 Ellie Kam and Daniel O'Shea at the2025 World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (2004-12-20)December 20, 2004 (age 21) Yokota Air Base, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.52 m (5 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Pair skating | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Partner | Daniel O'Shea (since 2022) Ian Meyh (2021–22) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Drew Meekins Sandy Straub | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Thunderbirds Figure Skating Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medal record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ellie Kam (born December 20, 2004) is an Americanpair skater. With her current skating partner,Danny O'Shea, she is a2026 Olympic Games team event gold medalist, the2024 Four Continents bronze medalist, four-timeGrand Prix medalist, four-timeChallenger Series medalist, and2024 U.S. national champion.
Kam was born on 20 December 2004 inYokota Air Base, Japan, to a Japanese mother, Mako, and an American father, Benjamin. She also has two older brothers, Zane and Kai. At the time of Kam's birth, her father had been stationed in Japan due to his work as an Air Force surgeon. Following his assignment's completion, the family moved toAlaska before eventually settling inColorado Springs, Colorado.[1][2]
In addition to being half-Japanese, Kam is also of Hawaiian and Chinese descent from her father's side.[2] She is currently a student at theUniversity of Colorado Colorado Springs, where she majors in health science. Moreover, Kam frequently aids in designing skating costumes for herself and her pairs partner,Daniel O'Shea.[3]
Kam trained as a pairs skater for several years after switching from singles to pairs with partner Ian Meyh. In 2022, they qualified for the2022 U.S. Junior Championships but subsequently withdrew. Their partnership ended in mid-2022, after they had competed twice at senior-level club competitions.
She later characterized her work with Meyh as “an amazing experience,” adding, “I learned everything, pairs-wise, with Ian.”[4]
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Kam formed a new partnership with veteran pair skaterDanny O'Shea, who had previously been acting as an advisor at her camp. They had initially begun skating together at her coach's suggestion as a way to keep her skills practised.[4] In the fall, they made their international debut at the2022 Ice Challenge and won the gold medal in the pairs competition. They then made theirChallenger debut at the2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, winning the silver medal.[5]
Kam/O'Shea competed next at the2023 U.S. Championships, where they placed third in the short program.[6] They opened their free skate with Kam falling on theirtriple twist, but still managed to place third in that segment as well, winning the bronze medal. Kam called the experience "quite the whirlwind."[7]
Having reached the national podium, Kam/O'Shea were assigned to make their ISU championship debut together at the2023 Four Continents Championships, held in their home training location ofColorado Springs. O'Shea considered this "pretty special."[8] They placed seventh in the short program, but a fifth-place free skate moved them up to sixth overall.[9][10] Kam/O'Shea finished the season at the2023 World Championships inSaitama, where they finished twelfth.[11]
Kam/O'Shea began the season with a victory at the2023 CS Finlandia Trophy.[12] They were invited to make theirGrand Prix debut at the2023 Grand Prix de France, and finished fifth in the short program, but had to withdraw after Kam suffered an injury in training.[13] Despite this, Kam/O'Shea were able to attend their second Grand Prix, the2023 Grand Prix of Espoo, coming sixth.[14]
At the2024 U.S. Championships, Kam/O'Shea finished second in the short program with a score of 64.57, with Kam having struggled on the throw landing and O'Shea two-footing his jump. Segment leadersChan/Howe withdrew in advance of the free skate, leaving Kam/O'Shea thede facto first-place finishers heading into that segment. They were second in the free skate behindEfimova/Mitrofanov, but won their first national title by 0.85 points. O'Shea enthused that "being first is amazing," while noting there was room to improve on their performance, in particular continued difficulties with throw landings.[15]
Kam/O'Shea had already been named to the American team for the2024 Four Continents Championships in advance of the national championships, due to the events being separated by less than a week.[16] Traveling toShanghai for the competition, they finished fourth in the short program despite Kam's throw fall, before a second-place free skate lifted them to the bronze medal, their first international championship podium as a team. Kam noted that the turnaround between the events was such that she did not feel their national gold had "[sunk] in yet."[17]
In the short program at the2024 World Championships inMontreal, Quebec, Canada, Kam fell on their throw triple loop, but the team was otherwise clean and they came tenth in the segment. O'Shea said that it was "nice to see that with a fall – a fairly large mistake – we still get a season-best. That means the other things we’ve been working on are improving and the judges are starting to see that piece as well."[18] Difficulties with jumps and throws continued in the free skate, and Kam/O'Shea dropped to eleventh overall.[19]
Kam/O'Shea began their season by competing on the2024–25 ISU Challenger Series. They won gold at the2024 John Nicks Pairs Competition and bronze at the2024 Nebelhorn Trophy.
Going on to compete on the2024–25 Grand Prix series, the pair won the silver medal at the2024 Skate America, scoring a personal best free skate and combined total score in the process.[20] “We are really happy to be on the podium at Skate America,” said O’Shea. “This is our first Grand Prix medal. We worked very hard during the off-season, and this shows that the hard work paid off.”[20] The team followed up this result with a bronze medal at the2024 NHK Trophy.[12][21] These Grand Prix series results allowed the pair to qualify for the2024–25 Grand Prix Final, where they finished in fifth place.[22][23]
Entering the2025 U.S. Championships as defending champions, Kam/O'Shea won the short program with a clean skate. Their score of 77.19 points gave him an eight-point margin overChan/Howe in second place. However, an error-riddled free skate that included a lift fall in addition to problems on jumps and throws saw them fifth in that segment, dropping to third overall. O'Shea vowed to use the lift failure as "motivation. I'm extremely pissed at myself. I know I'm far better than that, and I will do better next time."[24]
Kam/O'Shea placed second in the short program at the2025 Four Continents Championships inSeoul, South Korea, winning a silver small medal, despite Kam turning out of the landing of their throw triple loop. Their free skate again had a number of errors on jumps and throws, as a result of which they dropped to fourth overall, finishing 1.46 points behind bronze medalistsPereira/Michaud of Canada.[25]
Two days prior to traveling for the2025 World Championships inBoston, Massachusetts, United States, O'Shea broke his foot. In spite of this, O'Shea pushed himself to compete, determined to help earn three spots for U.S. pair skating at the2026 Winter Olympics.[26] Kam/O'Shea ultimately finished the event in seventh place after placing fifth in the short program and seventh in the free skate.[27][28] Their placement, in addition toEfimova/Mitrofanov's sixth-place finish, earned three berths for U.S. pair skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[29] In an interview following the event, O'Shea shared, "We are very happy with what we accomplished this week, together alongside Alisa and Misha. We secured the three spots for Worlds next year and the third potential Olympic spot. It means a lot to us."[30] O'Shea subsequently had to receive surgery on his injured foot.[28]
Kam/O'Shea opened their season at2025 CS Trialeti Trophy where they placed fifth.[27]
Three weeks later, the team competed at2025 Skate Canada International where they won the bronze medal. “It was a tough off season for us," said O'Shea of the previous season. "Three months off the ice for myself and a month off for Ellie for random injuries and surgeries. We see ourselves be in a good path as we continue to grow with each competition."[31]
Later the same month, Kam/O'Shea took another bronze at2025 Finlandia Trophy. "It definitely helps just to have more experience at these competitions," said Kam. "I feel like last year I still felt I was so new to international competition and always feel so lucky to be here. But I think just being more comfortable at these competitions helps."[32]
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In January, Kam/O'Shea won the silver medal at the2026 U.S. Championships behindEfimova/Mitrofanov. They were subsequently named to the2026 Winter Olympic team.[33] "It’s been a long journey," O’Shea reflected on his Olympic aspirations. "A long time on Team USA and a long time working towards this. And it was always a goal but coming back and skating with Ellie for these past four seasons, it’s been at the forefront of my mind for sure."[34]
On 6 February, Kam/O'Shea placed fifth in the short program in the2026 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Team Event after a fall on a throw triple loop. “The throws are something we’ve spent a lot of time working on since the start of our partnership” said Kam. “Some people say we struggle with them, but I don’t really see it that way. It’s more that it’s something we’ve had to work on a bit more compared to other teams. We’re still a relatively new team and still fine-tuning certain elements.”[35] Two days later, the pair delivered a clean performance in the free skate, placing fourth in that segment and accumulating enough points to help Team United States of America win the gold medal.[36] "It felt like a performance of a lifetime," Kam said after their free skate. "It’s certainly our personal best, and to put it out on a stage like this as a team, it feels amazing. We’re still improving, and there’s still a lot of opportunity to improve even from what we did tonight, but I think we couldn’t be more proud."[37]
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| Season | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics | 9th | |||
| Winter Olympics (Team event) | 1st | |||
| World Championships | 12th | 11th | 7th | TBD |
| Four Continents Championships | 6th | 3rd | 4th | |
| Grand Prix Final | 5th | |||
| U.S. Championships | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 2nd |
| GPFrance | WD | |||
| GPFinland | 6th | 3rd | ||
| GPNHK Trophy | 3rd | |||
| GPSkate America | 2nd | |||
| GPSkate Canada | 3rd | |||
| CSFinlandia Trophy | 1st | |||
| CSGolden Spin of Zagreb | 2nd | |||
| CSJohn Nicks Pairs | 1st | |||
| CSNebelhorn Trophy | 3rd | |||
| CSTrialeti Trophy | 5th | |||
| Ice Challenge | 1st |
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 201.73 | 2024 Skate America |
| Short program | TSS | 73.16 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| TES | 40.58 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | |
| PCS | 33.06 | 2026 Winter Olympics | |
| Free skating | TSS | 135.36 | 2026 Winter Olympics (Team event) |
| TES | 69.65 | 2026 Winter Olympics (Team event) | |
| PCS | 66.37 | 2024 Skate America |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 9–13, 2022 |  2022 Ice Challenge | 1 | 65.35 | 1 | 117.84 | 1 | 183.19 |
| Dec 7–10, 2022 |  2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 3 | 62.07 | 2 | 116.76 | 2 | 178.83 |
| Jan 26–28, 2023 | 2023 U.S. Championships | 3 | 65.75 | 3 | 118.26 | 3 | 184.01 |
| Feb 7–12, 2023 | 2023 Four Continents Championships | 7 | 57.49 | 5 | 111.20 | 6 | 168.69 |
| Mar 20–26, 2023 |  2023 World Championships | 9 | 63.40 | 13 | 112.19 | 12 | 175.59 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Oct 4–8, 2023 |  2023 CS Finlandia Trophy | 1 | 63.03 | 1 | 119.04 | 1 | 182.07 |
| Nov 3–5, 2023 |  2023 Grand Prix de France | 5 | 54.75 | N/a | N/a | – | WD |
| Nov 17–19, 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo | 6 | 55.99 | 6 | 96.17 | 6 | 152.16 |
| Jan 22–28, 2024 | 2024 U.S. Championships | 2 | 64.57 | 2 | 123.19 | 1 | 187.76 |
| Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024 |  2024 Four Continents Championships | 4 | 60.72 | 2 | 126.56 | 3 | 187.28 |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 |  2024 World Championships | 10 | 64.44 | 11 | 115.97 | 11 | 180.41 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 3–4, 2024 | 2024 CS John Nicks Pairs Competition | 1 | 67.46 | 2 | 124.16 | 1 | 191.62 |
| Sep 18–21, 2024 |  2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 2 | 73.16 | 7 | 111.22 | 3 | 184.38 |
| Oct 18–20, 2024 | 2024 Skate America | 2 | 70.66 | 2 | 131.07 | 2 | 201.73 |
| Nov 8–10, 2024 | 2024 NHK Trophy | 3 | 69.15 | 3 | 128.29 | 3 | 197.44 |
| Dec 5–8, 2024 | 2024–25 Grand Prix Final | 5 | 68.91 | 5 | 129.35 | 5 | 198.26 |
| Jan 20–26, 2025 | 2025 U.S. Championships | 1 | 77.19 | 5 | 112.38 | 3 | 189.57 |
| Feb 19–23, 2025 |  2025 Four Continents Championships | 2 | 70.32 | 4 | 126.62 | 4 | 196.94 |
| Mar 25–30, 2025 | 2025 World Championships | 5 | 68.61 | 7 | 126.77 | 7 | 195.38 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Oct 8–11, 2025 |  2025 CS Trialeti Trophy | 5 | 62.74 | 5 | 113.58 | 5 | 176.32 |
| Oct 31 – Nov 2, 2025 | 2025 Skate Canada International | 4 | 65.48 | 2 | 133.63 | 3 | 199.11 |
| Nov 21–23, 2025 | 2025 Finlandia Trophy | 2 | 70.24 | 3 | 128.85 | 3 | 199.09 |
| Jan 4–11, 2026 | 2026 U.S. Championships | 3 | 67.13 | 2 | 129.99 | 2 | 197.12 |
| Feb 6–8, 2026 |  2026 Winter Olympics – Team event | 5 | 66.59 | 4 | 136.36 | 1 | N/a |
| Feb 6–19, 2026 | 2026 Winter Olympics | 7 | 71.87 | 12 | 122.71 | 9 | 194.58 |
