U.S. pairs skater Danny O’Shea’s 30-year Olympic dream comes true : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5261x3507+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6c%2F4b%2F92ee7f394de79087419ef97bcd70%2Fgettyimages-2260593613.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5261x3507+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6c%2F4b%2F92ee7f394de79087419ef97bcd70%2Fgettyimages-2260593613.jpg" class="img" alt="Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea helped U.S. win gold in the team event, the first figure skating medal of the Games." fetchpriority="high"/> Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea helped the U.S. win gold within the crew occasion, the primary determine skating medal of the Video games. Elsa/Getty Photos conceal caption

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Danny O'Shea and Ellie Kam are on a mission to unfold pleasure on the Olympics — and it has been going effectively to this point.

Of their Olympic debut final weekend, they scored a private finest of their free skate, outperforming expectations to assist the U.S. win gold within the crew occasion by a single level.

"I wished to cry, however I could not as a result of I used to be so completely satisfied, so then we each ended up screaming at one another," Kam stated. "[Joy] is one thing that we mentioned as a crew, simply attempting to get pleasure from each single second. I feel the group may really feel it."

It has been a very long time coming for O'Shea, who turned 35 on Friday.

O'Shea skated competitively for 30 years — and retired twice — earlier than making it to his first Olympics. He and Kam overcame foot surgical procedure and a concussion, respectively, to win silver and a ticket to Milan on the U.S. Determine Skating Championships in January.

"It has been fairly a couple of years of not making the crew," O'Shea stated on the time. "That is the fourth Olympic cycle that I have been part of, and the fourth championship occasion that qualifies for an Olympic crew. And I stored believing, and we made it occur."

O'Shea began skating at age 4, impressed by watching the Winter Olympics on TV. And he got here shut through the years.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5392x3594+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F30%2Fa6%2Fb15414034a8998366b7ccd341c78%2Fgettyimages-2260564968.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5392x3594+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F30%2Fa6%2Fb15414034a8998366b7ccd341c78%2Fgettyimages-2260564968.jpg" class="img" alt="Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea compete in the Olympic team event on Feb. 8 in Milan." loading="lazy"/> Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea compete within the Olympic crew occasion on Feb. 8 in Milan. Matthew Stockman/Getty Photos/Getty Photos Europe conceal caption

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Matthew Stockman/Getty Photos/Getty Photos Europe "I went to the Pyeongchang Olympics as an alternate and sat on the skin of the aquarium wanting in," O'Shea stated throughout the crew occasion final weekend. "Now, sitting right here because the attraction, it is type of a enjoyable expertise."

O'Shea retired from aggressive skating in 2020 and began working in actual property and as a training assistant in Colorado Springs. He returned to competitors in 2021 for a short-lived partnership, then left the game once more.

In the meantime, Kam, who had additionally been skating since age 4, wanted somebody to apply with after her earlier partnership resulted in mid-2022.

O'Shea stepped in to apply with Kam — practically 14 years his junior — and one thing clicked. They formally paired up in 2022 and gained bronze at nationwide championships the subsequent yr, then gold in 2024.

He skated on an injured foot — which turned out to be damaged — on the 2025 World Determine Skating Championships. The 2 positioned seventh and gave the U.S. a uncommon shot at a 3rd pairs quota spot (which in the end did not pan out).

The duo say their communication has solely improved over time. They discuss to one another on the ice — exchanging encouragement, reminders and the occasional inside joke — although they know they the opposite would not must pay attention.

"We actually needed to work on it quite a bit — not solely with the age distinction, with the gender distinction, we're very completely different individuals," Kam stated throughout the crew occasion. "However [we've learned] a lot about ourselves up to now 4 years … even when he says one thing that does not rub me in the appropriate approach, figuring out that he has his finest intentions, and I've the perfect intentions for the crew, it positively helps the whole lot mentally while you come into high-stress, high-performance conditions."

O'Shea is the oldest U.S. Olympic pairs skater since 1932 and the oldest determine skater — from any nation — to make their Olympic debut since 1948, in response to Workforce USA. O'Shea credited the troublesome instances for getting ready him with the resilience and energy he wanted for his Olympic arrival.

"I actually suppose that in life, the moments that really feel the toughest, the moments that really feel probably the most difficult, are actually those which are constructing you up into changing into, for myself, the person that I could be and that the world deserves from me," O'Shea. "And I am very, very proud of the person I'm at the moment."