Each iteration of the Olympics brings with it a number of human-interest stories that captivate the heart of a nation, and at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, the story of 29-year-old American figure skater Spencer Akira Howe is certainly one of them.
On Monday, the California native and his partner, Emily Chan, skated to a seventh-place finish under the brightest lights in figure skating. They were ninth after the pairs short program, but moved up two spots after an impressive free skate to finish as the top American pair. The first-time Olympians will be heading home without a medal but with a season’s-best total score, 200.31, and the realization of a lifelong dream.
>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports and faith connect <<
“We worked so hard to get to this stage,” Howe said Monday after the free skate, via U.S. Figure Skating. “And once you make it, your brain doesn’t know how to process that. It’s hard to explain. We just felt grateful to be here and to be able to skate as well as we did. It’s a huge blessing for us.”
Chan revealed following the pair’s free skate performance how their pre-skate routine helps them to endure the unique pressures of the Olympic spotlight.
“We like to feel grounded before we skate,” she said, via GoldenSkate.com. “Spencer kind of leads that ritual that we both do. We also usually say a prayer before we go out.”
The pair first began skating together in 2019 and enjoyed early success, but both suffered injuries and their training was derailed. Howe required surgery in May 2023 to heal a nagging torn labrum in his right shoulder, and a year later, Chan sustained a severe concussion that kept them out of further competition. Then, in October 2024, Howe enlisted in the United States Army and became the first figure skater in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP). He heard about WCAP during his surgery recovery, a program that allows him to continue to represent his country on the ice while also training to defend it.
The Americans got healthy — and Howe completed Army basic training — in time to begin training for the Olympics. They qualified for the 2026 Games, and with the help of a GoFundMe page to ease the financial burden, joined Team USA in Milan.
Howe’s faith has guided him throughout his winding road to the Olympics.
“If people know our story and they don’t believe in God, they should believe in God after this,” he said upon making the Olympic team. “Because we just felt like this whole competition for us has been one big miracle.”
After his skating days, Howe said he wants to become an Army chaplain so that he too can point fellow soldiers to the One who brings peace to troubled souls. He is currently working on his undergrad course work with the goal of getting a master of divinity degree after that.
“If all goes according to plan,” he told U.S. Figure Skating earlier this month, “as I retire from competitive figure skating, I will simultaneously be transitioning into the Chaplain Corps.”
“It’s definitely a unique situation: I’m a soldier in the U.S. Army competing,” he told Stars and Stripes earlier this month. “But in reality, I’m a person who’s trying to do God’s work and see how I can serve others.”
View this post on Instagram
After their skate on Monday, Howe and Chan are not scheduled to compete in any other events at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
RELATED STORIES:
— Teddy Blueger sees God ‘working in my life,’ leads Latvia hockey at Olympics
— GET IN THE GAME PODCAST: Scott Hamilton, Former Olympic Figure Skater
— Faith helped bronze medal-winning U.S. figure skaters through health scare
