Emily Chan and Spencer Howe of The Skating Club of Boston went through injuries, uncertainty to reach the Olympics
It was a risky move with the Olympics just a year away, and many in figure skating wrote off Howe and his pairs partner, Emily Chan. Despite the time away, Chan and Howe will compete Sunday in the short program, with Howe the first member of the US Army’s World Class Athlete Program to make an Olympic team in figure skating.
“It’s still a little bit unreal for us,” said Howe.
It is common for men in pairs skating to be hampered by shoulder injuries because of the repetitive motions of their discipline: throwing and lifting their partners.
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Chan and Howe acknowledge that they don’t know a time in their seven-year partnership when Howe has not suffered from a shoulder injury.
“When we first got together, I was teetering between even continuing my skating career just because the shoulder injuries were continuing to be a burden to the success of my skating and my career,” said the California-raised Howe. “Our first tryout together, we didn’t even do any real pair elements because my shoulder was still not in good condition.”
Chan, a successful singles skater in Texas, agreed to go ahead with the partnership regardless.
“In Season 1, the main mission was to try to get myself to a healthy place where we can even train to do lifts,” said Howe.
The pair joined coaches Aleksey Letov and Olga Ganicheva when they relocated to The Skating Club of Boston in 2020. Success soon followed. After they finished second at the 2022 Four Continents Championships, Chan and Howe made a statement in their 2022-23 season. They finished on the podium at two Grand Prix events, made the 2022 Grand Prix Final, finished second at the 2023 US Championships, and finished fifth at the World Championships.
The success came with a price: Howe tore his right labrum. In May 2023, he underwent surgery at the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and was off the ice for two months.
Even after surgery, Howe’s shoulder wasn’t pain-free. The pair was out of competition until the 2024 US Championships, where they got through their short program but had to withdraw. Due to their success the season prior, they were named to the World Championships team, but finished 12th.
After unimpressive international results in the fall of 2024, Chan and Howe placed fourth at the US Championships, watching Norwood training mates Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov take the national title they had been hoping for.
During Howe’s shoulder treatment in Colorado Springs throughout the years, he met Jonah Koech, a track and field athlete in the Army World Class Athlete Program. The program allows active duty, National Guard, and reserve soldiers to train and compete at the highest level of their sport.
Howe was inspired to join, hoping to not just gain more resources and support for his athletic career, but a path for after it. After talking it through with Chan, Letov, and Ganicheva, he enlisted, becoming the first known international elite figure skater since World War II to do so.
Howe arrived at Fort Leonard Wood on Feb. 18, 2025, and trained in transportation logistics.
Chan waited for Howe to return to the ice in June, using the extra time off to recover from a concussion. They knew that despite their difficult 2024-25 season, there was still a chance to make the Olympics because of citizenship issues two pairs ranked above them faced, including Efimova and Mitrofanov.
“When he first came back, we had to make up for the time away,” said Chan. “We had to prepare ourselves for the competition season right away.”
They returned to competition in September, and were on an upward trajectory through the fall.
Then the US Championships happened. After a disastrous short program, the pair found themselves in eighth. Their Olympic quest seemed over.
“Emily came off the ice after the short program and told me, ‘This is my worst nightmare,’ ” said Howe. “I told her, ‘Listen, we have a job to do, and this is not over. You can feel that way after [the free skate].’ ”
Skating early in the free skate, Chan and Howe gave their best performance in years, finishing third in the segment and fourth overall. Then they were selected for the Olympic team.
Emily Chan and Spencer Howe finished fourth in pairs at this year’s US Figure Skating Championships.Stephanie Scarbrough/Associated Press
Howe checks in daily with his sergeant, and he hopes his military career includes the chance to serve as a chaplain. He is now pursuing undergraduate study in divinity.
“I saw God at work through this whole season,” said Howe.
For the pair, the challenge of the Olympics is a far cry from some of the tough times they have faced over the last three years.
“Our career has come with a lot of ups and downs,” said Howe. “You name it, we’ve probably gone through it. So to be able to achieve this kind of level of skating together just makes it that much more special.”
Kat Cornetta can be reached at [email protected].
