skating Championships marks the last event that is part of the Olympic Selection Procedure, and is heavily weighted in the selection criteria for who will be named to the Olympic team. Once the National Championships are finished, there is a panel that decides based on the athletes’ body-of-work who will be part of the Olympic team.
For U.S. skaters, the National Championships is the pinnacle of emotions leading into the Olympic Games. You see dreams achieved, you see heartbreak, and you see skaters putting out some of the most memorable performances of their careers.
The 2022 U.S. National Championships, where I qualified for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, still to this date, is one of the most memorable moments of my life. I will never forget the feeling of standing on center ice with a standing ovation surrounding me, moments later getting my scores, and finally that evening getting the notice that I had been selected to the U.S. Olympic team. It was truly a dream come true.
The Countdown to Milano-Cortina
As athletes are mid-way through their season leading into the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy, the pressure is on to see who will rise to the occasion.
If I could give any advice to the athletes competing for a chance to represent their country at the Olympics, it would be to stay grounded in the present. There is so much buzz surrounding the Olympics – stay focused on yourself and your daily goals. And most of all, enjoy all the little moments leading up to the big one. The Olympics is a culmination of the years of hard work you have put in thus far- those should be celebrated.
