# Spencer Howe

Spencer Akira Howe (born September 11, 1996) is an American pair skater. With his skating partner, Emily Chan, he is a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2022 and 2023) silver medalist, a two-time Grand Prix silver medalist (2022 Skate America; 2022 NHK Trophy), and a three-time U.S. national medalist (pewter in 2025; silver in 2023; pewter in 2022).

## Personal life

Howe was born on September 11, 1996, in Burbank, California. He was born to a white American father and Japanese mother.
As of 2022, Howe coaches both figure skating and hockey at The Skating Club of Boston, where he trains.
He previously dated fellow pair skater, Gabriella Izzo.

## Career
### Early years

Howe began figure skating in 2006 at the age of nine after following his sister, who later became an ice dancer, into the sport.
Early in his pairs career, Howe competed in partnership with Ami Koga for Japan. They were coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, Sylvie Fullum, and Cynthia Lemaire in Saint-Leonard, Quebec, Canada, and appeared at two ISU Junior Grand Prix events in 2016.
Competing with Nadine Wang, Howe finished fourth in junior pairs at the 2018 U.S. Championships. Their partnership dissolved shortly after.
Following the end of his partnership with Wang, Howe moved from Saint-Leonard, Quebec to his hometown of Los Angeles, California, considering retirement due to a recurring shoulder injury that he was struggling with at the time. However, he was contacted by the president of U.S. Figure Skating, asking if he would try out with Emily Chan, who was looking for a partner at the time and he agreed.

### Partnership with Chan
#### Early years

Howe teamed up with Chan in 2019, and the two decided to train at the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts, coached by Aleksey Letov and Olga Ganicheva. In their second season together, Chan/Howe placed seventh at the 2020 Skate America and fifth at the 2021 U.S. Championships.

#### 2021–22 season: Four Continents silver

Chan/Howe finished ninth at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup. In January, they won pewter for fourth place at the 2022 U.S. Championships and were sent to the 2022 Four Continents Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. Ranked third in the short and second in the free, they moved ahead of Canada's Walsh/Michaud to take the silver medal behind fellow Americans Lu/Mitrofanov.

#### 2022–23 season: Second Four Continents silver

The international pairs scene going into the 2022–23 season was greatly altered by the International Skating Union banning all Russian skaters in response to their country's invasion of Ukraine. With more podium opportunities for pairs outside of Russia, Chan/Howe began with a silver medal win at the 2022 CS U.S. Classic. Howe said that they were pleased with the outcome in light of injury troubles that had hindered their preparations.
Given two Grand Prix assignments for the first time, they won the silver medal at the 2022 Skate Canada International. They won a second silver medal weeks later at the 2022 NHK Trophy, qualifying for the Grand Prix Final. Despite a jump error in the free skate, Chan said they were "very happy with our skate." Chan/Howe struggled at the Final, finishing sixth of six teams.
Chan/Howe won the silver medal at the 2023 U.S. Championships, a new best podium placement at the national championships. Chan said they were both "really grateful" for the result. With national champions Knierim/Frazier declining to attend the 2023 Four Continents Championships in favour of a paid appearance at Art on Ice, Chan/Howe became the highest-ranked American team in attendance at a home ISU championship. In the short program, Howe fell on his triple toe attempt, but they still placed third in the segment. In the free skate, they overtook Canadians Stellato/Deschamps for the silver medal, their second. Chan called it "a special moment for both of us."
Chan/Howe concluded their season by making their World Championship debut, finishing fifth at the 2023 edition in Saitama.

#### 2023–24 season

For most of the 2022–23 season, Howe had been dealing what was eventually revealed to be a torn labrum, which necessitated surgery in May of 2023. Chan and Howe resumed training together in July, and initially hoped to be ready to compete on the Grand Prix circuit in the fall. However, they subsequently had to withdraw from their assignments, as Howe's return to readiness proved slower than they had hoped. He would later say that the process was about getting "to a place where it’s like, oh, wow, this is what it feels like to actually be able to skate and not always be dealing and managing with pain."
Chan/Howe announced that they would return to competition at the 2024 U.S. Championships in Columbus. Despite Chan putting a hand down on the pair's throw loop in the short program, they won the segment by 1.29 points over Kam/O'Shea. Afterward, they announced their withdrawal in advance of the free skate. Howe explained that the short program was "a big success for us, and a huge milestone to our comeback, but we feel we want to take this time to continue to get healthy and set ourselves up for success."
Despite their withdrawal from the national championships, Chan/Howe were named to the American team from the 2024 World Championships in Montreal. They came twelfth in the short program, having had issues on their throw and spins. Thirteenth in the free skate, they finished twelfth overall. Chan viewed the result as "amazing for us," explaining that "last year we had a great debut. This year, we have a little bit different circumstances, but we're here and we're grateful."

#### 2024–25 season

Although assigned to compete at the 2024 CS John Nicks International Pairs Competition and the 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy, the pair withdrew from both events. Making their first appearance at the 2024 Shanghai Trophy, Chan/Howe finished fourth.
Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, Chan/Howe finished fifth at 2024 Skate Canada International and at the 2024 Finlandia Trophy. They would follow these results up with a silver medal at the 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.

## Programs
### Pair skating with Emily Chan

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2019–20 | Je Crois Entendre Encore by Alison Moyet choreo. by Olga Ganicheva | On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter choreo. by Olga Ganicheva | |
| 2020–21 | Onmyoji 2 by Shigeru Umebayashi choreo. by Olga Ganicheva | The Prayer by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Alberto Testa, Tony Renis performed by Andrea Bocelli, Celine Dion choreo. by Olga Ganicheva |
| 2021–22 | Nyah (from Mission: Impossible 2) by Hans Zimmer performed by CH2 choreo. by Olga Ganicheva | Elegy For The Arctic Divenire by Ludovico Einaudi choreo. by Olga Ganicheva | Something's Got to Give by Labrinth |
| 2022–23 | Nyah (from Mission: Impossible 2) by Hans Zimmer performed by CH2 choreo. by Olga Ganicheva | Ghost: The Musical Unchained Melody / The Love Inside performed by Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy Unchained Melody performed by Marc Martel choreo. by Olga Ganicheva | Something's Got to Give by Labrinth |
| 2023–24 | Craw-Fever I Got a Feelin' in My Body by Elvis Presley choreo. by Olga Ganicheva | Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 by Muse choreo. by Olga Ganicheva | |
| 2024–25 | Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran choreo. by Olga Ganicheva, Renée Roca | lo Ci Saro by Andrea Bocelli & Lang Lang choreo. by Olga Ganicheva, Renée Roca | Vincent by Don McLean performed by Josh Groban |

### Pair skating with Ami Koga

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2016–17 | Yesterday by Paul McCartney Yesterday (from André Rieu Celebrates ABBA – Music of the Night) choreo. by Julie Marcotte | Ryōmaden by Naoki Satō choreo. by Julie Marcotte |

## Competitive highlights

* GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
* JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
* CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
* WD – Withdrew from competition

### Pair skating with Emily Chan (for the United States)

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| World Championships | | | 5th | 12th | |
| Four Continents Championships | | 2nd | 2nd | | |
| Grand Prix Final | | | 6th | | |
| U.S. Championships | 5th | 4th | 2nd | WD | 4th |
| GP Finland | | | | | 5th |
| GP NHK Trophy | | | 2nd | | |
| GP Skate America | 7th | | | | |
| GP Skate Canada | | | 2nd | | 5th |
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | | | | | 2nd |
| CS U.S. Classic | | | 2nd | | |
| CS Warsaw Cup | | 9th | | | |
| Cranberry Cup | | 4th | | | |
| John Nicks Pairs | | 6th | 2nd | | |
| Shanghai Trophy | | | | | 4th |

### Pair skating with Nadine Wang (for the United States)

Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2017–18 |
| U.S. Championships | 4th |
| Mentor Cup | 2nd |

### Pair skating with Ami Koga (for Japan)

Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2016–17 |
| JGP Czech Republic | 9th |
| JGP Germany | 8th |

### Single skating (for the United States)

Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2013–14 | 2014–15 |
| U.S. Championships | 8th | 6th |
| JGP Belarus | 15th | |
| JGP Estonia | | 12th |

## Detailed results
### Pair skating with Emily Chan

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 201.11 | 2023 Four Continents Championships |
| Short program | TSS | 70.23 | 2023 World Championships |
| Short program | TES | 37.79 | 2023 World Championships |
| Short program | PCS | 32.44 | 2023 World Championships |
| Free skating | TSS | 134.15 | 2023 Four Continents Championships |
| Free skating | TES | 68.10 | 2023 Four Continents Championships |
| Free skating | PCS | 66.05 | 2023 Four Continents Championships |
* Small medals for the short program and free skating are only awarded at ISU Championships.
* At national events in the United States, pewter medals are awarded for fourth place.
Results in the 2020–21 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 23–24, 2020 | 2020 Skate America | 7 | 55.58 | 8 | 95.57 | 7 | 151.15 |
| Jan 11–21, 2021 | 2021 U.S. Championships | 5 | 60.41 | 5 | 116.65 | 5 | 177.06 |
Results in the 2021–22 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 11–15, 2021 | 2021 Cranberry Cup International | 4 | 63.61 | 4 | 118.83 | 4 | 182.44 |
| Sep 9–10, 2021 | 2021 John Nicks Pairs Challenge | 6 | 59.77 | 6 | 110.31 | 6 | 170.08 |
| Nov 17–20, 2021 | 2021 CS Warsaw Cup | 12 | 56.94 | 8 | 106.45 | 9 | 163.39 |
| Jan 3–9, 2022 | 2022 U.S. Championships | 4 | 61.94 | 5 | 115.31 | 4 | 177.25 |
| Jan 18–23, 2022 | 2022 Four Continents Championships | 3 | 64.47 | 2 | 116.47 | 2 | 180.94 |
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 8–10, 2022 | 2022 John Nicks Pairs Challenge | 2 | 60.45 | 2 | 113.64 | 2 | 174.09 |
| Sep 12–16, 2022 | 2022 CS U.S. International Classic | 2 | 61.71 | 2 | 120.10 | 2 | 181.81 |
| Oct 28–20, 2022 | 2022 Skate Canada International | 2 | 67.39 | 3 | 119.09 | 2 | 186.48 |
| Nov 18–20, 2022 | 2022 NHK Trophy | 2 | 64.62 | 2 | 122.87 | 2 | 187.49 |
| Dec 8–11, 2022 | 2022–23 Grand Prix Final | 6 | 53.85 | 6 | 109.06 | 6 | 162.91 |
| Jan 23–29, 2023 | 2023 U.S. Championships | 2 | 66.86 | 2 | 130.00 | 2 | 196.86 |
| Feb 7–12, 2023 | 2023 Four Continents Championships | 3 | 66.96 | 2 | 134.15 | 2 | 201.11 |
| Mar 20–26, 2023 | 2023 World Championships | 5 | 70.23 | 8 | 124.50 | 5 | 194.73 |
Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Jan 22–28, 2024 | 2024 U.S. Championships | 1 | 65.86 | — | — | – | WD |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 | 2024 World Championships | 12 | 62.86 | 13 | 112.58 | 12 | 175.44 |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 3–5, 2024 | 2024 Shanghai Trophy | 4 | 50.50 | 3 | 105.14 | 4 | 155.64 |
| Oct 25–27, 2024 | 2024 Skate Canada International | 5 | 61.04 | 5 | 117.27 | 5 | 178.31 |
| Nov 15–17, 2024 | 2024 Finlandia Trophy | 5 | 58.93 | 5 | 115.47 | 5 | 174.40 |
| Dec 5–7, 2024 | 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 1 | 65.13 | 2 | 112.57 | 2 | 177.70 |
| Jan 20–26, 2025 | 2025 U.S. Championships | 2 | 69.10 | 4 | 114.85 | 4 | 183.95 |