14 AANHPI Olympians to Watch at Milan 2026 Games

Several Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander athletes are competing at the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Published on Feb. 7, 2026

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The 2026 Milan Winter Olympics are underway and several Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) athletes are hoping to make their Olympic dreams come true. This article highlights 14 AANHPI Olympians to watch during the games, including figure skaters, snowboarders, skiers, a skeleton racer, and speed skaters.

Why it matters

The AANHPI community is often underrepresented in mainstream sports coverage, so highlighting these talented athletes helps increase visibility and representation of AANHPI athletes on the global stage. Their success can inspire the next generation of AANHPI youth to pursue their athletic dreams.

The details

The 14 AANHPI Olympians featured include figure skaters Alysa Liu, Spencer Akira Howe and Emily Chan, Madison Chock, and Ellie Kam; snowboarders Chloe Kim and Beatrice Kim; skiers Eileen Gu and Tallulah Proulx; skeleton racer Mystique Ro; and speed skaters Andrew Heo, Brandon Kim, and Eunice Lee. The article provides background on each athlete's accomplishments and journey to the 2026 Milan Olympics.

  • The 2026 Milan Winter Olympics are currently underway.

The players

Alysa Liu

A 20-year-old figure skater who is returning to the Olympic stage after briefly retiring from 2022 to 2024. She became the youngest-ever U.S. women's figure skating national champion in 2019 at age 13 and won the 2025 World Championships.

Spencer Akira Howe

A 29-year-old pairs figure skater who will be competing for the U.S. with partner Emily Chan. His mother is Japanese and he previously competed for Japan before switching to represent the United States.

Emily Chan

A 28-year-old pairs figure skater who will be competing for the U.S. with partner Spencer Akira Howe. She grew up in Texas and is trained in ballet and traditional Chinese dance.

Madison Chock

A 33-year-old ice dancer who is the reigning Olympic champion with partner Evan Bates. She is of Native Hawaiian, Chinese, German, English, Irish, French, and Dutch descent.

Ellie Kam

A 21-year-old pairs figure skater who will be competing with partner Danny O'Shea. She was born in Japan but grew up in Colorado Springs and is currently a college student majoring in health sciences.

Chloe Kim

A 25-year-old snowboarder looking to win her third straight gold medal in the women's halfpipe. She became a household name when she won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

Beatrice Kim

An 18-year-old snowboarder from Palos Verdes, California who will be competing in the women's halfpipe. She is described as a 'young snowboarding sensation' and looks up to Chloe Kim as a role model.

Eileen Gu

A 22-year-old freestyle skier who won two gold medals at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and is hoping to add to her medal count in Milan. She competes for China, where her mother is a first-generation immigrant.

Tallulah Proulx

A 17-year-old alpine skier who will be the first female athlete to represent the Philippines at the Winter Olympics. She grew up in Utah and started skiing at age 3.

Mystique Ro

A 31-year-old skeleton racer who will compete in the women's event and the mixed team event. She was a track and field athlete in college before becoming interested in skeleton.

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What they’re saying

“It's so cool to represent this part of my heritage, especially somewhere where winter sports aren't very well known. I hope I can inspire other Filipinos, especially those living abroad, to get involved in winter sports.”

— Tallulah Proulx (Town Lift Park City News)

“I didn't realise the impact watching Chloe in PyeongChang would have on me until later in my career. At that point, I was still pretty new to the scene but Chloe was somebody I looked up to even before I was snowboarding. She was just a great representation of Asian Americans as well as an awesome human being and an overall badass.”

— Beatrice Kim (Olympics.com)

What’s next

AsAmNews will be doing a preview of AANHPI Paralympians to watch closer to the competition's date.

The takeaway

The success of these AANHPI Olympians at the Milan 2026 Games will help increase visibility and representation of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander athletes on the global stage, inspiring the next generation to pursue their athletic dreams.