U.S. pairs skaters tired of criticism
Kayne and O’Shea know Americans need to prove themselves on big stage
SAN JOSE » The question hasn’t changed over the years, and now decades: What’s wrong with American pairs skating?
Perhaps the most dramatic discipline in figure skating gets little respect in the United States. The singles skaters are the stars and American ice dancers have been so successful for the past decade they have gained traction. Pairs skating? The United States last won an Olympic medal when JillWatson and Peter Oppegard were third at the 1988 Calgary Games. Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman were the last team to win a medal at the World Championships, getting a bronze medallion in 2002.
Now, the United States has qualified only one pairs team for the Pyeongchang Games next month. It’s the first time since the 1924 Winter Games in France that the Americans have failed to qualify two pairs teams.
But those who performed in the pairs’ short program Thursday in the U.S. Championships at SAP Center were defiant in their belief that the United States can rebound. Still, the criticism stings. “It is sometimes hard to deal with,” said Tarah Kayne, who with partner Danny O’Shea surprised the field by placing second in the short program. “There is this dark rain cloud over pairs.”
Kayne is tired of hearing people say U. S. pairs can’t do anything.
“They’re inconsistent, they’re whatever,” she said. “We have to prove ourselves. But it also would be great if people would stop counting us out.”
Alexa Scimeca-Knierim, who with husband Chris Knierimwon the short pro- gram, also is tired of the backlash. But she has tuned it out because of her love of pairs skating.
“That’s howwe don’t care anymore about the stigma of American pairs,” she said. “It’s not going to stop us.”
Jessica Pfund, a Los Ga- tos native, said the Americans want to change the paradigm.
“It’s a big motivator,” she said, adding “Not just get the spot but to be contenders.” But how? Chicago’s Deanna Stellato, who was 4 during the Calgary Games, said it is a matter of branding — just like she did when running a competitive business before returning to skating after 16 years.
“There needs to be something that has you standout from the pack,” said Stellato, who with Nathan Bartholomay were third Thursday. “That was my entire purpose of wanting to try the quad.”
Many of the pairs teams are pushing themselves to be technically strong every time out.
It’s not like in the past when the Americans were the only ones who couldn’t do triple twists, Bartholomay added. But the teams need to develop beautiful storytelling to sell their skating to international judges.
Still, the seniors also are encouraged by the next generation, including Fremont’s Sarah Feng and partner TJ Nyman, who won the silver medal in the junior division Wednesday. The team has a goal of making a big leap to the international stage although they’ve been together only eight months.
“We don’t want to be a junior one-hit wonder,” Nyman said. “We want to get to the 2022 Games.”
• Morgan Hill’s Anthony Ponomarenko and partner Christina Carreira easily won the junior ice dance crown as expected after winning the free dance at Solar 4 America Ice.
The couple that trains in Novi, Mich., scored 159.1 points, about 12 points better than silver medalists Caroline and Gordon Green.