Australian ice dancers Holly Harris and Jason Chan have delivered a landmark performance at the Milano‑Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, becoming the highest‑placed Australian ice dance team in Olympic history.
Who are Holly Harris and Jason Chan?
Holly Harris (born 2 November 2002 in Sydney) is an Australian figure skater who first made her mark in singles skating, winning the Australian junior title in 2016 and qualifying for the final segment at the 2017 World Junior Championships. She switched to ice dance in 2019 and has since become a two‑time Australian national champion with partner Jason Chan.
Jason Chan (born 12 August 1996 in Montreal, Canada) began his skating career competing domestically in Canada, winning the national novice ice dance title before forming a partnership with Holly in 2019. The duo decided to train full‑time in Montreal at the Ice Academy of Montreal.
Together, Holly and Jason have competed at ISU Four Continents and World Championships, regularly finishing in the top 20 and posting personal best scores on the Challenger Series circuit.
Road to the Winter Olympics
The path to the Olympics was not straightforward. The pair narrowly missed out on qualification for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, finishing as fourth reserves at the final qualifying competition.
Their breakthrough came in September 2025 at the official Olympic qualifying event in Beijing, the Skate to Milano competition. By placing second overall, they earned Australia a quota spot in ice dance for Milano‑Cortina 2026.
It was the first time Australia had secured an Olympic berth in ice dance since 2014.
In the lead‑up to the Games, the team also enjoyed competitive successes, including a silver medal at the ISU Challenger Series Trialeti Trophy and a career‑best fifth place at the 2026 Four Continents Championships.
Winter Olympics results and benchmark success
At the Winter Olympics, Holly and Jason skated their Free Dance to music including ‘Clair de Lune’. Their routine featured complex step sequences and lifts, and garnered praise from commentators for its fluidity and style. One commentator described it as “flawless“.
They qualified for the Free Dance final and finished 18th overall, marking the best Olympic result ever for an Australian ice dance team. Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean cheered them on from the sidelines. In fact, Christopher Dean had coached Holly in her youth.
For the Milano Cortina dance costume, Jason suggested the bold green and gold colours to represent Australia and also “JLo’s iconic green Versace dress.”
“The first time I tried it on, I was so excited – I just felt so proud and was like, ‘I’m going to be representing Australia on the ultimate stage’. It’s just so empowering,” Holly shared. ““The costume plays a huge role in the overall presentation of your performance. In ice dance especially, it’s an art, we are telling a story and performing to each other and the audience.”
However, for the free dance, the duo organised a different costume. Originally, Holly was going to wear black but feared she’d blend in with the competition.
“We noticed a lot of other teams were wearing black so we decided to bring in a different colour and see if it can stand out more,” she shared. “It’s going to be a grey blue and the stones will be blue and Jason will be in navy so it will complement each other. The inspiration was the idea of the stars in the sky dripping down; it should be very sparkly.”
Their success breaks a 12‑year absence in the Olympic ice dance competition and sets a new benchmark.
“It felt really good,” Holly said of their routine. “We came here to do a job, and we did that, and we’re just so happy.”
“It feels like we put everything out there and showed what we’re capable of. It’s amazing to think that all that work before the scenes and all the years of training together ended up with this moment. It’s a dream come true.”
Holly moved to Colorado Springs from Sydney when she was just 13 to broaden her skating opportunities. From a young age, she was fixated on figure skating and determined to go to the Olympics.
“I hope this will inspire other Australians to give ice dance a go. I started out as a singles skater, and I always dreamed of being at the Olympics,” Holly continued. “But I never imagined that I would be an Olympic ice dancer; I’m so glad I tried it out.”
