USA skater gave up pizza, Panda Express to get into Olympic shape. It paid off

MILAN — Andrew Torgashev wondered why he was doing this to himself. Then he decided to embrace the experience.

Having traded in pizza and Panda Express for healthy cooking, Torgashev looks and feels like an Olympian athlete. He put the exclamation point on that with his performance in the 2026 Winter Games men’s short program. The 24-year-old performed so well he was in lead with an 88.94 score after his program, and while that didn’t last long, he secured his advance to the free skate with a performance nothing short of exuberant.

‘I chose to embrace the rock and roll of my program,’ Torgashev said Tuesday, Feb. 10 at Milano Ice Skating Arena. ‘I always feel like I want to be a rock star on the stage, like breaking the guitar, like having the time of my life so I was able to do that and it’s pretty sick.’

Torgashev’s performance caps a turbulent stretch in which he didn’t finish in the top five of his Grand Prix events, only to reset and rebound with a stellar outing in the free skate that earned him a second-place finish at nationals.

Still, the Olympics are a different stage, and in the lead-up to the short program, Torgashev’s nerves prickled.

‘I was shaking, I was like, why did I wish this for myself,’ he said. ‘But once I got out there, the training just took over. I have so much muscle memory with this program and with these elements that no matter how much I doubt myself, I hope it will always pull through now.

‘The first toe that I did out there before the music started, it was so wonky, I was not confident for the quad. But I’ve done this program every single day at this quality since I’ve been here so I have the reps and it’s just about executing in the moment so I’m glad I did that.’

The 5-foot-7 Floridian credited his fluidity partly to being in the best shape he’s been since he was 18.

‘I’m learning that it helps a lot to eat cleaner and be skinny, to jump and jump easily and have better consistency,’ he said. ‘The skinnier you are, the easier it is so I’m in great shape.’

Torgashev had gotten into a habit of having food delivered after long training sessions, and his choices weren’t what dietitians would prescribe for anyone. Now he eats lean proteins and vegetables and food that infuses energy rather than drains it.

‘There’s no door dashing with my mom around,’ he said. ‘I was at the rink so long, from like 9 to 6 every day, that afterwards I can get lazy at times and anytime you eat out consistently, even if you’re trying to be healthy, the calories just add up and especially at night, it’s just not good. It was everything – pizza, Panda Express, tacos.’

It’s not all lentils and lean protein now though, Torgashev planned to celebrate his short program success with a ‘slice of pizza,’ he said, and come Friday’s free skate, ‘just know I’m going to go ham.’