Olympic excitement is building, as more athletes qualify for Team USA! This week is the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and we have conversations with figure skaters Amber Glenn, Jason Brown, and PV2 Spencer Howe to better help you watch their figure skating programs as they compete in this event–and hopefully at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Amber Glenn is the two-time and reigning US national champion, known for her stunning triple axel. She was the Grand Prix final champion in 2024 and finished 5th at last year’s world championships. This year, she is skating her short program to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” (if the video no longer works, that’s due to music rights, which is on our list to discuss on the podcast):
Amber brought back her free program from last season, which is “I Will Find You” by Audiomachine.
Jason Brown is a 2x Olympian who competed at Sochi 2014, earning 9th in the men’s and bronze in the team. He also competed at Beijing 2022 and got 6th in the men’s event. Last year at World Championships, he placed 8th, which helped get the US 3 quota spots for Milano Cortina 2026.
His short program for 2025-2026 is a nod to his iconic 2014 Riverdance freeskate set to “Reel Around the Sun” by Bill Whelan. When Jason competed this at the 2014 Nationals in Boston, in the words of Scott Hamilton, he “was gonna blow the roof off [the arena].” [Seriously, Jill cannot get enough of this program]
That translated to this short program early in the 2025-2026 season. Listen to him talk through it with our friend Jackie Wong:
His free skate is “Say Something (A Great Big World) | Mahogany Session” by Jacob Banks.
Spencer Howe skates with Emily Chan in the pairs division. In 2023 they were the US Silver medalists. This year they competed in Skate America and finished 4th and NHK Trophy and finished 6th.
Their SP is “Nyah” by CH2:
Their free skate uses music from the musical Ghost.
PV2 Howe is also a member of the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program, and he has the distinction of being the program’s first figure skater.
After Nationals is over, U.S. Figure Skating will make the final selections for the 2026 Olympic team. Cheer on Team Keep the Flame Alive (TKFLASTAN) this weekend!
Also on the show, we have plenty of news from Milano Cortina 2026, including more Opening Ceremony performers and the introduction of the official soundtrack:
Word on the street is that the new ice hockey venue likely won’t be finished on time. It should be done enough to have a hockey competition, but the spectator experience may be less than Olympic. We make predictions on what won’t be done.
Plus, more members of Team Keep the Flame Alive have punched their ticket to Milano Cortina 2026. Find out who’s going!
Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!
TRANSCRIPT
Note: This is an uncorrected machine-generated transcript and may contain errors. Please check its accuracy against the audio. Do not quote from the transcript; use the audio as the record of note.
425-Figure Skaters Amber Glenn Jason Brown and Spencer Howe
Theme Music
Jill Jaracz: Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keep the Flame Alive, the podcast for fans of the Olympics and Paralympics. If you love the games, we are the show for you. I am your host, Jill Jaracz, joined as always by my lovely co-host, Alison Brown.
Alison, hello, how are you?
Alison Brown: We have less than a month to go to.
Jill Jaracz: Not say that, but say that, but oh my gosh. The, the to-do list is getting longer and longer with very little getting checked off. it is the Olympic year and we are. Less than a month from the Olympic opening [00:01:00] ceremonies. Wow. It’s so insane.
Alison Brown: We have a little more time for Paralympics, so we can look at that and be like, oh yeah, plenty of time for Paralympics.
Jill Jaracz: But because the Olympics are coming up, that means like trials are happening. Teams are getting named and it is so exciting.
Alison Brown: We get so many emails every day now of who’s getting named to the team and, and who’s winning which trials.
And so yeah, we are, we are in the thick of it, man.
How was Peacock’s coverage of US Speedskating Olympic Trials?
Jill Jaracz: So exciting. So US speed skating has it, had its trials over the weekend, and listener Lorry was there. So shout out to her and shout out to anybody who is listening because of listener, Lorry. Because I appreciate you.
Alison Brown: We heard, we heard she did a little recruiting while we were there, so thank you so much.
As always, Lorry, for your support.
Jill Jaracz: We will talk about results in Stan News, but the Peacock coverage, which I saw some of in the NBC coverage was so good. Oh, nice to [00:02:00] hear. Um, Joey Cheek is the color commentator. He is really, really good. Excellent, and super excited about everything. There was a lot of royalty in the house because they were in Milwaukee.
So, Bonnie Blair was there. Bonnie Blair Crux. Shank, I believe her full name is their daughter was skating. Yes.
Alison Brown: Oh, a new generation of dominance.
Jill Jaracz: A. 94-year-old, I believe. Speed skater who competed at 1956 Cortina was there in the house. Our favorite historical Olympics for this year. His granddaughter was competing.
Yeah, I know, I know. It was amazing. Casey, Do you remember that name? I do. He was competing.
Alison Brown: Oh yes, I heard about this, that there were a couple of, shall we say old guys? Yes. On the ice there were, and he was really nice.
Jill Jaracz: He was trying to get the, the best time, break the record for the time in his master’s age [00:03:00] group, did not quite make that happen.
A 60-year-old was also there trying to break his record for his master’s group. Did not make it, but just.
Alison Brown: Just the fact that they had gotten the qualifying times for the trials. Yes. That’s the amazing thing. How amazing. Are they still skating at that age? That’s no joke. To make the trials. It was fabulous.
Jill Jaracz: peacock’s announcing team, as I mentioned, Joey Cheek did, analyzing, uh, bill Spalding was the main p play-by-play guy. Uh, he does a very good job. And then Louis Johnson, who is often at track and field events, he did, the mix zone and the other reporting.
Well, he got Anna Zamboni. Let me tell you how complicated the process for making Ice is. I forget what they called the ice guy. He has a nickname, but he is going to Milano to do the ice there. they also examined the speed skate itself and told you how it worked. It was really good, how in depth that they got in to the different elements of the sport.
And [00:04:00] I, I just give, give a shout out to Peacock for upping their game on that. But it was a lot of fun, a lot of fun to watch.
Alison Brown: Gives us hope for the, uh, the Olympic and Paralympic coverage. Right. That we’re gonna get a little more than the classic package. Yes.
Jill Jaracz: That whole team will, and that whole team will be on Peacock and NBC for the Olympic coverage. So you’re in good hands there, I will say.
Interview with figure skater Amber Glenn
Jill Jaracz: But you know what else? We’re having trials for this week.
Alison Brown: Speaking of national championships, we’ve got US nationals and figure skating this weekend. They’re going now, a lot of the juniors have competed earlier in the week, and the senior competition starts today, uh, January 7th as we are recording.
Jill Jaracz: So excited. we’ve got three interviews for you today. Amber Glenn we’re starting off with, we talked with her at the team USA Media Summit. She is the two time and reigning US national champion.
She is was the grand pre-final champion in 2024 and finished fifth at last year’s [00:05:00] world championships. This year she’s skating her short program to Madonna’s like a prayer and brought back her free program from last season to I will find you by Audio machine. She may be Nest known for her triple axle.
Alison Brown: Which is pretty darn gorgeous.
Jill Jaracz: It is. So, uh, when we talked with Amber at the team USA media summit, she had just flown in from China,
Alison Brown: literally, like she just, she came from the airport, came to the convention center. So God bless her. She was a trooper through that whole media summit. Yeah.
Jill Jaracz: So here is our conversation with Amber Glenn.
Alison Brown: We are so excited to talk to you.
Amber Glenn: Amber. Thank you.
Amber Glenn’s programs for the 2025-2026 season
Alison Brown: We are big fans of the short program and. Where did you come up with the mix of that music?
Amber Glenn: Uh, it was actually a suggestion by my choreographer. you know, when I first heard it, I had just seen the Deadpool Wolverine movie a few months prior and I was kinda like, oh, this really, but once we put the mix [00:06:00] together, it was, I was sold.
Alison Brown: I’m curious why you then kept the long program. Yeah.
Amber Glenn: It was part of the plan when I first got this long program last season is that we wanted a long program that I truly enjoyed and I wanted to keep for Olympic season. So when crafting the free skate last season, it was kept in mind that I would probably want to keep the free skate that we were creating.
Alison Brown: Are you doing technical changes though to, to. Amplify the points.
Amber Glenn: Uh, not much technical changes, just improving upon details. Really, the
Jill Jaracz: two programs are very different in terms, well, obviously different music styles, what kinds of. Feelings or stories? Do you want to tell in each
Amber Glenn: of those? Yeah, I think in the short program it’s really up for interpretation.
it is a softer piece in the [00:07:00] beginning. Uh, the choirs in there and then I get to just let loose and have fun towards the end, and it’s really enjoyable. I really love doing it and the crowd gets really involved. and then the free skate, I kind of portray like the siren esque, kind of moving with flow of water and it’s really a great program for me mentally and it helps me really do what I love the most in skating and it really is just a great vehicle for me.
Amber Glenn on healing from concussions
Alison Brown: You talk about mentally, and we were so interested when we did the research about the concussions. Mm-hmm. And that mind body separation, explain what that meant in terms of when you got on the ice and your brain and your body were just not talking to one another.
Amber Glenn: Yeah. I mean, it’s so complicated. It’s hard for me to even understand, but it was something that affected me.
Uh, even more after my second severe concussion. ’cause I’ve had a couple, in the [00:08:00] past, but I’ve had two pretty severe ones. And my last one was, 2023. And it was, it was bad. I mean, I fractured normal bone. I, uh, had a back concussion, black eye, everything. It was, it was pretty rough. And. I noticed that I was just in this fight or flight state constantly.
I mean, even off the ice, I was just, the anxiety was sky high. I felt like I was constantly on edge. And when you’re in that type of state for so long, it’s hard to even control your body. And then it get even more heightened in competition because. I’m already in this heightened state all the time because of the concussion, and then you add the adrenaline of competition on top of it, and it’s just through the roof and your body can’t keep that up for too long, so I would just lose the ability to.
No matter how much I trained and how hard I worked, I would just be outta gas at like a minute and a half, two [00:09:00] minutes. ’cause it was just so intense. And it was because of the mental side. No matter how much physical effort I put in. And even thinking the right things, just chemically my body wasn’t able to do what it needed to do in competition.
Jill Jaracz: How did somebody or you mm-hmm figure out. how to get out of that constant fight, flight. Fight or flight. Yeah.
Amber Glenn: I, well I work with a, uh, sports psychologist and I have for many years, and we were kind of stumped at this point ’cause we had done everything we can for the self-talk, for, you know, preparation.
And we were like, okay, this. This is just like chemical, like this is something that is going on in your brain that we need to figure out. And she recommended neuro, the neurotherapy, uh, neurofeedback to be exact. And it’s a form of brain training that helps the brain function more effectively. And I’m able to get feedback on my [00:10:00] brainwaves and it helps me kind of.
Regulate that kind of stuff. It’s like working out your brain. and that was kind of a way I was able to heal and get outta that fight or flight state.
Amber Glenn on the technique behind various figure skating jumps
Alison Brown: I have a technical question about the triple axle.
Amber Glenn: Okay.
Alison Brown: so I was listening to Scott Hamilton who talked about his technique was
Amber Glenn: mm-hmm.
Alison Brown: To lift, then rotate.
Mm-hmm. But it seems like now all the, you jumpers are not doing that. So can you explain the technical differences of what the technique is now? Yeah. Versus, I mean, I don’t know how much you know, old technique, but how it’s different.
Amber Glenn: Honestly, I’d say Axle is probably one of the very few jumps that has not changed too much, uh, over the years.
’cause there’s not that many different ways to do it since you’re kind of just leaping forward into it versus all the rest of the jumps you can kind of modernize and pre rotate and there’s so many things that you can do to accomplish the other jumps, whereas. There’s only one way forward for triple axle [00:11:00] or axle jumps in general.
Uh, I also think about lifting and jumping before rotating. ’cause if you try and just rotate off the bat on axle, like you’re not going anywhere, you’re gonna end up on your butt. Like it’s not gonna go well. Yeah, honestly, now that you say it, it really is one of the few things that has not changed that much over the years.
I don’t know how they jumped so high back in the day, like I try my best, but, uh, Axl is probably my biggest jump because it is more old school than the rest.
Alison Brown: So what changes in technique on the flip or the loop or you know, edge versus topek?
Amber Glenn: Yeah, I mean, it’s really interesting and I think it has to do with, like nowadays, boots are lighter and there’s so many more technical.
Things that have changed over the years and it used to be taught one certain way and it was like, jump up and then you do your job and then you get it done. Versus over the years it’s kind of been more of like just get it done any way possible. And that’s kind of how I was [00:12:00] taught growing up was just like rotate and land, like get it done however you can.
And for a lot of people we’ve kind of figured out how to maneuver our bodies in a certain way to where it’s a bit easier and that’s become a habit. I wish we had more of the old school technique on certain things, but that’s not how all of us were taught. It was just kind of.
Jill Jaracz: Like what kind of things you would, you want to do?
Old school?
Amber Glenn: Yeah. Uh, my picks, I wish that I kind of had a more stable foot in the ground and just lifted up versus, you know, kind of moving the boot a little bit. And it’s just a habit of mine that was never fixed as a child and now 10 years later it’s kind of hard to. Correct. Something that you’ve been doing for so long and it’s not necessarily incorrect, but it’s not the best way to accomplish the job.
Alison Brown: Do you think some of that comes from the point system? Because you get the points for attempting jumps. Mm-hmm. Even if you cannot land them. Mm-hmm. So are they pushing kids to do jumps that are really too [00:13:00] hard for them?
Amber Glenn: I think that could be part of the issue for sure. And I think it’s also they’re kind of using.
All parts of the bodies rather than just, you know, core leg stability. It’s kind of, okay, well you’re not built for this yet. You’re still a child, so you have to use like your arms, you have to use the pre rotation in order to get it done. Versus when you’re an adult, you can’t really maneuver it that way when learning it.
You have to be more exact. So I think it’s coming from kids learning to do things at a younger age and kind of. your body changes and eventually it doesn’t work as well, but that’s how you learned it. So it’s hard to adapt and do the more old school technical technique when all you’ve known is what you were taught at first.
Amber Glenn on adjusting to body changes after puberty
Jill Jaracz: When you grow and your body changes. Mm-hmm. How long did it take you to get used to your new body?
Amber Glenn: Oh, many years. And it’s [00:14:00] fluctuated in the past, I mean, of course there were the early teenage years where I grew and hit puberty and I pretty much lost all my triples and had to get ’em back, but they didn’t change that much.
And then I. Fluctuated in weight for many years, and that’s very common for figure skaters, you know, dealing with types of eating disorders and stuff like that. Uh, but now that I’ve been pretty stable for quite a while, I’ve been able to try and refine my technique as much as I can. But again, it’s been, I’ve been doing.
Through triplet since I was 11 years old and I’m 26 today. So it is kind of hard to reset the technique exactly. But I’m able to get the job done as best as I can. Okay. ‘
Jill Jaracz: cause
Amber Glenn: I know you just sat
Jill Jaracz: down, you don’t know us and we’re old, so we like old skaters. No, no, no. We are old ladies. And We like the fact that skaters are getting older.
Mm-hmm. And not, we’re not pushing kids to do stuff that maybe their bodies shouldn’t do. Mm-hmm. What does that do [00:15:00] mentally when you’re like, ah, I’m a kid and I can look at all these amazing things I can do. Mm-hmm. And then all of a sudden I can’t do ’em anymore. Yeah. And at a crappy time in your life.
Yeah. Puberty ain’t fun. Yeah,
Amber Glenn: no.
Jill Jaracz: So what is, how do you get outta that mentally? Or are there many skaters who
Amber Glenn: just don’t get
Jill Jaracz: out of
Amber Glenn: it? Uh, many skaters don’t. That’s typically the retirement age is, early high school. That’s when people fall outta love with it and. Decide to pursue a different path and those that stick around, it’s hard and it can be really, really difficult, especially when you had so much success when you were prepubescent.
Like then you have to adjust and you don’t really have the choice of. Going back and the people who do, it’s in an unhealthy way. so it’s just, it’s really difficult both mentally and physically, but I think we’re starting to learn how to go about it in the correct way.
Alison Brown: And you also now have teammates that are significantly younger than you.
Mm-hmm. [00:16:00] But their peers.
Amber Glenn: Mm-hmm.
Alison Brown: And how is that team, you know, the team dynamic comes into it as well.
Amber Glenn: It’s so interesting because. I’ve known some of these girls since they were children. I’ve seen them grow up, and of course they’ve had to go through some of the similar struggles that I did, but they also got to see and hear from me what I did and how it might not have been correct and kind of learn from that.
And there’s also peers that are older than me. They’re not usually single skaters, but they are older than me and I’m able to ask them for advice and then it just kind of makes its way down. You know, it’s like I have some siblings along with me on this journey
Alison Brown: and Deanna St is everybody’s
Amber Glenn: mother. Yes.
Yeah.
What Amber Glenn learned from the 2025 Figure Skating World Championships
Alison Brown: I wanna ask you about World Championships last year because you had a rough, short mm-hmm. And then you came back with that long mm-hmm. That was so gorgeous and the crowd adored you and the energy in that room was, was really magical. Mm-hmm. What did you take from that going [00:17:00] into now the Olympic season?
Amber Glenn: Yeah, I learned a lot, especially from the short program. and I think that’s another reason why we chose my short program this year to be what it is. I felt like there wasn’t enough confidence in the beginning of that short, and the music was so strong in the beginning and there was just this. intimidation that I felt from my previous self of that program almost.
So now we have a program that kind of stop, starts a little softer and then builds its way throughout. So I think that’s something that we kinda learned through that short program at Worlds. And the free skate, it showed me I can reset and that I can still find the success that I need to, and it’s been really helpful going into this season.
Alison Brown: I feel like skating fans have changed how. They view you. Mm-hmm. Do you feel that? You know, ’cause now it feels like, oh, Amber Glenn is our favorite person in the world and I don’t that you weren’t their favorite person. Oh my God. But just that the, the response is different now [00:18:00] that you’re 26 versus 18.
Amber Glenn: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I wasn’t up there at 18, though. I wasn’t. I was. Low, middle of the pack for many, many years. I was honestly a fan of figure skating more than a competitor at the top. I was just kind of making my way through. And, uh, a change really happened after the 22 season. And, it’s become. Easier and easier to process and deal with, but it was hard at first.
You know, I wasn’t used to being one of the top skaters or having a chance at winning medals, so now it’s just a part of the result of training. But before it was something that was so intimidating, and I’ve learned to really embrace it.
Jill Jaracz: what made you stick with it when, when you’re in the middle of the pack.
Amber Glenn: Yeah.
Jill Jaracz: What makes you, persevere? Yeah. And say, I want to keep going.
Amber Glenn: Yeah. I love figure skating. I really enjoy doing it and. I knew I had the potential. I knew that [00:19:00] there was the, I could, and that was always my story is she’s capable.
She’s capable, she could do it, she has the potential. And I eventually decided, if I’m gonna keep doing this, I wanna do it as my authentic self. And that’s when I decided to speak out about mental health and come out and just be as. Honest in myself as possible. And if that affected how things were going, so be it.
But I wanna at least do this my way. And honestly, that was freeing and I think that helped me progress
Amber’s approach to training in an Olympic season
Alison Brown: in an Olympic season. How important is it to protect yourself from over training and how do you do it?
Amber Glenn: Yes, it is absolutely essential, especially at my age. I wanna train as much as possible. I wanna do as much as possible, but I have to regulate that.
I have to be very cautious about injury prevention about. You know, really listening to my body, and that’s something that I did learn from the last Olympic [00:20:00] cycle. I was getting hurt during the season because I was trying to be something I wasn’t, and now I’m just trying to do what I can to the best of my ability.
And if that’s enough, then great. If it’s not, then you know, I did what I could.
Amber Glenn’s epic “Like a Prayer” SP costume
Jill Jaracz: One quick question. Mm-hmm. How much input did you have into your short costume? I had a lot of input. Yeah. ’cause, ’cause I, I mean, it’s beautiful. Thank you. And it’s perfect for the music. It’s perfect for the whole choreography.
Yeah. I, I was, I was just kind of wondering more like when you saw it, you were like, oh my gosh, yeah, this is it.
Amber Glenn: Oh, of course. It was absolutely incredible and I. Love and trust. My, dress designer Lisa McKinnon so much. She surprised me, like with the little a on the necklaces and you know, some of the material and it was absolutely stunning and I love to wear it and she’s done such an incredible job.
It shows. Thank it. Shows when you skated. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Awesome. Thank you guys. Grab the pin,
Jason Brown Interview
Jill Jaracz: Thank you so much, Amber. Next up we have Jason [00:21:00] Brown. Jason Brown is a two-time Olympian who competed at Sochi 2014 earning ninth in the men’s event and bronze in the team event. He also competed at Beijing 2022 and got sixth in the men’s event last year at World Championships. He placed eighth, which helped get the US.
Three quota spots for Milano Corina 2026 for his programs this year. His short program is a nod to his iconic 2014 river dance free skate set to reel around the sun by Bill Waylon. And his free skate is say something, a great big world slash mahogany session by Jacob Banks. Take a listen to our conversation with Jason.
Jason Brown on revamping his iconic “Riverdance” program as a SP
Alison Brown: We’re very excited about river dance. Oh, thank you. I saw it at the gala last year. Oh my gosh. Was that what got you thinking that you wanted to bring it back, or was that the plan and that’s why you did it at the gala?
Jason Brown: Oh, no, no, no, no. It was not the plan. I remember, we were obviously preparing for worlds and.
You know, I was like, oh my God, [00:22:00] for the exhibition, maybe we should do river dance. Like that would be fun. Like, we’re coming back to Boston, how special is that? And so, no, it really was like a week before Boston Worlds, I was like on a late session and I was like reviewing, I was literally watching videos to like remember the footwork and map it out and we like put it together.
And there was something so special about performing it and feeling the nostalgia of it and like the. Audience’s reaction and just like, it just like was such a cool moment that, yeah, it was just like so special to do it again and to embrace that. And the fans have been part of it for so long and like have been with me through so much that it felt really nostalgic for them too, that that’s when it, like, I was like.
Oh, maybe we can consider it possibly for a short program for the next year.
Jill Jaracz: So yeah. Why short program and when you sit down with Rohe, your choreographer, like how, what is the process of taking a long program and making it a short Yes. Especially [00:23:00] with like an evolving code of points. Yes. Since 2014.
Jason Brown: No, it’s drastically different.
And I think the, the point too was we really wanted to make it different, but also kind of still be one of those programs like where if. Like if you know, you know, like you’re kind of like, like, not that it’s a joke, but like you’re in on the joke. Like if, you know, like there are parts and pieces from the long program that have been like, embedded into the short program, but it’s also very different the as well.
And like, we wanted to make sure that it was different and that was like. A take on the old program, but I’m also 12 years later, like I’ve grown so much, I’ve matured so much my skating has developed. So we really wanted to also show that in the performance while still giving people that nostalgic feeling and and.
that, that, I guess the best way of putting it is like that feeling of like, if, you know, you know, like they’ve been like, I don’t know. I’m just so grateful that people 12 years later, and I realize how rare that is, especially as I’ve grown up to have such a long career and to have a program that people that resonate with [00:24:00] people still to this day.
and that’s something that I don’t take for granted. So it’s like kind of my way of saying thanks to the audience, thanks for being there for through thick and thin through the highs and lows. Uh, and so we were like. Okay, let’s give it a go. But to let you guys know, like I did choreograph three other, like total of three short programs with Rohe.
So we choreographed three short programs, Riverdance being one of them. So it wasn’t like we put all of it and we’re like, let’s try it. We’re like, this is one of many.
Jill Jaracz: So is it possible that it still changes?
Jason Brown: I don’t think, no. At this point it’s like really something I think. I think for me, because Riverdance was so.
Defining. Mm-hmm. we didn’t wanna announce it until I knew it was the one I was gonna do. So I think it was more of that, like, I didn’t feel like, okay, let’s say right off the bat I’m doing river dance and then like. The season went on or I started training the program and I was like, absolutely not.
Like it didn’t hit or wasn’t feeling right. So I did wait until I, like, I was still training two programs up until our team camp in the summer champs camp. And when I [00:25:00] got there I showed them Riverdance and they like, they were on board and. Performing it and I was like, this is the direction we’re gonna go.
And then that’s why like, I didn’t announce it until after that because I was, I was like on the fence and bringing back something that’s nerve-wracking. But I think that was also something that’s very exciting all these years later. I’m still like, that’s myself getting challenged in a completely different way, and kind of revisiting something old is very new experience for me.
Jason Brown on step sequences
Alison Brown: One of the things that you kept in was the, uh, step sequence. Yes. Which we adore. Oh, thank you. And we jokingly said, do you and Scott Hamilton ever just sit down and say, step sequences are the best thing in the world?
Jason Brown: Oh my gosh. That, ugh. In a real, you know what? They really are pivotal point of every, every single, program.
And when I watch a skater, like they’re just, that is that moment to just like, let go the heart of the program, the, the. Such a great time to express. obviously as the, the system and the judging system has shifted, so has [00:26:00] the steps. So I can’t do like, you know, the requirements of what I need, but we tried our best to keep as much, of that like what it was in it, but also it’s, it’s different and the steps are different and the turns are different.
But it keeps enough of what we could to keep, uh, with the, the point system going and the rules
Jason Brown on working with the figure skating point system
Alison Brown: and speaking of the place system, yeah. Everyone knows you don’t have a quad for sure. And you’re pulling points from all these different places. Yes. And, and is it sitting down with the code of points and saying.
Where can I add an extra step, an extra turn, an extra arm movement?
Jason Brown: 100%. It is all about, every time I meet with the judges, it’s all about how can I maximize their GOE? What are you guys looking for? So I can get as many plus fives as I possibly can. You know, it’s, of course, I’m always striving for those tens and components like that is always, but especially when it comes to the technical elements, it’s like I want to maximize every single.
Possible point. and I think it’s also [00:27:00] really my big thing and what I want this next generation to know growing up is how important that is and how important it is to believe in yourself and believe that there’s a path forward in the sport. If you might start off, you know, with a base value, technically up to.
20 to 50 points below your competitors, but also not say, there’s no shot for me. Why am I doing this in the first place? To be like, and let me make that up in GOE. Now let me prove to you that quality matters. Let me show you how hard I’ve been working on my skating and how hard, I’m developing and evolving in so many other aspects of our sport.
And I think that’s what makes our sport so special. And I think especially. in a sport like skating where there is that expressive peace and there everyone brings something so unique and special to the ice. If we lose that side of the sport and we, let the future generation of athletes coming up feel that if [00:28:00] they can’t land a certain element or they can’t.
Execute something that their competitors are executing. I don’t want them to give up and feel like, well then there’s no spot for me in the sport and what’s the point? So you’re of the Ken Artistry. Artistry be taught, you’re gonna say yes, 100%. It is trained. It is something that I like work on every single day.
Day. I, yes, a hundred percent. It can be taught.
Jill Jaracz: Did you think figure skating would involve this much math?
Jason Brown: No, no, absolutely not. But I do have to say I’ve really, throughout my entire career, it’s always been the new judging system. I’ve like definitely missed the, like, I’m not saying when I say Miss, I’ve never experienced the old judging system, but I, I watched on TV and when people get the five nines, five eights, 6.0, like that seems so, like, it’s so iconic and like, oh, that’s amazing.
And it’s definitely like a dream of mine to like. Know what that felt like. but I’ve always been in the new judging system, so it’s always been a bit of like a math game to [00:29:00] me and how to maximize those point values. And it’s been incredible to see the sport evolve and how the, the code of points have shifted over the years and how they’re really trying to balance out the artistry and the athleticism and the technical side and, and give, credit for what’s being done and, and, the attempt and the.
Is there. And I think that people are really trying to navigate that to the best of their ability. And it’s, I, I, I love that it’s something that’s continues to be talked about and that people are fighting for and, that’s a huge, huge, huge, huge. thanks to the fans for really pushing and embracing that part of that sport that they love so much.
Not wanting to see fade at all and wanting, wanting that part of the sport to see rewarded.
Jason Brown on musicality in figure skating
Jill Jaracz: When you see we, we, going back to musicality can be taught. Mm-hmm. When I was in Beijing, I saw, especially on the men, a lot of men who did not like their music, [00:30:00] you could tell like way up in the media seats. Yeah.
They did not like their music. What happens to you when you don’t like your music versus when you do and can you learn to like your music?
Jason Brown: I think both. I think like 100%. I think you can learn to like your music and I think whether that’s, you know, even if you don’t connect to the music, you can connect to the story that you want to tell.
And so I definitely think, or there’s an emotion you want to connect to it. So even if you know it’s not resonating with you, uh, there, there are ways to really connect to what you’re doing. I do think that where the sport kind of flips back and forth is. There isn’t enough of a reward to maybe always connecting to the piece when it comes to the judging system.
So I think a lot of athletes kind of put that on the back burner and say like, I just need to get the job done in terms of the elements that I need to get executed. And that’s how, they say they, the mentality of like, that’s how I’ll be competitive if I land on my elements. Like, that’s how I get [00:31:00] my points because there isn’t enough incentive for that connection of the music to, you know, like take the component mark to the next level because they’re like, I’m getting, I’m not saying this is how they feel.
Mm-hmm. I’m like, I’m totally inferring, but there’s not enough incentive that way. Where I do think. There is when it comes to the audience interaction, and there is when you find that, like when you, someone does connect to the music and they share that joy, they share that joy. It’s so special for the audience and the judges feel it, and I think that it’s something that.
I do believe that they’re trying to get back to and really emphasize how important that aspect is. Okay.
Jill Jaracz: Excellent. You gotta run. I know. We gotta Thank you so much. You
Thank you so much, Jason. I gotta say Jason was just so lovely to talk to.
Alison Brown: And we claimed each other as cousins, which made me so happy.
PV2 Spencer Howe Interview
Jill Jaracz: Finally, we are talking with Spencer Howe. [00:32:00] Spencer Skates with Emily Chan in the Paris Division in 2023. They were the US silver medalists this year. They competed in Skate America and finished fourth and the NHK trophy and finished sixth.
Their short program is NAYA by CH two, and the free skate music is from music from the musical ghost. Private second class how is also a member of the US Army’s World Class Athlete program and he has the distinction of being the program’s first figure skater. So we get into that as well. Take a listen to our conversation with Spencer.
Alison Brown: Private. Spencer Howe, thank you so much for joining us. I’m excited to talk figure skating.
PV2 Spencer Howe: Thank you so much for having me.
PV2 Spencer Howe on joining the US Army’s World Class Athlete Program
Alison Brown: So I was doing the research and so you just joined Wcap this past winter. Do I have that right?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yes, ma’am. I went to my basic training this past February and I came back to continue my figure skating [00:33:00] training at the end of June.
Of this year.
Alison Brown: So what was the motivation? because it, you’re not new to figure skating. this is not your first season, shall we say. So what made you wanted to do Wcap now in this point in your career?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yeah, it’s kind of a funny story. I always have this distinct memory of, I just turned 18 years old.
And my father came up to my room and he gave me this envelope and he was like, Hey, you got mail? And I was like, that’s weird. I’ve probably the first piece of mail I’ve ever gotten in my name. And so I opened it up and like I said, I was 18 at the time and it was basically a pamphlet for all the different armed forces.
And I remember thinking to myself just this idea of serving my country and being a soldier. And of course at that time I was moving up the ladders, getting more serious with figure skating and just making more and more sacrifices and dedication. At that time, I had already been [00:34:00] homeschooled since the seventh grade, and so, you know, skating has been my life for a long time and is my life right now.
And when I found out about the Wcap program, it was the. Perfect scenario for me to be able to serve my country and for the time being, do it with something like you said, that I’ve been doing all my life.
Alison Brown: Are you the only figure skater in the program?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yes, and I do wear that with a little bit of pride. through the whole process, it was pretty intimidating for me because obviously I had no.
Really other resources to reach out to. I remember when I was trying to get more information on the application process, I was in touch with some of the wrestlers who were on the program, but you know, completely different sport. And yeah, for me, after all that is said and done, it was a feat for me to just [00:35:00] get through the whole process and list.
And you know, here, here I am.
Jill Jaracz: we’ve talked with a whole bunch of other athletes from Wcap and did you have to kind of make your case for figure skater being included in the program or did they just, what was that? When they’re adding a new sport into this program, basically?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yeah.
So the program seemed to be pretty heavily built. Around the Olympics. And so as far as I knew, based off of when I was surfing the internet and on their website, they were, you know, with figure skating being an Olympic sport, they had their requirements and I met those requirements and I really was not sure if someone like me would be accepted just because.
There was nobody before me and so I submitted my application. I put together a pamphlet, kind of of my stats as a figure skater, and that was also another great area for me because I’m [00:36:00] not just competing as a single skater, which, we do have that in our sport. I skate with a partner and so I really, yeah, there was a lot of question marks for me.
I wasn’t sure if it was a possibility. But I had to try and so I put together, all the history of the things I’ve accomplished in figure skating. I sent it off and continued with the process of enlistment, hoping that it would all come together and somehow it did.
Incorporating a skating partner into a life decision
Alison Brown: Speaking of partner, what did Emily think of all of this?
PV2 Spencer Howe: She was surprised and not surprised just because, you know, we have been skating together for so long and so she knows me and I’ve always been somebody who does, like to take opportunity and just pursue new things. And so I was really, actually looking back, one of my. Deciding factors really was a conversation that I had with Emily [00:37:00] because you know, you have to understand it’s not just me out there, it’s me and understanding that, enlisting, I would be off the ice.
I’d be away from Emily, and so I wanted to really make sure that she was on board and supported me and I was really happy and grateful in hindsight that she was, because I think If she wasn’t, it would’ve been a really, a lot more of a difficult decision for me. so yeah, we had a really good conversation.
It probably was about a 45 minute phone call and we came to the conclusion that we knew it would probably be a a lot more challenging and potentially a more difficult route, but she felt like it would be something that was good for me, just her knowing me and my personality. All the things we have been through.
And so we decided, like I said, I kind of told her, I don’t even know if I’m gonna get in the program, but I’m gonna, I have to try. And so everything worked out and I came back and we’ve rekindled that fire in a sense, just because we had [00:38:00] some time away from each other. That’s the thing about figure skating and skating with a partner, especially when you guys are seasoned and been skating with for many years with each other, you know, you’re skating.
Hand in hand pretty much 365 days a year, you don’t get much of a break from each other.
Alison Brown: So you were saying you went in February, so pretty much right after Nationals last year and then coming back in June would’ve been right into getting ready for the next season. So you kinda missed that whole late winter and springtime together.
And how did that change your prep then for this season?
PV2 Spencer Howe: I would say the biggest factor that really, or strategy I guess you could say that we, we looked at was, during that off season is really the time where you are developing new programs, looking for new music, and we just knew that because I would not be on the ice at all during that time.
Not to mention not skating with Emily and working on [00:39:00] our pair elements together, that it would probably be a better strategy to go with an older programs that we’re used to so we could spend and put our focus on. Putting it all together instead of having to take on the hurdle of not just getting back into the swing of things with myself and also Emily, but then having to create new programs.
I think it would’ve just been way too much and overwhelming. So that was kind of our way to combat the lack of training that we would sustain with me going off to basic training.
Alison Brown: Was this the longest you were off the ice since you were like seven years old?
PV2 Spencer Howe: definitely. And in second place was my shoulder surgery, which I had gotten two seasons ago that I was off for three months and this time around I was off for about four months.
Spencer Howe on choosing this season’s programs
Jill Jaracz: So you did answer my question about why going back to an old program, ’cause that’s on my list.
What [00:40:00] about the programs you chose that you wanted to go back to these, because you’ve got stuff from your 22, 23 season, so, that’s digging deep in the Well,
PV2 Spencer Howe: it is. It was just two programs that we had a lot of success with in the past, so we knew that they would be great vehicles for us.
I think that the other programs. We created after, especially dealing with my shoulder recovery, which ended up being a pretty slow process and longer than we anticipated. So a lot of, you know, that season after that surgery, I. Wasn’t really able to even be a part of the choreography process really, because at that time my arm was still in a, just had gotten out of a sling.
And so, you know, under these circumstances we just felt like those two programs that we picked from an earlier, earlier, earlier season was just a really good vehicle for us to get back into training and just go.
Alison Brown: I am always curious as to what [00:41:00] reaction you get from judges when you go back to an old program like that.
is there any resistance to that?
PV2 Spencer Howe: There definitely can be, and you know, early in the season we go to these different camps and events. A big one for us is Champs Camp. And we’ll showcase the programs. We actually had a new short program, so we were gonna keep, we had a plan when we came back to have both the short repeat, the short program and the long program of that 20 22, 20 23 season I think it was.
And as we got back, our coach actually wanted us to. Try a new short program and come Champs Camp, which I believe was in sometime in August, if I remember correctly. We decided after feedback from judges, Hey, can we show you? Give us a day, let, let us show you our old short program and let’s see what you [00:42:00] guys think.
And the feedback was really positive and so. After Champs camp, we pivoted from that short, the new short program that we had, and we just really kind of stuck to our original plan. And I feel like that’s kind of also was a really good turning point for us in the season.
Jill Jaracz: So when you go back that far, also, hopefully in the years in between, you’ve progressed as a team.
How do you kind of retool what you know to add in more difficult elements or whatever you’ve been building up towards. That’s that you didn’t have back then?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yeah. So you know, now as the season has gone by and we’ve had time to further develop these programs. Our elements and level of difficulty hasn’t really changed too much, but what really has changed is a lot of the connecting steps and just kind of like the way that I would share it.
The idea of it is kind of a refresher of old programs. So if you compare [00:43:00] our season now, the competitions that we’ve done this year, a lot of the steps are completely different than they were before, even though it’s the same music. So I think a lot of our effort went into that direction of how can we take old programs and not just copy it, you know, step for step.
But we are different skaters than we were when we were. Competing those programs on an earlier season. So how do we go back to the drawing boards and make it even better? And I think that’s kind of where we put our focus in, was the connecting steps. How can we flow in between each element and so forth?
Alison Brown: I’m curious, how much do you really remember of an old program like that? Do you hear the music and it all comes back or you say, oh wait, what, what was next?
PV2 Spencer Howe: It definitely. Comes in pieces and thank goodness for video recordings that we can go back and reference because yeah, it’s, you know, when you talk about a program from the start of the season [00:44:00] to the end of the season, even if that program is new, typically you are going to evolve it.
You’re going to change some steps here just to try to make everything gel so you can increase your overall performance. And so, yeah, at times, especially at the high level, it can be difficult to. To remember those steps.
Spencer Howe on finding the right partner in Emily Chan
Alison Brown: , You’ve had other partners, but what makes Emily the partner? One, the partner that stuck and two, the right partner for you?
PV2 Spencer Howe: so that’s kind of another fun little story that I can go into. I got together with Emily in the 2019 season and prior to that, what my former partner, her name was Nadine Wang.
And. I’ve had a history of shoulder issues. It’s always been my right shoulder pretty much from the beginning of starting pairs. I think part of that was I advanced pretty quickly in the junior ranks, and so I was doing a lot of one hand intricate type of transitions, and I think it really, [00:45:00] I was so new to pairs, I think it really wasn’t good for my shoulder in the long term.
And so when by the, you? Fast forward, I started pairs when I was, I wanna say, in 2016. I, I just remember I was about like 19 or 20 years old and so by the time that I finished with Nadine in 2018, my shoulder was really not in good shape. We had prematurely finished our season because my shoulder was not doing well.
I had a few weeks before we split and ended our season. I had a subluxation in competition, which basically is when the joint dislocates, but then it relocate, it goes back into the socket. So that’s a subluxation, and I had that on the last lift of at the, it was literally our last element. Of our free skate.
And yeah, I came back from that [00:46:00] competition and realized, okay, this shoulder has just been such an issue for me. If my shoulder is no good, I don’t really see how I can truly excel as a pair skater. And so I wanna say it was about six months, ’cause we had prematurely ended our season that I was just getting treatment for it.
I remember the next day following that competition, I could not lift my arm to pick up a cup like it was in that much pain just from that initial dislocation. And so I really was at a point during that time where I was kind of caught in between do I even continue skating or not. And so I moved, at that time I was living in Montreal.
I moved back to. Where I’m from, I grew up in California, in Los Angeles. I went back to my parents’ home and for about six months, my mom was pretty much forcing me to go skate at least an hour a day, and I was just no [00:47:00] motivation. And I slowly kind of rehabbed my shoulder. And then lo and behold, Emily had reached out to me for a tryout and.
My initial thought was, yeah, I don’t want to, and so I told my mom, Hey mom, you know this girl Emily, and she knows my mom knows the skating world. So she knew that Emily, was a good pair skater, and I had actually in previous season before I. Paired up when Nadine asked Emily to have a tryout and she said no.
And so I think I was also a little bit salty about that.
Jill Jaracz: You should be, Emily.
PV2 Spencer Howe: Well, she was really doing well with her singles career at that time, so I understand. And so, yeah, my initial thought was no. And. I told my mom and she really wanted me to do it, and I kind of told her I don’t wanna do it.
And eventually I got myself over there and I was still, my shoulder was not in good condition, so I [00:48:00] really couldn’t, our first tryout, I think I went there for three days. We really didn’t do any pair related elements. We were pretty much stroking. We were doing some side-by-side jumps, but that initial tryout.
Really was the first partner within just a couple days. I mean, you could even say the second training session that we really gelled and there was just something, there was an ease to our skating that I can’t even really explain. And so we decided to, I went back home, I continued to rehab and I was a little bit more aggressive on my rehab ’cause I think a, a little spark was.
Kind of ignited in me at that point. so fast forward a few weeks later, I was back At that time we were training in Texas and so I eventually moved to Texas in 2019. We started our career, eventually moved to Massachusetts or the Boston area in 2020. And we’ve been here training ever since. [00:49:00] And yeah, now we’re.
We’re going on, I think seven seasons together and hopefully, you know, we’ll be able to finish this season strong beyond the Olympic team would be amazing. And, you know, go from there.
Alison Brown: I have so many questions about this shoulder ’cause so many questions because there’s your confidence when you do a lift and a throw.
Then there’s her confidence in you when you do a lift and a throw. But when you’ve got a shoulder injury and you’re constantly feeling different on both partner’s parts. How long was that process in terms of getting The feel right as opposed to the physical, as opposed to the trust?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yeah. It was really a lot of stressful moments looking back and not even just between me and Emily, but also.
Our coaches. there were days where I’m just, I’m in pain and I can’t, I don’t feel like I can do lifts right now. And you know, our coaches are saying, well, we’re supposed to compete in two months. Like we need to [00:50:00] practice these elements. And so it was a lot of efforts in rehabbing off the ice, trying to put together a team and building trust.
Within that process between me and Emily, but there was so many challenges and hiccups just because I was battling, a lot of shoulder issues. And then of course later on after that, it was actually after the 20 22, 20 23 season where I got imaging on it and the thing was torn halfway off like my labrum.
I had a hun I suffered from 180 degree, degree tear of the labrum coming off of the bone, right? So at that point I was like, yeah, I think the only avenue here is surgery. And we went that route and in hindsight it was just a really, really slow recovery process. But it really did, do wonders on my, my [00:51:00] shoulder.
Now it’s not such an issue anymore.
The importance of weight training as a pairs figure skater
Jill Jaracz: When you’re first starting as a para skater, doing lifts takes a lot of strength. do coaches and things talk to you about weight training? Do you work on weight training or is it just like we’re gonna work on lifting another physical person and that’s how you’re gonna figure it out?
PV2 Spencer Howe: weight training is a really important, and, we’re in the gym at least two to three times a week. Working on the stability of the shoulder, working on the strength of the shoulder, and not just the shoulder, but your whole body, because that’s one thing about pairs, right? We’re not just lifting, we’re throwing, we’re doing so many different things with our body, and so that definitely does go into it we do also do a lot of off ice training.
So before we’ll take a lift onto the ice, especially if you’re not experienced and you’re just learning pairs. You’ll gain that confidence, gain that trust off the ice before you even think about bringing it onto the ice. Because at that point you’re on, you know, these little tiny blades [00:52:00] carrying a person over your head.
So you wanna have some level of confidence in yourself and your partner and you,
Alison Brown: and you have to be careful with weight training, I’m sure, because then it throws off your singles elements. ’cause if you get too bulky and you try to do side by sides, that’s a, that kind of reverses the, the skill.
PV2 Spencer Howe: Absolutely. I think I’ve always been fortunate in that. So in that sense, because I’ve been on the slender side of a pair skater. But on the contrary, I’ve had to, over the years, work very hard to, try to maintain and build muscle for my sport. So, I guess, you know, everyone has, their issues.
I, I suppose you could say, but, but yeah, definitely. You’re a hundred percent correct.
Jill Jaracz: But when you got to basic training, did you do well compared to others in terms of like pull-ups?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yes. Yeah. All the physical aspects in basic training were. They were still very challenging, but I’m used to that type of challenge [00:53:00] through skating, and I’m sure a lot of the w other wcap athletes can relate to that.
But it’s definitely not just the physical challenge, it’s also the mental and emotional exhaustion. I feel like all of it combined is really what makes that experience different from training in our sports.
The current state of pairs’ programs
Alison Brown: I wanna talk a little bit about what’s going on in pair skating as a whole, because I got to go to Boston last year, which was great, so I got to see a whole bunch of pairs programs in person. For the first time, just back to back to back, and what I noticed was the layout of so many of these programs is the same mm-hmm.
In terms of where elements are placed on the ice. And I was curious about that. Is that just, that’s how we do things? Is it the judging system? What, causes that to be so similar among teams?
PV2 Spencer Howe: I think it’s rooted in. Traditionally [00:54:00] the level of difficulty and just exertion of energy on a particular element, like the best way that I can explain that is pretty much every team starts with the triple twist or the twist element, and the reason why is when you put that toward the middle or the end of the program, it’s definitely a lot more difficult.
ironically, I do. Triple twist with Emily in as our third element in the free skate, and it’s our first element in our short program, and especially in the beginning of the season, you can really feel that difference. There’s some moments where I even like, I don’t like to admit it, but I have to skip that twist element when it’s the third element, just because it’s a safety issue at that point.
Right. We’re fatigued. And to execute an explosive and strength element on both me and Emily can be [00:55:00] a little bit more dangerous. And yeah, everyone has their strategies. It’s not, it does, definitely does not have anything to do. It’s not a requirement for us. But I think as time has gone by, it’s just kind of traditionally we found similar layouts and it comes more just with the level of difficulty of these elements.
Alison Brown: Why are the side-by-side so hard? Because you can probably land a side-by-side triple toe in your sleep, but when you do it together, explain why that’s so hard.
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yeah. I mean, everybody has their own individual jump timing and a lot of us as para skaters, you know, I had mentioned before I started skating when.
Or switching to pairs when I was 19, 20 years old, right? So I had all those years before I started skating when I was nine. So I had, you know, about 10 years of just jumping by myself. And so that through all those training sessions, obviously you develop your own technique, you develop your own rhythm with these jumps.
And so when [00:56:00] you combine it with another person. It just becomes that added challenge because obviously when we’re trying to execute side-by-side jumps, we want to be in perfect unison, is the best way for us to, drive our scores up in a and execute that with a high degree of, grade of execution is what they would call it.
Looking at Chan/Howe’s 2025-2026 so far
Alison Brown: You did NHK and Skate America this year, how did that feel in terms of how you skated and, and what the results were for you?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yeah, so there was some mixed emotions for sure, as far as placements. Of course everyone wants to do better, but overall, in terms of just our whole season projection, with all the circumstances that we went through, we were really, really happy and we felt that our skates were respectable.
And though, yeah, we in some, you know, I know Skate America, our score. Especially in the free skate was pre was a bit [00:57:00] lower than at NHK and I personally was thinking it was gonna be a higher score ’cause I felt pretty good throughout that competition. But you know, some things like that aren’t really in your control, but what is in your control is being able to go out there and feel good and just skate with that sense of strength.
And you know, as far as pairs goes with that unity. I just feel like, yeah, as we’ve progressed through this season, we’ve, you know, our highest score was at this season was at Tri Etti Trophy, which was in Georgia, which was right before, we started the Grand Prix circuit. And so of course you want your trajectory.
In the perfect world, every competition in, you’re just getting higher and higher scores. And so when that doesn’t happen, that I think that’s kind of where the mixed emotions can come in. But in hindsight. I think that we have to really be pleased with the hard work we have put in thus far. And even though the scores will fluctuate, I feel like every time we’ve gone out there, [00:58:00] including NHK and Skate America and not to mention those were back to back Grand Prix.
So we flew, literally, we finished competing at NHK, I think it was on, if I remember correctly, Friday. Or I don’t remember if it was Friday or Saturday, but that next day we were already flying back to get to New York so we can get on those practices, get adjusted to the time zone. And so in all hindsight, and you know, we didn’t even get that call that we were going to be going to Skate America ’cause we were initially officially assigned one Grand Prix that this season and because of.
Our performance, uh, performance quality. I’m not saying like a specific performance, but just our overall performance and output this season. We were really fortunate when that spot became available for Skate America, that we were selected to, to go to that. So I think overall we really handled, handled ourselves well.
We skated respectfully and it was motivation coming off that [00:59:00] competition, knowing that we won’t have anything else. Until nationals, which is our Olympic qualifiers, that we really have time, some time to crack down on our training, re hit the reset button a little bit, really get into a groove, push ourselves.
And come January we’ll be heading over to Missouri for our US championships prepare to skate really great performances.
Alison Brown: So what does life look like between now and Missouri? In terms of how much training, how much off ice? in between it’s,
PV2 Spencer Howe: yeah, it’s skating, skating, skating. Right now I wake up and I, we have a job to do, so we’re on the ice right now, about three hours a day.
We’re doing off ice, 30 minutes to an hour, and that’s off. I, when I say off ice, I mean like sports specific with Emily doing off ice lifts. That kind of thing. And then a couple times a week, I’m also in the gym working on that strength training, working on that shoulder stability. So it’s really, yeah, [01:00:00] so many different factors that come together to really be able to set ourselves up to have the best chances of being able to go out there and, and do what we do and do it well.
Alison Brown: Are you talkers during competitions?
PV2 Spencer Howe: I. Try. I don’t particularly like to, but I would say for us, yeah, sometimes cues are necessary and so sometimes it might just be one word. It might just be like a cue for a specific element that we’ve talked about in the past, just to kind of try to keep ourselves.
That unity in that moment. But yeah, the program goes by so fast and with all the training that we do, your best case scenario is you really don’t have to say much.
Jill Jaracz: Speaking of when you were talking earlier about maybe you take out the triple twist if you’re not feeling it, is that something if you decide.
Partway into the skate that the triple twist ain’t working today. How do you communicate that to her so she [01:01:00] doesn’t expect it?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yeah. So yeah, when I’m, and just to clarify, when I mention that, that’s definitely just solely a training, perspective.
Alison Brown: Oh, okay. Okay. If we’re in
PV2 Spencer Howe: competition, we will do that element no matter what.
But you have to understand that when I was coming back, I hadn’t skated for all those months. I was really, you know, it’s a different, it’s a, even though I was doing a lot of physical activity in the Army during basic training, it’s a different stimulus. Right. And so we really had to be smart and also come from a perspective of safety.
So on those days of training, when, you know, I was trying to get my butt in gear when we’re going into that element, and I feel like I’m dying. you know, she can feel that too. She can feel when she’s connected with me and we’re skating around the corner, and a lot of times I have to just kind of disconnect from her and be like, I’m sorry.
Like, give me, I, I gotta skip this element. so yeah, the communication happens in that moment, but definitely in competition, that’s not a possibility. So [01:02:00] even for whatever reason, if I’m not feeling it and I’m dying, I will still have to, at that point, get the element done.
Alison Brown: Doesn’t matter. You’re getting her up in the air.
That’s right.
Jill Jaracz: So along those lines with things like twists and throws, you know, like if you’re a single skater and sometimes you you mean to have a triple jumper quad and you double it or triple it? Does that happen when you’re doing something like that too, where you could, you mean to do a triple twist and then just a double happens or a throw.
Ends up not being what was originally planned.
PV2 Spencer Howe: It definitely can happen. It’s not as common as singles just because of the nature of the element. It’s honestly safer for you to just, so to dive into a little bit more of the technical side of skating. When somebody pops a jump, let’s say they’re trying to do a a triple jump.
They pop it and so it turns into basically mid air, they pull [01:03:00] out of the rotation, and so it becomes either a double or it could be even a single, or it could be even somewhere in between, right? And so you do that and you launch your partner into the air and she pops theoretically. It can be extremely dangerous because it’s not just her jumping on her own, I’m throwing her into the air.
She’s probably a lot higher than she is on her normal jump. And so if she does pop or if she does, adjust from what was planned, it can be a lot more dangerous. So in the Paris world, it does happen, like I said. But it’s definitely something where it’s really, really. Discouraged just because of the nature of the, the, of the safety.
Alison Brown: I remember we talked to another pair skater and, and she talked about how she knew a throw was gonna go wrong before she even went in the air. So if something is going wrong, how much correction can you even do [01:04:00] before? If something like that happens.
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yeah, I mean, it’s really, really impressive, especially when you talk about a female pair skater, because you’re exactly right.
A lot of times, the takeoffs, and this goes for all elements, including your own jumps. But if you have a good takeoff, you’re likely gonna have a good landing. So a lot of our technical aspects of our sport is working on the preparation, going into the element, working on the takeoff of the element.
Definitely, it’s very important to put that focus and intention on that part of the element, let’s say in a throw. So you minimize your chances of that risk, but sometimes you’re exactly right. Sometimes I’ll throw Emily and she’s tilted in the air and she’s really struggling in that moment in the air.
Trying to kind of get herself, fight that rotational axis and get herself into a position where she can still execute that landing.
Alison Brown: She is one brave young lady. [01:05:00] Pairs, pairs, girls are, are not to be messed with. Let me tell you something. Those are some brave women.
PV2 Spencer Howe: They are a different breed for sure. I, I always think about that actually.
I, I feel like. I would not be a good pair skater if I was, you know, a female partner. I think for me, I like being the base. I like throwing somebody I don’t think I would like to be thrown.
Spencer Howe on competing for Japan
Alison Brown: Earlier in your career you competed for Japan, which I thought was very interesting and I’m wondering what was the difference in terms of. The support from the federation and how, I mean, were you training in Japan or were you just competing for Japan?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yeah, so we were training in Montreal at the time.
That was my, with my first partner. Her name was Ami Coga, and I’m half Japanese. I don’t have Japanese citizenship. And because of that, the funding really, and the support wasn’t. Really anything extraordinary, uh, or anything really different compared to the us. [01:06:00] but typically figure skating in Japan. An analogy that I always like to use is how we view in terms of popularity.
The NFL like football, professional football in the United States is kind of how that scene is when you talk about the Japanese community, with figure skating. And so I have heard that they do really get a lot of great support just because skating in Japan is very, very popular. For me, it was kind of my doorway into pairs and you know, I’m half Japanese, so getting a Japanese passport was a possibility and we really, yeah, it was a a way for me.
I actually. Met my first partner, Koga. She was skating pairs at a Junior Grand Prix, and I was there as a single skater for the United States. And we became just good friends at that event and we continued to stay in touch. And [01:07:00] one day she asked me, Hey, would you be interested in a Paris trial and possibly representing Japan?
And that’s kind of how I started my Paris journey. So you’re exactly right. I started, I think I did. About one or one and a half seasons, representing Japan. And then when that partnership, ended up not working out, she ended up stopping skating shortly after we split. and then, yeah, we kind of just set the game plan of like, okay, let’s, let’s see if we can find a partner to get back to the us.
’cause that’s really where my roots are.
Splitting with a pairs partner
Alison Brown: How strange are those splits? You know, when you’re skating with somebody and then you are not skating with somebody? I mean, I know, I’m sure there’s good splits and bad splits, but how, how odd is that? Especially if they continue to skate with someone else?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yeah, I really think that there’s both sides, right?
So there’s the one side where it’s really, really difficult to find a partner just to begin with. It’s even more difficult to [01:08:00] find the right partner, and so it’s not uncommon that, you are skating with somebody for a season, maybe two, and then you split. Sometimes even historically, there’s been teams that will split up, try to look for new partners, and end up coming back a couple seasons later.
So it’s just like any other type of relationships definitely can, it can get difficult. It can be a little bit of some drama there, but for the most part, at least for me, I understand that we’re all just trying to make the most of our skating careers. And sometimes that means maybe you outgrow a situation or sometimes it can even be just a logistics thing, right?
And so. Yeah, it’s just part of our sport and you learn to navigate through it, but your end goal is you’re really trying to find the best fit so you can come together, work hard, and try to create something and hopefully be able to showcase that. on the big stage,
What Spencer Howe has learned in the World Class Athlete Program
Jill Jaracz: what have you learned in the Wcap [01:09:00] program? That you’ve been able to transfer over to your skating career and what has surprised you from the Wcap program?
PV2 Spencer Howe: I would say me really kind of putting on my soldier’s cap is the best way I can explain it. I think that. again, going back to the child in me that wanted to be a soldier and serve my country, and I also have plans, potential plans to, I would consider staying in the Army even post figure skating if I were to integrate into a different unit.
So yeah, I think coming back home when I realized my duty as a soldier is to skate and skate at a high level, it just was a total shift of perspective for me that made the suck different, if that makes sense. And when I say suck, I mean the challenges that come with trying to be the best pair skater or best athlete you can be.
So through the tough times it, I could lean into that soldier’s mentality because. in that [01:10:00] sense, I am one and I went through all that training to become that, to go from a civilian, and now I am, you know, you could say considered lethal as a US soldier in the US army, right? So I think that perspective shift for me was huge.
And a little kind of funny type of comment was, for me, one of the hardest things in basic training was just staying awake. It was a lot of early, early mornings and some days just because it’s such a, it is a stressful environment there. Like we talked a little bit on that mental and emotional exhaustion and just, it’s a very high stress environment.
At times. It’s hard to get good sleep there, and so a lot of times. Really some of the hardest times was just pushing through that tiredness. And I think that on a kind of a side note, when I’m tired through a day here at the rink doing this job, I’m not so affected [01:11:00] by it anymore. the biggest thing for me was really that perspective shift and just putting on that soldier cap and understanding that now my duty is skating. And so it just totally changed for me in that sense.
Jill Jaracz: I understand you came outta basic training and you became an auto transport operator. That’s correct. What does that entail?
PV2 Spencer Howe: Yeah, so the first 10 weeks was essentially the basic training, and then I got moved. To a different company where I would go through what you call A IT, which is advanced individual training, which is essentially the job that you’re learning.
And so for me, that was 88 Mike Auto Transport operator, and you’re pretty much just learning the skills to operate. Big vehicles and how to do maintenance on them, how to properly strap a load onto those vehicles. And as that auto transport operator, you know, you’re gonna be operating that vehicle and you might be sent out on a mission [01:12:00] to transport.
It could be missiles, it could be ammunition, it could be care packages, whatever it may be, to that destination. And yes, that sometimes can be dependent on. Where if you’re deployed, it could be in a war zone, it could just be stateside. So yeah, essentially we are there to help transport and get valuable equipment to the people who can really utilize those depending on their MOS.
Jill Jaracz: Is it cool to drive the big truck? Yeah,
PV2 Spencer Howe: it was, that was definitely, once we made it to a IT and we had a little bit more. Of, of freedom and just not so much of that high strung environment and where we could really just focus on learning those skills. Me away from skating and away from the army I do enjoy just, you know, working on cars and wrenching on stuff.
Like I have that kind of personality. So for me, choosing that MOS, I knew that I was going to enjoy it. I remember we had to [01:13:00] take, They called it the Red Book test, which is basically, it kind of felt like a taking, like a permit test for a driver’s license, but it was also specific on a lot of specs for the vehicle.
So we had to do a lot of reading and just learning about the specific vehicles such as the LHS or the FMTV vehicles, which are just these bigger vehicles that are kind of utilized for carrying cargo.
Alison Brown: See, this is a perfect pair boy job because he has to a hundred percent the precious cargo. Yep.
Perfect sense to me that this is the job for you. You have to lift things, you have to transport things. I see the connection.
PV2 Spencer Howe: Throwing stuff into the,
Alison Brown: all your skills come into play here. They knew where to assign you.
PV2 Spencer Howe: So to kind of branch, I started school, to complete my undergrad, my bachelor’s degree, and then.
Hopefully one day a master’s, in divinity to become a [01:14:00] chaplain. And that’s kind of, if I were to stay in the army, that’s kind of the career path that I have chosen and would like to pursue. So in the meantime, you know, I’m competing in the Wcap unit and I’ll really do my best to fulfill those duties.
And I’ll also simultaneously be. Getting the education required to, evolve my, military career if I so choose to do that. I can, you know, there’s path and opportunity for me. Yeah.
Jill Jaracz: I do wanna know how are you fit in undergrad in with the training?
PV2 Spencer Howe: You know, I was just having a conversation with another buddy at our rink of how crazy it is that you can get a degree pretty much completely online. And I think that really just the accessibility and today’s technology. we do have that luxury. And so yeah, if I had to go into campus, it would definitely be a lot more difficult.
But thankfully, [01:15:00] I go to Grand Canyon University and they’re based out in Arizona. I’m here in Massachusetts and I’m able to, if all goes to plan, you know, get that bachelor’s degree and successfully complete my, my college education.
Jill Jaracz: what attracted you to becoming a chaplain, perhaps?
PV2 Spencer Howe: I think a big influence has always been my family and my father to be in particular, he’s, you know, a very, I would say a very spiritual person. I would classify him with a label as a man of God, and I think just growing up.
Through skating. You know, I, I always had this saying that came to me that I learn a lot about life through skating and I learn a lot about skating through life. And I think just as I’ve grown and matured as a person, It kind of felt like a calling for me to want to serve others and just live also more of a [01:16:00] godly life, you could say.
And I remember I was literally one day sitting in church looking at the pastor, and I just had this inspiration of wanting to pursue, this Wcap program, wanting to, I don’t know how to explain it. It was just like it all popped into my head at once and I was like, I see myself. Doing this and supporting soldiers, whether that be on the battlefield or not, but just giving ’em that spiritual support coming from that perspective that a chaplain would carry.
And so with that inspiration and just the PERS type of person, which was heavily influenced by my father, as I’ve grown up, I’ve just always really wanted to do the right thing, wanted to serve others. And you know, quite frankly, in the the military as soldiers. The ones who are really, really making a difference going out there, risking in their lives, they can struggle in those aspects, right?
That’s why we have the chaplain core is to try to aim, to give that spiritual support to the [01:17:00] soldiers who might need it. And so I just, I don’t know, somewhere along the lines with the opportunities I got to represent my country to, to represent the US Army. I just saw this path kind of. Get pay for me and, and I’ve just kind of chopped the wood and carry the water, as my dad would say, with getting my education and just moving towards having that be an opportunity that I could, could take if I so wanted to.
Alison Brown: Spencer Howe, thank you so much. Good luck at Nationals. We’ll be cheering for you. Yes,
PV2 Spencer Howe: thank you. I appreciate it.
Jill Jaracz: Thank you so much. private second class, how US champs. Runs this weekend, January 7th through the 11th Women’s Final and Paris Fi final are on Friday, January 9th, and the men’s final is on Saturday, January 10th. The team announcement is on Sunday at one o’clock in the afternoon and, and listener, Lorry shout out to you, she will also be at NASH [01:18:00] in St.
Louis at the championship. So if you see Lorry say hello. And please, Lorry, throw some things in the Facebook group that’s Keep The Flame Alive Podcast Group and let us know what’s happening down in St. Louis. So excited, so, so excited.
Milano Cortina 2026 News
Alison Brown: Mia. Ante. Favorita.
I have no idea what you just said. My favorite singer.
Jill Jaracz: Oh, very well. Favorite Rita. That makes sense. , Milano Cortina 2026 News.
Another Opening Cermony performer and the soundtrack announced
Jill Jaracz: More opening ceremony performers have been announced, which is is killing me that they keep announcing this stuff. ’cause I want it to be a surprise, although. The, the nice thing about knowing them in advance is that I can listen to their music.
Alison Brown: Right. I like that they’re announcing it because, you know, for me, I am not familiar with a lot of these performers, so when I get there and see it, it’ll be a lot more interesting because it [01:19:00] gives me time. Yeah. So, and also way better than in Paris where we had no idea who anybody was. Even as we were watching the show,
Jill Jaracz: still don’t have anybody any idea.
Well, and we got next to no information from Paris. So this is a, a different approach. Maybe a breath of fresh air. We shall see. the latest singer to be announced is Lara Sini. She has. Sold 70 million albums worldwide. She’s earned a Grammy award and five Latin Grammy awards. And her song, EOC, which means seen from the movie The Life Ahead, won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.
So she No slouch. No slouch indeed. speaking of music, we have more information about the official soundtrack. It’s called Italian Fantasy. It’s composed by Ddus.
Alison Brown: How many times do you say Stardust instead of ddus? I [01:20:00] know, I do.
Jill Jaracz: Well, we’ll learn. So the, soundtrack draws inspiration from the iconic territories.
This is from the press release by the way. So, uh, that will host the Olympic Winter Games from Milano to Corina, The soundscapes of the city and the mountains are translated into contemporary Rhapsody. Oh, I can’t do it anymore. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. And, and it kind of goes on from there. But basically you get the idea that Ddus has tried to incorporate all the regions of Northern Italy where the gains will be taking place and, and making a soundtrack.
we will have a link to a video of him talking about this with the soundtrack underneath it in the show notes. expect orchestra. Vocal.
Alison Brown: So it is both analog and Technica? Yes.
Jill Jaracz: Uh, yeah. You’ll expect some orchestra operatic vocals, piano [01:21:00] synthesizers. So it, when we heard it, it sounded, it’s a little throw back to 2024.
Alison Brown: Well, I think there’s a certain. Quality that we’re starting to see over the past few cycles of the same sound. There, there is something very Italian about this.
There was something very French about the Parisian one, and there’s something very Italian about this, so I, it did get me excited for the whatever piece of music we’re gonna hear over and over and over again at the metal ceremonies, because I know that, did you in, in Paris. Oh, was fantastic. Yes. And I think we’re gonna have the same reaction to this, which is, which is fun.
It’s fun to have that piece of music that every time you hear, we could play the Paris Music right now and we would be right back in it. Exactly. And I want that from this. And I think that this has that quality to it.
Jill Jaracz: So yes, I am, I am looking forward to hearing what this is like on the metal stand, [01:22:00] because I bet even though it’s, you know, you’ve got the.
And Techn what, whatever you call it,
Alison Brown: Logica and Technica e.
Jill Jaracz: Even though it’s got those elements, I bet you when that those medalists step on the stands, you’re gonna get that right swell of music. Hoping, hoping.
Progress report on the Santagiulia ice hockey venue
Jill Jaracz: I am also hoping that. The ice hockey venue will be more finished than what they think it might be. Oh, uh, so the Associated Press reported on January 6th that, officials admit that the new Santa Julia ice hockey arena might not be finished on time. I don’t know what they’re gonna do. I, okay, so the.
In the AP story, the head of the International Ice Hockey Federation said parts of the rink might not be fully finished. So the playing surface practice facilities and dressing rooms will be ready by February [01:23:00] 11th when the men’s event starts. Capacity is gonna be 11,800. Not quite as many as they expected, but, we have talked before about what would probably not be finished.
So let’s, let’s throw out some predictions. What’s not gonna be finished.
Alison Brown: Well, we know very well there’s gonna be no media room. We’re gonna have at best some folding chairs if we’re lucky. I don’t think we’re gonna have anything. Okay. ’cause I think it’s gonna be roped off. Okay. I don’t think there’s gonna be any concession stands.
Jill Jaracz: Oh, any concession? Uh, that I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s like one with a huge line. Yeah.
Alison Brown: I think we might get some carts. Like they might have like some moving carts that come in rather than anything fixed.
Jill Jaracz: Right. With like bottles of things or cans of things that they can open and put in a glass or something.
Alison Brown: Right. And packaged snacks. Yes. Okay. And things like that. The other thing I would say is I think [01:24:00] anything that’s not gonna be on television, so all the walkways and things are gonna be covered with orange cones and tape that we’re gonna have like a very narrow. space in which to safely walk. Okay.
Otherwise, everything’s gonna be very sparse.
Jill Jaracz: I, I would also predict that those areas would also be covered with Milano 2026 banners, maybe. I hope so. It’s not quite so good, but I don’t even know if they’re gonna get time to put the banners up. They’re February 11th at eight in the morning before the doors open.
There’s gonna be some poor, maybe volunteers being told, get this up too sweet, or, some venue managers. wanna know how many bathrooms are gonna be finished.
Alison Brown: Well, it’s okay if they don’t have concessions ’cause we won’t have any bathrooms available to us.
Jill Jaracz: But yeah, I’m very curious.
Alison Brown: You know what else I’m gonna say is not gonna be complete in terms of, usually [01:25:00] when we are in the press box, they have all the, outlets and things.
Make sure all your stuff is charged before you go to hockey. ’cause I have a feeling we’re not gonna have any outlets. Could be yes, could be.
Jill Jaracz: Well, we’ll see. I think one of my first stops when we get to Milano is going to be, let’s head down to the HKI venue and see what it’s like there.
Team Canada and Tim Horton’s Olympic and Paralympic promotions
Jill Jaracz: On better news, if you’re in Canada. Tim Horton’s has been announced as the official coffee and quick service restaurant of both Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic teams.
So yes, athletes, family, coaches, staff. They’re gonna have Tim Horton’s coffee when they’re in Italy. But at home there’s contest to win a trip for two to Italy. There’s gonna be special packaging. There’s gonna be a Team Canada reusable cup that goes on sale February 2nd in stores and online@timshop.ca ca.
There’s going to be [01:26:00] Tim Rewards offers. If Canada wins gold, there’s going to be a Team Canada fan meal. That fan meal will be a flatbread pizza, a Coca-Cola beverage, and a donut for $8 and 87 cents. A nod two. Sydney Crosby’s number 87.
Alison Brown: This is fantastic. then lots and lots of clever stuff going on with us,
Jill Jaracz: There’s also gonna be a hockey card collection. I’m not sure if that’s a giveaway or how you get that, but on February 21st, there’s going to be select Tim Hortons across the country that will have hockey night where you can go and trade cards and try to get the ones that you don’t have in your collection.
Isn’t this fantastic,
Alison Brown: really clever stuff here and fun and great for kids, man? Yes. Every, every kid loves collecting cards. Even, you know, the 50-year-old kids love collecting cards. Let’s be serious.
Jill Jaracz: But wait, there’s more. Tim Hortons will sponsor Team Canada fan fest, viewing parties in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and [01:27:00] Calgary, giving out free coffee there. So, ugh. Or to be Canadian or to be in Canada. I was like, you can be American and be in Canada. Oh to be in Canada and stop by your local Timmy’s and And get some cards.
Yes. With your coffee. So if you are in Canada and are in our Facebook group, keep the Flame Alive podcast and you go to Tim Horton’s. Please show us what you get and put pictures up in the Facebook group. I wanna see all of this stuff ’cause it is very cool to me.
Help the podcast get to Milano Cortina
Jill Jaracz: You know what else is very cool? Our fundraiser and the gifts that we are giving away for those who donate.
Alison Brown: I got a little nervous there. I didn’t know where you were going with that, but true. Yeah. So we are doing, this is the last stretch of our fundraiser, uh, for Milan Cortina. We have. About 60% of our funding goal met, so that’s, yeah, just over [01:28:00] 60% of our funding goal met. So we’re so excited on this final stretch.
If you want any of the thank you gifts, you have to donate by Friday, January 16th, so that we make sure we get everything sent off to you and set up before we depart. Yes, and there’s not some of the, the limited ones, we don’t have many spots left. Like I have a mascot, we you need a mascot. Because I got one.
Do you have a mascot? Yes, I got a mascot. I didn’t Oh, now I’m jealous. Oh, come on. People don’t leave me all alone with no mascot. How could, how could someone do that to me and not give me a mascot? Now I’m a little sad. Or multiple people pull some money together. Yeah. And help Alison get a mascot. Wow. So that we can make sure we are all fully loved.
In Milano and Cortina. But thank you everyone who supported us so far. It’s been really exciting and really heartening and just so unbelievable from our community. We are so, [01:29:00] so grateful. But yes, you can find that all the information, how to donate, all the thank you gifts at our website, flame alive pod.com.
There’s a little popup menu that’ll come on and you can just bounce right over to there and get me a mascot, man.
Team Keep the Flame Alive News
Alison Brown: Welcome to Shuk Stan. It is the time of the show where we check in with our team, keep the flame alive. These are past guests and listeners of the show who make up the citizenship of our very own country. Shuk Stan. Team USA’s hockey team rosters for Milana Cortina 26 have been announced.
The women’s roster includes Shuk, Stan’s, Rory Gilday, and Ava McNaughton, and the para ice hockey roster includes our Shuk Tani’s, Declan Farmer, Malik Jones, and Jack Wallace. I’m so excited that Rory got in ’cause she didn’t make it in 2022, so our little bruiser. Going to the game. You know, I love, you know, that’s my favorite kind of player.
US speed skating also had its Olympic trials. Last [01:30:00] weekend, Shuk Ani, Aaron Jackson, qualified for Milano Corino in the 500 meter just from her. She raced it too, but she qualified ahead of time and then she won the 1000 meter event beating world record holder, Britney Bowe, and qualified for that race too.
That skate was just amazing and as listener, Lorry had said, like, when you see it in person, everybody look is so much faster than you realize. But you could even see on TV how fast Aaron was skating in that 1000 meter. It was beautiful. yeah, hamstring problems gone. What hamstring problems? So, uh, Brittany Bow did qualify, so she is qualified in a couple races as well.
Results from the Bobsled World Cup Race in Winburg, Germany in Women’s Mono. Bob Elena Meyers Taylor finished sixth. Bree Walker finished ninth and in the men’s two man, Frank Del Duga and Josh Williamson finished fifth. Together, the All Luge tour went to Segul Lavia, one of our Chalais favorite tracks.
So Ashley Farson finished [01:31:00] fifth in singles and Chevon Forgan and Sophia Kirkby finished fourth in doubles. Pole Vault or Katie Moon re-upped her contract with Nike. She said that this will be her final Olympic cycle and Paris swimmer Ellie Marks gave birth to a son Atlas on Christmas Eve. Ellie posted on Instagram that this is by far our happiest new year.
Congratulations, Ellie and family. And that is gonna do it for this episode. Please do not forget to support our fundraiser and help the show provide you better coverage from and more fun coverage, not just better or more fun. Let’s face it, uh, coverage from Milano Cortina. Thank you so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive.