He is Mexico’s most successful figure skater and has made a huge difference in making his sport more popular not only in his country but in Latin America: Donovan Carrillo. A fan favorite from his junior days, Carrillo catches the audience’s attention the second he step on to the ice and wherever he is, creating a real Fiesta Mexicana on the ice.

Returning on to the Olympic stage 

In 2022, Donovan became the first Mexican figure skater to compete at the Olympic Winter Games in 30 years and now he will take the Olympic stage again at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games. After missing out to qualify a spot at the ISU World Championships 2025, Carrillo went on to earn the bronze and quota place at the ISU Skate to Milan Qualifying Competition last September. 

 Donovan Carrillo (MEX) and his coaches Jonathan Mills (left) and Myke Gillman celebrate his Olympic spot at the Olympic qualifier Photo: © ISU

Carrillo is very excited to return on to the Olympic stage. “My first Worlds was in 2018 in that exact same rink (in Milan),” he recalled. “That makes me feel excited. I have a lot of great memories from that first time that I competed at Worlds. I made it to the final and I was so young. 

“I just feel I'm a different athlete now, more complete and happier than I was before.”

Carrillo’s first Olympic memory dates back to 2006, when he watched the Torino Olympic Winter Games with his sister Daphne, and he wasn’t even skating yet at the time. “We were watching all these wonderful skaters. It was just great, so inspiring,” he said. “To have that memory of looking at the best athletes just inspired me to do my sport and to have a dream.”

Keeping the dream alive 

Two years later, Donovan got on the ice himself. He fell in love with skating after practicing gymnastics and diving. It was not an easy road, though, for the now 26-year-old athlete. He had to overcome many obstacles to follow his dream.

“There was a lot,” he said. “I don't know where to start, but maybe it is skating in Mexico when very few people believed in my potential and my goals and my dream of making it to the Olympics. Having to have that toughness and having to fight for a dream that very few people believe in, was one of the hardest things to do. I just feel very grateful for all the experience that I have accomplished along the way.”

When he was 13 years old, Carrillo had to leave his home and family and moved with his coach at the time, Gregorio Nunez, from Guadalajara to Leon as their ice rink closed. He missed the 2022/23 season recovering from an ankle injury and in 2023, he switched coaches and moved to Canada for better training conditions. However, whatever happened, his dream always stayed with him – to be on the ice and perform. 

“I just feel it's great to write my own story,” Carrillo said. “I hope that more athletes from Latin America will have that toughness and that desire to fight for it and never give up until you achieve what you want, even when things are tough.”

Donovan Carrillo (MEX) does what he loves and writes his own story Photo: © ISU

Carrillo does what he loves most and that keeps him going. “I hope that I can continue as much as I can, because I'm really enjoying the sport as never before in my life,” he shared. “It's the team that I work with. My coaches, Myke (Gillman) and Jonathan (Mills), they're just great personalities.” He feels also inspired by his teammates and the younger skaters at his ice rink. “The whole environment in Canada makes me wanting more and more. I'm just learning a lot and I’m having so much fun.”

I'm very grateful for it because the conditions and the team that I have there, it's fantastic,” he continued. “I feel I have the best team in the world to be honest. They're very supportive, they help me a lot, not just to grow on the ice but also off the ice. I look up to my coaches as role models for life, not just for skating because they have achieved a lot outside of skating in their own personal lives and I hope I can do the same eventually.”

Entertainer on the ice 

Carrillo left from the Olympic qualifier highly motivated. “I’d like to build as much difficulty as I can to get more competitive for the Olympics and Worlds, to keep creating my own history in the sport and to break my own records,” he said. 

The Mexican is grateful for the support he receives from his Federation, his teammates, the Mexican Olympic Committee and the fans on social media. “I just find a lot of strength and inspiration in all their messages,” he pointed out.

Donovan Carrillo (MEX) is known for his entertaining performances Photo: © ISU

Carrillo is known for his entertaining performances and he was even nominated for the ISU Skating Awards in 2022 for his Short Program. The programs this year are again a perfect match for the Mexican: “Hip Hip Chin Chin” in the Short Program and an Elvis Presley medley for the Free Skating. While he got a new Free Skating program, he had kept the Short Program from last year, but continued to work on the choreography. “It was teamwork as we need in figure skating in order to get better. I'm very happy with the final result because I've been working really, really hard, not just on the ice, also off the ice, to make this happen. I'm just living my dream right now, to be honest.”

Building a legacy 

Donovan wants to leave a legacy in the sport and inspire the next generation, especially from Latin America. He was excited to see that Ecuador was represented at the Olympic qualifier with Gabriel Martinez. “I hope eventually we will have more participation in the Latin American countries,” he noted. “Of course we need more development and I feel that's one of my next missions to help the sport to grow in Latin America. I would love to help as much as I can to get better conditions and to talk to skaters and do all the work possible without losing my focus on my career but if I can help to develop, I will be honored.

“I feel it (Figure Skating in Latin America) is on the way. Of course, it's not where I wanted to see it yet. At least my participation in Beijing (2022), I feel made things more serious. Before everybody thought I was crazy for dreaming about getting to the Olympics and to compete with the best figure skaters in the world, but now that I've done it, I feel like people in my country and in Latin America believe more, and I feel that's a great beginning."