COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Not all training happens on the ice for members of the U.S. Figure Skating team. Dynamic pairs duo Luke Wang and Olivia Flores train in Colorado Springs.
Being in Olympic City USA means their strength and conditioning time is spent at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center.
“We train for about 2.5 hours on the ice every day," said Flores. "Our first session is at 8 a.m., and we have three on-ice sessions, each about 45 minutes long. Before all of those sessions, we have off-ice together for half an hour to 45 minutes. Three days a week, we come to the [Olympic] Training Center, and we have strength training and conditioning off-ice.”
Flores is from Colorado Springs, and Wang is from Maryland and moved to the area to pair up with Flores.
They say that in the three and a half years they have been skating together, their training has varied depending on the upcoming competition or routine.
"Off-season is a lot more off-ice, a lot more in the gym doing a lot more volume and intensity, a lot more cardio and conditioning," said Wang. "When the season starts, all of that is more of maintenance. We're still building strength and conditioning, but don't overload our bodies."
Wang says that while making the U.S. Olympic team would be a dream, the pair does not let that goal define their skating journey or training process.
"It's in the back of our minds all the time, that's why we wake up and do what we do every day," said Wang. "But I think for us, the goal is more finding that spirit that we once had when we were young. That's the thing that we're trying to emulate and trying to find every day that we get on the ice."
Wang and Flores did not qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics, but continue to be motivated by the athletes they train around.
"When you're working out, and you look over to your left, and you see someone, and they have the [Olympic] rings tattooed on their arm, it's a different type of inspiring," said Flores. "That is so cool that we get to be part of this incredible training environment."
Wang and Flores will compete in the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in March.
Email Senior Reporter Meghan Glova at meghan.glova@koaa.com. Follow Meghan Glova KOAA on Facebook.
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