Olympic skater credits Saint Viator with helping him along the way

Danny O’Shea, ’09, describes it as a “dream” to make it to the U.S. Olympic team. He and his partner, Ellie Kam, won the silver medal in pairs figure skating at the 2026 U.S. National Championships, on their way to being named to the U.S. team for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

It is the first Olympic berth for both, and it comes when O’Shea, at the age of 34, is the oldest pairs figure skater to compete in the Olympics since 1932. Yet he still remembers where he came from, including his years at Saint Viator.

“It’s been a long time coming since my days at Saint Viator, but I finally did it,” O’Shea said.

O’Shea grew up in Gurnee, where he started skating at 4. He began his career in singles skating while training at Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove. In 2007, he transferred into Saint Viator, in part because administrators were willing to adapt his schedule to fit his training regimen.

“Viator was awesome in creating the opportunity for me to both focus on attending high school full-time, but also being able to propel myself forward within figure skating during that time frame,” O’Shea said.

Eileen Manno, who was principal at the time, said O’Shea was the second figure skater to approach the school about adapting their class schedule to accommodate training, and she was willing to do it again.

“Danny was a terrific young man who came to Saint Viator with a dream of going to the Olympics,” Manno said. “Education should always supplement a student’s dreams, so we decided to see if we could work out a schedule so he could make an afternoon practice and at the same time meet graduation requirements.”

“I felt he was worth the risk,” Manno said. “Because of Danny’s determination, he did it and went on to graduate from the University of Colorado.”

One of O’Shea’s former teachers, Fr. Dan Hall, CSV, remembers his exceptional discipline and work ethic as a student.

“I had him in class,” Hall said. “I just remember hearing how he’d get to the rink at 5 a.m. before class and then leave school early to go back to the rink and train. I guess that’s the kind of determination it takes to succeed at that level.”

O’Shea displayed that determination in the fiercely competitive field of figure skating. When he competes in next month’s Olympics, he will have competed in pairs figure skating for 14 years and overcome countless injuries, including a broken foot just last year.

However, driven by the same determination, he competed with the injury, alongside Kam, at the 2025 World Championships. They ultimately placed 7th, but they helped Team USA earn three berths for U.S. pair skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

As for their partnership, O’Shea and Kam have been winning titles since they became a pair in 2022, including winning the 2024 U.S. Nationals title.

“Ellie and I are very strong, especially in our performance ability and our lifting ability,” O’Shea said. “We are so excited to go to the Olympics and represent not only our country, but everyone who has supported and encouraged us along the way.”

O’Shea expressed that excitement in a prepared statement shared by the U.S. Figure Skating Association: “We want to make the most of every moment we have there. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We want to go out there and skate the way we know we can, but at the same time experience skating across those Olympic rings, looking at the crowd at the Olympics, experiencing having our families with us, having achieved the dream of our 4-year-old selves.”