Several athletes with connection to Southern California were named to Team USA’s figure skating team for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.

The 16-member team that will represent the United States in ice dance, pairs and the men’s and women’s singles competitions were officially selected Sunday after the U.S. figure skating championships in St. Louis. The team features three returning Olympians and 13 Olympic newcomers.

Here are the skaters with connections to Southern California.

Madison Chock, ice dance

Familiar names to anyone who has followed the Winter Olympics, 33-year-old Chock — who is from Redondo Beach — and 36-year-old partner Evan Bates will compete in ice dance for the fourth time in their careers as a pair. The married couple took home gold in 2022 in the team event in Beijing and just missing the podium in ice dance.

The pair won three straight ISU World Figure Skating Championships, a first for a U.S. team. They have a record seven U.S. figure skating titles.

Here are five things to know about Olympic ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates.

Spence Akira Howe, pairs

Howe, of Los Angeles, and Emily Chan placed fourth in pairs at the U.S. championship, enough to qualify for their first Olympics. Born in Burbank, the 29-year-old is currently a Private Second Class (PV2) rank in the U.S. Army. He serves as an 88M Auto Transport Operator, part of the transportation logistics team.

Hear from Team USA pairs figure skaters Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe who earned a trip to the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

Alysa Liu, singles

The 20-year-old from Oakland who attended UCLA returns for her second Olympics after her debut four years ago at 16, when she finished sixth in the singles competition. The current world champion was second at the 2026 U.S. championships in St. Louis, behind three-time champ Amber Glenn.

Born in the Fresno County community of Clovis, Liu trains in Oakland. At 12, she became the youngest woman to land a triple Axel. The following year, she became the youngest skater to with a U.S. title. Liu retired from competitive skating in 2022, but made a comeback to become the first U.S. figure skater to win the women’s singles world title in 19 years at the 2025 World Championships.

U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu discusses her hairstyle and gives a shoutout to a St. Louis hair stylist who made sure she looked perfect at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Andrew Torgashev, singles

At 24, the Irvine-based skater will compete in his first Olympics in Italy after placing second at the U.S. championships. Originally from Florida, the son of former Soviet skating stars moved to Colorado before arriving in Orange County, where he trains at Great Park Ice.

The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are Feb. 6 to Feb. 22.

The Irvine-based athlete was fifth place after completing a short program Wednesday. Hetty Chang reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.