When Olympic team gold medalists Danny O’Shea and Ellie Kam take the ice Friday at the Allstate Arena — in the Stars on Ice show — it will be a coming home of sorts for O’Shea. He grew up in Gurnee and began his skating lessons at Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove.
He would continue training as a figure skater through high school, graduating from Saint Viator High School in 2009.
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
In February, he and his partner, Ellie Kam, competed in the pairs competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Right from the start, O’Shea and Kam played a key role in helping Team USA win the gold medal in the opening team competition.
It was the first Olympic berth for both and it came when O’Shea, at the age of 34, was the oldest pairs figure skater to compete in the Olympics since 1932. Yet, even with all of the excitement, O’Shea still remembered where he came from and that includes his years at Saint Viator.
“It’s been a longtime coming since my days at Saint Viator, but I finally did it,” O’Shea said before the games. “Viator was awesome in creating the opportunity for me to both focus on attending high school fulltime, but also being able to propel myself forward within figure skating during that timeframe.”
Eileen Manno, who was principal at the time, said O’Shea was the second figure skater to approach the school about adapting their class schedule to accommodate training, and she was willing to do it again.
“Danny was a terrific young man who came to Saint Viator with a dream of going to the Olympics,” Mrs. Manno says. “Education should always supplement a student’s dreams, so we decided to see if we could work out a schedule so he could make an afternoon practice and at the same time meet graduation requirements.
“I felt he was worth the risk,” Mrs. Manno adds. “Because of Danny’s determination, he did it and went on to graduate from the University of Colorado.”
(Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)
One of O’Shea’s former teachers, Fr. Dan Hall, CSV, remembers his exceptional discipline and work ethic as a student.
“I had him in class,” Fr. Hall says. “I just remember hearing how he’d get to the rink at 5 a.m. before class and then leave school early to go back to the rink and train. I guess that’s the kind of determination it takes to succeed at that level.”
In the Stars on Ice show, O’Shea and Kam will join with their fellow Olympians for the Broadway-themed show, including the “Quad God” Ilia Malinin and Olympic Champion Alysa Liu, as well as Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Isabeau Levito, Amber Glenn and Jason Brown, who grew up in Highland Park.
O’Shea and Kam have been winning titles since they became a pair in 2022, including winning the 2024 U.S. Nationals title.
“Ellie and I are very strong, especially in our performance ability and our lifting ability,” O’Shea said before the Olympic games. “We are so excited to go to the Olympics and represent not only our country, but everyone who has supported and encouraged us along the way.”
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