Ellie Kam, Danny O'Shea's free skate helps USA win Olympic gold in team event

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MILAN — U.S. figure skating pair Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea found redemption on Sunday.

Kam and O'Shea competed in the pairs' free skate in the team event on Sunday at the 2026 Winter Olympics, two days after suffering a fall in the pairs' short program portion. The duo skated a clean program to help Team USA clinch its second consecutive gold in the team event with a season-best score of 135.36 points.

"That was our goal stepping out there today. Maybe take one or two points of pressure off the rest of Team USA and to contribute our part," O'Shea said after their performance. "We're proud of that."

Kam and O'Shea finished in fourth place to earn Team USA seven points. Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara finished in first place to earn 10 points, followed by Georgia (nine points) and Italy (eight points) in second and third place, respectively. Canada finished in fifth place to earn six points.

The U.S. remained in first place in the team event after the pairs' free skate with 51 points and maintained a narrow two-point lead over second-place Japan heading into the women's single free skate.

"It's very important to help out Team USA," O'Shea added. "The strategy is to be as close to the Japanese team as possible."

Following the women's single free skate, where American Amber Glenn finished in third place, the U.S. and Japan were all tied at 59 points. Only the men's single's free skate remained and U.S. sensation Ilia Malinin, known as the "Quad God," finished in first place with a massive score of 200.03 points to hold off Japan and claim gold.

Kam and O'Shea hugged each other after Team USA was announced Olympic champions. The duo then went to hug Alysa Liu and Glenn, who was disappointed by her "lackluster" performance in the women's singles free skate.

The gold medal win was made possible by O'Shea and Kam's performance.

Kam fought for several landings during their program, including the throw triple loop that she previously fell on during the pairs' short program. With the difficult portion of their program out the way, Kam and O'Shea both had big smiles on their faces during the final three elements. The pair said they felt a sense of relief at that point.

"Just excited to be ... on our feet the whole time through," O'Shea said. "We just felt the energy and joy from the crowd and from each other. There was this anticipation of what is probably the best portion of our program that we really know how to perform with a really great quality."

Kam and O'Shea shared a big embrace and cathartic scream after their medley of pop hits — "Sweet Dreams," "Eleanor Rigby," and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" — ended with their free skate. Fellow American skater Alysa Liu jumped up and down in the American team box, while Kam and O'Shea's coach Drew Meekins did the same on the side of the rink. The atmosphere was electric and the duo absorbed every bit of it.

"I wanted to cry, but I couldn't because I was so happy, so then we both ended up screaming at each other," Kam said. "(Joy) is something that we discussed as a team, just trying to enjoy every single moment. I think the crowd could feel it. We could feel ... that (the crowd) enjoyed our performance and we enjoyed skating it."

Kam said their short program was filled with "first Olympic nerves" because they pair "didn't know what to expect." Kam and O'Shea suffered a fall in the pairs' short program on Friday after Kam was unable to land the throw triple loop. They finished in fifth place with a score of 66.59 after incurring a one-point deduction.

However, they felt like themselves again following Saturday's practice and were "back in sync with our process," O'Shea said.

"Ever since that practice, we already felt more together," Kam added. "It felt like a normal competition. It's not such a big deal anymore. Ice is just ice, and that's definitely helped everything, mentally and physically."

O'Shea fell on an individual jump during the six-minute warm-up period ahead of their free skate, and Kam additionally fell on a throw, but they were able to stick the landings in their program.

Here are the elements Kam and O'Shea completed in their pairs' free skate:

1. Triple Twist Lift
2. Triple Toeloop
3. Triple Salchow+Double Axel+Double Axel+SEQ
4. Throw Triple Lutz
5. Backward Outside Death Spiral
6. Throw Triple Loop
7. Group 5 Reverse Lasso Lift
8. Pair Combination Spin
9. Group 4 Lift
10. Choreo Sequence
11. Group 5 Axel Lasso Lift

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