GRACIE MAKES STATEMENT WITH


‘GOLD’-MEDAL EFFORT by TROY SCHWINDT


I


n the days leading up to the 2012 U.S. Championships, choreogra- pher Scott Brown pulled junior skater Gracie Gold aside and shared with her the editor’s letter on Michelle Kwan that appeared in the


January issue of SKATING magazine. Brown, who put together Gold’s music and programs for the sea- son, pointed out to the 16-year-old how Kwan’s consistency helped to make her one of the sport’s greatest performers, and how Kwan re- mained unchanged during and after her hall of fame skating career. Kwan won her first U.S. title in San Jose at age 15. Tose traits, Brown feels, are essential for the skater from Spring-


field, Ill., to embrace as she moves forward in her promising career. In San Jose, Gold heeded Brown’s life lesson by executing two con- sistent and challenging programs that earned her the title, and then handled questions from the press like a seasoned veteran. Gold led from start to finish en route to breaking the U.S. junior


ladies record with a total score of 178.92 points, more than 23 points better than silver medalist Ashley Cain of Coppell, Texas. Hannah Mill- er, the 2011 novice champion from Williamstown, Mich., secured the bronze medal with 149.68 points, while Barbie Long of St. Louis, representing the Springfield FSC, finished fourth with 144.57 points. Heading into the event, Gold was considered


the heavy favorite based on her victory in the fall at the Junior Grand Prix Series event in Estonia, as well as her win at the 2012 Midwestern Sectional. At the 2011 Midwestern Sectional, though, Gold experienced a rough weekend and missed qualifying for the 2011 U.S. Championships. She felt a little nervous, she said, when taking the


ice for the short program. “Most of the pressure I felt going in was from my-


self,” Gold said. “I put high expectations on myself. I thought all of these people are thinking these things, they are talking the talk and now it was my turn to walk the walk. I’d been doing the training, so I knew that I could do it.” After last season’s disappointing finish, Gold started seeing a sports


Ashley Cain


psychologist in Chicago, which she said paid dividends this campaign. Gold, who represents Wagon Wheel FSC, started her short pro-


gram to “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” with a triple flip-triple toe combination, followed by a triple Lutz. Level three and four spins and footwork put her in a commanding position heading into the free skate. Her free skate to Te Mission and Te Untouchables soundtracks was loaded with difficulty, including seven triple jumps, three of which were in combination. She skated brilliantly, except for a fall on a double Axel, which she figuratively kicked herself for afterward. “I was really happy with myself, slightly frustrated,” Gold said. “I


do (triple) Lutz-(triple) toe and a double Axel fall. I was going pretty fast and there was clearly an extremely large technical mistake. I lost a little bit of focus going into it.” Gold’s coach Alex Ouriashev calls his star pupil “the best jumper in


the U.S. No argument here.” Gold looks forward to moving up to the senior ranks next season and competing against the Russian skaters this spring at the World Ju- nior Championships.


Hannah Miller


“It would be a great competition,” she said. “I’ve watched three or four of them and they are very talented, but I think I can compete with them.”


Cain, representing Stars FSC of Texas, was also terrific. Pulling


double duty as a senior-level pairs skater and junior lady in San Jose, the 16-year-old finished strong. Performing to David Garrett’s “Who Wants to Live Forever,” Cain landed six triple jumps, including a triple Salchow-double Axel sequence in her free skate. Nearly all of her spins and footwork received levels three and four, but, like Gold, fell on her double Axel. She rolled to 155.48 points. “I felt the energy from the crowd, and felt the energy going after


Gracie kind of gave me motivation,” Cain said. “It felt so great, espe- cially after landing that last loop. I was so happy. I hope that showed in the program.”


Cain also skated to programs designed by Brown. Miller, 15, finished second in the short program and fourth in the


free skate. “I was really happy with my performances, more with my short,”


she said. “I have a lot of improvements to make in my long but the stuff I did do I thought I did well.”


SKATING 35 Gracie Gold


PHOTOS BY JAY ADEFF


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