Annika Chao (born 11 October 2009) is an American figure skater. She placed second at the U.S. Junior National Championships (2026) and second in the junior category of the Cranberry Cup International (2025).
Chao currently competes domestically and internationally at the junior level, and she has competed on the Junior Grand Prix circuit representing the United States. Her coach, Grant Hochstein, also choreographs her programs. She is noted for her balletic skating movements and her spin technique.
Personal life Annika is the daughter of Jackie Chao, and has an older sister named Addison. She enjoys playing tennis, reading, and baking, and has a pet rabbit. Chao attends California Online Public School. She is from Portland, Oregon, but later moved to California.
Career
Early years Chao began skating at age 3 after attending skating classes with her sister, who wanted to start skating. She grew up skating at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink before moving her training location to Anaheim, California due to the difficulty of finding ice time in the Portland area. Chao was formerly a member of the Portland Ice Skating Club. Her former coaches include Diane Rawlinson and Rafael Arutyunyan.
2023–24 season: Junior international debut Chao made her Junior Grand Prix debut at the 2023 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Thailand. She placed third after the short program and fifth overall. In October, she placed second at the Kings Cup International. At the Kings Cup, she achieved her international personal best score in the free skate, a 120.8. She qualified for the U.S. Championships after placing second at the Pacific Coast Sectional Singles Final, and placed 5th in the junior category of the 2024 U.S. Championships. 2024–25 season Chao competed at the 2024 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Latvia and placed 8th overall. She placed 5th at the 2025 U.S. Championships and second at the 3rd Maria Olszewska Memorial. 2025–26 season Chao placed second at the 2025 Cranberry Cup International. She went to the 2025 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Italy, and placed 5th. She scored 59.37 in the short program at that competition, achieving an international personal best score for that segment. At the 2025 Santa Claus Cup, she placed 1st overall. She went on to place 2nd at the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. 2026–27 season Chao attended the 2026 ISU Junior Grand Prix in China in August, where she placed 12th overall. In an interview after the 2026 U.S. Championships, Chao stated that she plans to begin competing at senior domestically in the following (2027–28) season.
Programs
Competitive highlights
References