2021-22 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating | Page 45 | Golden Skate

2021-22 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating

TontoK

Hot Tonto
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 28, 2013
Country
United-States
Rumors of Ash and Tim breaking up. Which is odd, I’d think they would say retired. Perhaps one is going on without the other?

I've gotten a sniff of vague rumors saying the same. Honestly I'm not sad to hear it, just for the sake of her health. Perhaps he'll find another partner, I think he has much to offer, although he might have to go with Misha's strategy and find a solid singles skater rather than an established pair girl.
 

BlissfulSynergy

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Country
Olympics
Calalang would be a 3rd partner for Danny whose jumps needed to come up to Danny's level
IMO, Tarah Kayne was a decent jumper. She only had issues with jumps when she was injured, which is normal. Tarah's chief drawbacks were her lack of good skating skills, which made her slow over the ice (some observers used to joke that Danny had to drag her -- actually they worked hard at camouflaging their obvious variance in skating skills). Tarah once admitted to having issues with timing on the 3-twist, which meant that wasn't their best element. Danny has always been a superb pairs guy, with wonderful SS. When partnered with Chelsea, they had great speed over the ice, gorgeous lifts, and palpable joy. ❤️ I do hope Danny is able to find a good partner and return competitively. The U.S. needs to field some experienced pairs next season.
 

BlissfulSynergy

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Country
Olympics
Nice pic of Brandon lifting Alexa in the White House:

There are loads of WH pics on a number of skaters' social media -- here's a sampling:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdJNf4CuUuD/ Jean Luc

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdIobD5u4gR/ Alexa

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdIrjE9rSFX/ Ashley

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdJMx4Yu0l5/ Madi Hubbell

I also heard that Brian Johnson is engaged to his girlfriend.

Season memories:



Alexa & Brandon, with Todd Sand, in Montpelier:

Two great Great Park coaches!
 
Last edited:

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Country
United-States
Tim seems very conspicuous in their absence. Ugh, I misgendered them again, had to fix. What is wrong with me.
 
Last edited:

MCsAngel2

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 10, 2019
Tim seems very conspicuous in their absence. Ugh, I misgendered them again, had to fix. What is wrong with me.
I've read a few places that Timothy likes to keep a low profile in the off season. You will notice they don't have social media. Although I feel like one would not pass up an opportunity to go to the WH unless one is sick. I think Ashley went?
 

BlissfulSynergy

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Country
Olympics
In the group picture at the WH that Ashley posted, both Timothy LeDuc and Karen Chen are not present. It's possible that Timothy and Karen had scheduling conflicts unable to be adjusted.

I'm feeling kind of sad and melancholy re the abruptness of everything. But change is constant. Apparently, we're not going to hear anything regarding retirements, splits and possible new pairings, until at least mid-to-end of June, I would imagine. That's when summer training camps start and tours end, I believe.


The above-linked latest article on U.S. figure skating fan zone about Alexa & Brandon. From the quotes, it doesn't sound to me like they are coming back:

Brandon:
"Alexa and I really haven't circled around to discussing our future, we've really been living in the moment," Frazier admitted. "We've spent the last two years working and building up a plan, and now after achieving a lot of things we had hoped to achieve, we both we just want to enjoy the tour and when we get back in June, I know we'll circle back around and talk and see what our interests are."

Alexa:
"I think we'll just listen to our hearts. I believe a huge reason Brandon and I have been able to be successful is because we are vulnerable and honest with each other, and I think that's what has propelled us forward. When it comes down to it, we'll just listen to our gut and intuition on what is next for us individually and will be able to express that without concern."

It sounds as if they are both talking about their partnership together in the past tense. The key is Alexa referencing "what is next for us individually..."

So, I won't be surprised if they don't come back. If they decided to return, it clearly would not be for a 4-year cycle. So, the question would be, what are the gains for them after achieving their Olympic dreams, and then going beyond their dreams to become 2022 World champions? I don't think the possibility of gold medals on the GP circuit are motivation enough. Plus, they don't need another U.S. championship either. They share one together, along with Alexa owning three with husband, Chris, and Brandon having one with former partner, Haven Denney (along with a 2013 World Junior pairs championship).

It was already shocking to my system when Jessica Calalang & Brian Johnson announced their split (and Brian's retirement). I can only wait to see what happens going forward. Hopefully, Jessica will find a new partner, and hopefully Danny O'Shea will find a good partner too. There needs to be at least some possibility for veteran pairs returning to help rebuild the U.S. pairs discipline, and to take as much advantage as they can of having three spots for senior Worlds next year.

At this point, I'm not hopeful at all that Ashley/Timothy will be returning either. There's her history of concussions, plus they may not have planned anyway to compete as a team beyond 2021-22 season. All skaters surely are taking into account the uncertainty of the skating season due to COVID outbreaks. There's no guarantee that all GP events will be held as usual, or whether GPF will finally return. As athletes, everyone will still have to guard against contracting the virus, plus the sport is exceedingly expensive. There's a lot of expenditure of time, money, blood, sweat, and tears, without appreciable rewards or development advances, due to the lack of sufficient competitive growth opportunities.


I'm glad skaters are enjoying the touring season. I probably won't be able to catch SOI in my city. It's too much money for tickets for only one evening of show skating. I'll miss seeing these champions live, because so many of them are moving on from competitive careers.
 

BlissfulSynergy

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Country
Olympics
There needs to be a post mortem regarding U.S. pairs partnerships and what the possibility is for the future:



I realize these are only lists of the junior and senior U.S. pairs teams who competed at U.S. Nationals in 2022. There are other pairings who didn't make it (plus novice teams are not accounted for on this list). And, of course, a number of these listed teams have split and a few have paired with new partners. At least, these results lists can serve as a visual starting point for charting the current state of the U.S. pairs discipline, and what the new season might look like...

I wish there was a comparable pairs site to the wonderful ice-dance.com (which covers global ice dance news and profiles).
 

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Country
United-States
I've read a few places that Timothy likes to keep a low profile in the off season. You will notice they don't have social media. Although I feel like one would not pass up an opportunity to go to the WH unless one is sick. I think Ashley went?
Yes, Ashley went. I understand wanting to keep a low profile, and I know they don't have social media, but I sure would not pass up an opportunity to go to the WH unless I felt the need to make a political point, like Adam did. I don't think that is an issue with this administration.
 

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Country
United-States
In the group picture at the WH that Ashley posted, both Timothy LeDuc and Karen Chen are not present. It's possible that Timothy and Karen had scheduling conflicts unable to be adjusted.

I'm feeling kind of sad and melancholy re the abruptness of everything. But change is constant. Apparently, we're not going to hear anything regarding retirements, splits and possible new pairings, until at least mid-to-end of June, I would imagine. That's when summer training camps start and tours end, I believe.


The above-linked latest article on U.S. figure skating fan zone about Alexa & Brandon. From the quotes, it doesn't sound to me like they are coming back:

Brandon:
"Alexa and I really haven't circled around to discussing our future, we've really been living in the moment," Frazier admitted. "We've spent the last two years working and building up a plan, and now after achieving a lot of things we had hoped to achieve, we both we just want to enjoy the tour and when we get back in June, I know we'll circle back around and talk and see what our interests are."

Alexa:
"I think we'll just listen to our hearts. I believe a huge reason Brandon and I have been able to be successful is because we are vulnerable and honest with each other, and I think that's what has propelled us forward. When it comes down to it, we'll just listen to our gut and intuition on what is next for us individually and will be able to express that without concern."

It sounds as if they are both talking about their partnership together in the past tense. The key is Alexa referencing "what is next for us individually..."

So, I won't be surprised if they don't come back. If they decided to return, it clearly would not be for a 4-year cycle. So, the question would be, what are the gains for them after achieving their Olympic dreams, and then going beyond their dreams to become 2022 World champions? I don't think the possibility of gold medals on the GP circuit are motivation enough. Plus, they don't need another U.S. championship either. They share one together, along with Alexa owning three with husband, Chris, and Brandon having one with former partner, Haven Denney (along with a 2013 World Junior pairs championship).

It was already shocking to my system when Jessica Calalang & Brian Johnson announced their split (and Brian's retirement). I can only wait to see what happens going forward. Hopefully, Jessica will find a new partner, and hopefully Danny O'Shea will find a good partner too. There needs to be at least some possibility for veteran pairs returning to help rebuild the U.S. pairs discipline, and to take as much advantage as they can of having three spots for senior Worlds next year.

At this point, I'm not hopeful at all that Ashley/Timothy will be returning either. There's her history of concussions, plus they may not have planned anyway to compete as a team beyond 2021-22 season. All skaters surely are taking into account the uncertainty of the skating season due to COVID outbreaks. There's no guarantee that all GP events will be held as usual, or whether GPF will finally return. As athletes, everyone will still have to guard against contracting the virus, plus the sport is exceedingly expensive. There's a lot of expenditure of time, money, blood, sweat, and tears, without appreciable rewards or development advances, due to the lack of sufficient competitive growth opportunities.


I'm glad skaters are enjoying the touring season. I probably won't be able to catch SOI in my city. It's too much money for tickets for only one evening of show skating. I'll miss seeing these champions live, because so many of them are moving on from competitive careers.
I'm not throwing in the towel on them. I will wait and see.

For the love of God, someone find Danny a partner.
 

BlissfulSynergy

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Country
Olympics
I'm not throwing in the towel on them. I will wait and see.

For the love of God, someone find Danny a partner.
Yeah, all we can do is wait, and hope for the best.

With Danny, it might be possible that he's done tryouts, and has a tentative partner whom he's training with, but we won't hear until everything's solidified. That appears to be what happened when he partnered with Chelsea. They were training together for awhile before news of their partnership was released.
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 12, 2014
Country
United-States
I'm feeling kind of sad and melancholy re the abruptness of everything. But change is constant. Apparently, we're not going to hear anything regarding retirements, splits and possible new pairings, until at least mid-to-end of June, I would imagine. That's when summer training camps start and tours end, I believe.

I posted weeks ago that if I were Alexa, Brandon, Ashley or Timothy, I'd just enjoy the moment, appreciate their successes, and wait for the ups and downs and emotions of the last couple of months to 'settle.' And it's also exactly what Timothy had said in an interview weeks earlier, that as a pair, they intended to wait awhile before considering their options going forward. Of course, Ashley's injuries add another consideration.

ETA: The above is to say that I'm comfortable waiting for news about the future. I just want to send both teams the love and positive energy that I can, to let them absorb the experience and enjoy their great moments.



The above-linked latest article on U.S. figure skating fan zone about Alexa & Brandon. From the quotes, it doesn't sound to me like they are coming back:

Brandon:
"Alexa and I really haven't circled around to discussing our future, we've really been living in the moment," Frazier admitted. "We've spent the last two years working and building up a plan, and now after achieving a lot of things we had hoped to achieve, we both we just want to enjoy the tour and when we get back in June, I know we'll circle back around and talk and see what our interests are."

Alexa:
"I think we'll just listen to our hearts. I believe a huge reason Brandon and I have been able to be successful is because we are vulnerable and honest with each other, and I think that's what has propelled us forward. When it comes down to it, we'll just listen to our gut and intuition on what is next for us individually and will be able to express that without concern."

It sounds as if they are both talking about their partnership together in the past tense. The key is Alexa referencing "what is next for us individually..."

So, I won't be surprised if they don't come back. If they decided to return, it clearly would not be for a 4-year cycle. So, the question would be, what are the gains for them after achieving their Olympic dreams, and then going beyond their dreams to become 2022 World champions? I don't think the possibility of gold medals on the GP circuit are motivation enough. Plus, they don't need another U.S. championship either. They share one together, along with Alexa owning three with husband, Chris, and Brandon having one with former partner, Haven Denney (along with a 2013 World Junior pairs championship).

Your reading of their comments is the same as mine. Especially with what Brandon said about already achieving a lot of what they'd hoped to achieve. And I also think ... well, no one but Alexa and Brandon know how hard they've had to work and the personal sacrifices they've made over the past two years to achieve what they did, and whether they want to continue that effort. (Think about Bruno and Aljona -- Bruno always knew he didn't have the motivation to do it all again, while Aljona wanted to continue their journey.) One thing Alexa and Brandon know is that they can't rest, and just coast on their success, going forward.

I honestly feel the same way about Ashley and Tim, with all their hard work and sacrifices to achieve their goals. Though they experienced a tragic disappointment at Worlds, they did earn and win a small silver medal there for their SP. They also had the Olympic experience of their dreams.
 
Last edited:

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 12, 2014
Country
United-States
With Danny, it might be possible that he's done tryouts, and has a tentative partner whom he's training with, but we won't hear until everything's solidified. That appears to be what happened when he partnered with Chelsea. They were training together for awhile before news of their partnership was released.

I also said this weeks ago. Somehow I think Jeni/Todd team have a very good system for protecting the privacy of their athletes.
 

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Country
United-States
Total speculation, but some folks on Twitter think Brandon wants to retire while Alexa wants to keep going. If that is the case, please partner with Danny Alexa! That would be awesome!
 

2sk8

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
For those of you who follow Chelsea Liu on Instagram, please know her main account was hacked the other day Chelsea Liu Instagram

No, she did not invest in Bitcoin Mining with this Crazy Instagram Hacker and the hacker is sending DMs to those who follow her. Don't answer the messages but please DO feel free to report them and this account that is polluting our figure skating enjoyment with their scams! :cool:
 

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Country
United-States
For those of you who follow Chelsea Liu on Instagram, please know her main account was hacked the other day Chelsea Liu Instagram

No, she did not invest in Bitcoin Mining with this Crazy Instagram Hacker and the hacker is sending DMs to those who follow her. Don't answer the messages but please DO feel free to report them and this account that is polluting our figure skating enjoyment with their scams! :cool:
Yes I got the same message and didn’t respond.
 

BlissfulSynergy

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Country
Olympics
Updates:

Danny Neudecker has split with Sasha Fakhroutdinov, and newly paired up with Grace Hanns (who was formerly paired with Jim Garbutt). Neudecker previously competed successfully with Nica Digerness, who reportedly has been partnered and training with Mark Sadusky, in Colorado. I believe Hanns/Garbutt competed at U.S. Nationals, in 2022. Danny/Sasha were in position to make 2022 Nationals after their sp at an early qualifying competition, but they had too many problems in their fp, and thus dropped in the standings and missed the cut. I am not surprised that they split. I wish that Danny & Nica had stayed together. But, I suppose injuries played a part in their break-up. Good luck to all!



Sylvia Unseen has also posted about the above on another forum, and included the below news about an additional pairing for the U.S. -- Haley Beavers/ Matthew Kennedy. Beavers is new to pairs, while Kennedy has previously competed in Intermediate pairs. They will apparently be skating as juniors domestically, but are not eligible to compete as juniors internationally (similar to Wessenberg/Eisenach who train at the Irvine rink):

 
Last edited:

BlissfulSynergy

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Country
Olympics
Practice clip of Collier/Mitrofanov:


FSO article by Claire Cloutier on Knierim/Frazier:

This is a nice feature on Alexa/Brandon. There's again, no indication of what their plans will be moving forward. But their comments do seem to equally match the quotes in the earlier U.S. fan zone article. In this FSO article, it's really interesting how Alexa states that she trusted Chris to protect her during lifts, but she never felt that she was good enough to experiment with different types of lifts. Since Brandon is so strong and expert at lifts (he and Haven were extremely good at lifts, which is how they won junior Worlds in 2013), Alexa began to feel more comfortable trying something new, which she hadn't felt was possible for her, simply because she wasn't confident in herself. It's interesting because Alexa & Brandon both talk about what they've learned from each other, and how much they've grown together over the course of their partnership. This is lovely to hear about. I just wish as a fan that I had been able to experience much more of their journey together, because a lot of it happened in practice and in training, not only on competition ice. As fans, we mainly get to see our faves in competition, but rarely can we understand or get to experience the full spectrum of what they go through altogether, which is key to what they are able to do in competition.

Claire does a good job of asking questions in a way that pulls out interesting responses that go a bit further than the article on fan zone. Even in the way Claire references that they have yet to make a decision about their future, she doesn't press them, she instead asks what advice they would give to up-and-coming pairs team, especially in this current environment of transition and ground-shaking change.

I definitely enjoyed Alexa with Chris, and Brandon with Haven. But interestingly, Alexa/Brandon seem to have greater potential that will remain untapped if they retire. Obviously, they've reached a pinnacle together this season. Also, I know they are veterans, and they may wish to move on. It just seems as if they were only getting started. I guess in many ways, the brevity is similar to Vanessa/Eric's partnership. Both teams to me seem to have so much more to explore and to offer competitively, in discovering what they can do together. But unless there was a pro tour, both teams are seemingly and sadly unlikely to continue in the competitive ranks. I would say that's probably due to a combination of age, other interests, and the stress and expense of high level training and competing eligibly.
 
Last edited:

BlissfulSynergy

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Country
Olympics
Also, Anastasia Smirnova has shared on Instagram the struggles she and Danil Siianytsia faced this season!! I knew that as Ukrainians they would have been going through a lot, but I didn't realize they both had COVID, and that Danil ended up with additional complications of pneumonia and bronchitis. Wow. In part, that would explain Danil's apparent stamina issues in the fp at Junior Worlds. Plus, his deep emotions afterward surely had to do with mental and physical struggles this season, what with anxiety over the safety of their family members (some of whom have been able to migrate to other countries). Here's Nastiya's Instagram post, which is heartfelt and hopeful:


Blessings to Nastiya/Danil and their families. Praying for their family members' safety and recovery as they try to rebuild their lives. Nastiya mentions teammates from Ukraine (Sonia & George) who have joined them to train in Minnesota, with Trudy Oltmanns. Does anyone know the last names of Sonia/George? I would imagine they skate junior pairs for Ukraine, and thus will likely keep their Ukrainian representation.
 
Top