Colorado figure skater helps earn USA historic Olympic spot competing on broken foot

Less than 48 hours before Coloradan Danny O’Shea was set to head to the World Figure Skating Championships with his partner Ellie Kam, he was unable to skate. On March 22, coach Drew Meekins says O’Shea injured his foot during off-ice training and the pain was unbearable.  

The injury came as Kam and O’Shea were favored to help the U.S. earn more Olympic spots for the USA at the upcoming 2026 Olympic Games. The pair team previously interviewed with CBS Colorado as they prepared in Colorado Springs for March’s world competition.

In accordance with competition regulations, the team says they notified U.S. Figure Skating when O’Shea was injured. The team says backup plans involving alternates were made and O’Shea underwent 24 hours of intensive medical care including “a numbing injection, which is used in other professional sports like football, for athletes with similar injuries,” Meekins said.

Two days after the injury, O’Shea skated a full final training program and was cleared by USFS to skate. O’Shea says the team did not yet know the extent of his injuries.

The intensive ice and compression routine alongside numbing injections continued throughout Oshea’s time at the competition in Boston to manage swelling and pain.

“His biggest motivation was to help Team USA secure three spots at next year’s world championship, and give the team the chance to earn a third spot for the Olympic Games. And despite the immense amount of pain he was in, and the emotional and psychological trauma this situation caused to both him and Ellie, somehow they were able to perform to a seventh best place in the world,” Meekins said.

The pair team’s 7th place finish, alongside other strong performing U.S. athletes, earned Team USA a third Olympic spot for the upcoming games. Experts in the field say it’s an opportunity Team USA has not in decades.

Once the competition ended, O’Shea went to a hospital in Boston to be evaluated. Meeks says formal imaging of Danny’s foot showed a bad break of his fifth metatarsal.

O’Shea underwent surgery on Wednesday at the Colorado Center of Orthopedic Excellence. The pair team plans to continue skating once O’Shea recovers and still has eyes on the one of now three 2026 Olympic spots.

Sarah Horbacewicz

Sarah Horbacewicz is a multi-skilled journalist for CBS News Colorado. Read her latest reports or check out her bio and send her an email.