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It might be the off-season officially, but unofficially, I don’t think there really is an off-season in skating anymore. During the months of June, July and August athletes had an opportunity to test out their new programs at a number of summer competitions in advance of what will be an intense season. I watched many of the events because I wanted to get a sense of what skaters will be doing this Olympic season. Some stepped out of the box and opted for pieces of music that have not been used (or rarely used) in the past. Others went the safe, traditional route. With all the music available, I admit to being stymied by some of those choices. The Junior Grand Prix — one of my favorite series of the…
After two years of deliberation, Jeremy Abbott finally concluded it was time to call an end to his competitive career The four-time U.S. champion, who announced his decision in mid-June, said it felt like the right time to move his skating career in new directions Abbott had been a fixture on the senior U.S. figure skating team for a decade, which began with his international debut at 2005 Nebelhorn Trophy, where he placed 18th. Throughout the subsequent years, there were many highs and lows. The highlight of his career on the international circuit was the night he made history in Goyang, South Korea, by capturing the 2008 Grand Prix Final title. Abbott was the first American man — and only one of two — to have ever claimed a Final…
Tiffany Zahorski and Jonathan Guerreiro are one of the many international ice dance teams currently competing on the global circuit. Born in Great Britain, Zahorski represented France before moving to Russia in 2014. Guerreiro was born and raised in Sydney, Australia until the age of 14, when he and his family moved to Russia, his mother’s homeland. The duo teamed up in 2014 but was unable to compete internationally for 15 months while Zahorski waited for France to release her. That process was completed in October 2015 and six months later, she was granted Russian citizenship. Zahorski and Guerreiro mined gold at Santa Claus Cup, the first and only international event they contested that year. Though their first full season on the international circuit (2016-2017) was a successful one overall,…
Before the 2017 U.S. Championships, few would have thought Vincent Zhou would be adding a silver medal to his trophy case. Though the 16-year-old had shown promise on the junior circuit, he was mostly untested among America’s elite at the senior national level. Zhou’s fall season was good, but not spectacular. With two medals on the Junior Grand Prix circuit, he was first alternate for the Final. Hindered by a nagging hip injury during the first half of the season, Zhou headed to the U.S. Championships under the radar, healthy and hopeful. “Going into nationals, not many people really knew what to expect from me because I had been struggling with a little hip injury. I hadn’t really put out my full technical content, and I had not skated to…
It has been 23 years since Natalia Mishkutionok and Artur Dmitriev took their final bow as a competitive pairs team and went their separate ways. Mishkutionok moved to the U.S. in 1995 and now coaches in Dallas, Texas. Her daughter, Natasha Mishkutionok-Hainline, 11, is a competitive singles and pairs skater. The 1992 Olympic champion looks back on her storied career, and her journey to the present. At age 16, you left Belarus and went to St. Petersburg, Russia. What prompted that move? I was training in Minsk as a singles skater. My rink hosted a pairs camp and Irina Rodnina came with some of her students. After watching them, I decided that I wanted to try pairs. Irina was from Moscow, but I did not want to move there. I…
Dabin Choi was charged with the most important task of her budding career at the 2017 World Championships. As the sole represent-ative of her nation in the ladies’ field, Choi’s job was to secure an Olympic berth for the Republic of Korea.. “My strongest point is that I know what my weaknesses are.” The first half of last season had been a frustrating struggle for Dabin Choi. In her first full year in the senior ranks, the 17-year-old placed fourth at both Challenger Series events she contested, ranked seventh at Skate Canada and ninth at NHK Trophy. Disappointed but undaunted, Choi turned things around in early 2017, and carried the momentum all the way through to the World Championships. Choi, who had been training in North America, switched coaches in…
