Olympic figure skater Maia Shibutani really is an inspiration — in more ways than one! At the 2018 Olympics, she took home the bronze in ice dance alongside her brother Alex, continuing a streak of American ice dance teams who have stood atop the Olympic podium since 2006. Although she hasn’t competed since then, she has continued to speak about important issues and act as an ambassador for figure skating.
More recently, Maia has shown incredible resilience. In 2019, she underwent kidney surgery to remove a tumor, which turned out to be malignant — a rare cancer called SDH-deficient renal cell carcinoma. She’s back on the ice these days, showing off those incredible skills that took her to the top of her sport, but this time, with a fun pop-music twist! A quick peek at Maia’s Instagram reveals her knack for combining choreography with snippets of songs you probably never imagined you’d see on the ice. Keep scrolling to watch some of her most inspired videos so far!