U.S. JUNIOR CHAMPIONS – LADIES
Pacific Regional),” Edmunds said. “Winning was great, but it was also a relief to feel like I had fi- nally broken through and won my first medal at nationals — and it was gold.” Glynn was especially proud of his pupil’s
efforts at the recent U.S. Championships, as her free skate was awarded the Best Performance by a Female Skater at the event by the Professional Skaters Association. “At nationals, Polina did a fantastic job of putting it all together as a complete product,” he said. “It was impressive to watch!” Edmunds’ skating is technically impressive,
and now she is working to further develop her presentation skills as a senior skater, Glynn said. “She has mastered the technical elements
required to compete with the world’s best skat- ers,” he said. “Now she has to further develop her interpretation of the music, work on skating through the transitions in time to the music, as well as continuing to draw the audience into her performances.” Edmunds has enjoyed experimenting with
different styles of music and this upcoming season is no different.
Edmunds will carry her repertoire of big tricks into her senior debut season.
technical skills, but also her creative side. “To help keep the lessons fun for me, we
did a lot of artistic programs to things like Pippi Longstocking, Pinocchio, Tinker Bell and Tom- boy,” Edmunds said. Te rich tradition of Russian figure skating
runs deep in the Edmunds family. In addition to Klimova, Nina Edmunds is part of the youngster’s coaching team. Nina started skating in her home- town of Tver, Russia. After she graduated from high school, she attended a four-year physical education program at Lesgraft Academy in St. Pe- tersburg, Russia, to become an ice skating coach where her professors included legendary Olympic coaches Tamara Moskvina and Alexei Mishin. “My mom is a huge influence for me,” the
teenager said. “She has been able to surround me with great professional coaches. It’s been great for me in helping to build my confidence and prepare me for the bigger competitions to come.” Glynn has worked with Edmunds since she
was 4 years old. He believes her success is due in part to the collaborative approach she has taken. “Polina’s skating is a result of great team-
work,” he said. “Marina (Klimova) and Sergei Ponomarenko have been involved with her devel- opment from the beginning. Alexander Fadeyev in Chicago has helped with Polina’s development when she was younger and Christy Ness has con- tributed for many years as well. More recently, as Polina has developed at the national level, Frank Carroll (who also coached David Glynn) has tak- en on a coaching role and become a great source of guidance.”
Te 2013 U.S. Championships were a reflec-
tion of Team Edmunds’ hard work and dedica- tion.
“We really worked at preparing and I felt like
I was doing well by winning the regional and sec- tional events (Pacific Coast Sectional and Central
SKATING 37 “I like to surprise people with different
styles,” she explained. “Tis year my short pro- gram is a cha cha piece and the long program will be a romantic piece from Peer Gynt (a Norwegian fairy tale) by Edvard Grieg.” Klimova has been working with Edmunds to
polish the programs and is excited to see how they unfold throughout the season. “With her impeccable technique and unfail-
ing musicality, she is the ideal skater for programs that call for dramatic depth and musicality,” Kli- mova said. Edmunds is graduating from the junior ranks and will compete as a senior this season. “I know people think I am young, but I
have been competing in juniors for the last three years,” she said. “I feel like I am ready to take on competing at the senior level this year.” “She is pulling out all the stops when it
comes to her new programs,” Glynn said. “Polina will have the most difficult programs possible in
It takes a village to help build Edmunds into one of the sport’s rising stars. She’s received expert guidance and coaching along the way from the likes of (l-r) David Glynn, (Polina Edmunds), Marina Klimova and Nina Edmunds.
terms of triple jumps — two triple-triple combi- nations, two triple Lutzes and two triple flips in her free skate. Beyond that, she is excited to show her transformation into a senior lady.”
Birthday: 5-18-1998 Hometown: San Jose, Calif. Career highlights: • 2013 Gardena Spring Trophy junior champion • 2013 U.S. junior champion • 2013 Pacific Coast Sectional junior champion • 2013 Central Pacific Regional junior champion 2012 Pacific Coast Sectional junior bronze medalist
• 2012 Central Pacific Regional junior silver medalist
• 2011 Pacific Coast Sectional junior bronze medalist
• 2011 Central Pacific Regional junior silver medalist
• 2010 Central Pacific Regional novice champion
Fun facts • Favorite athletes: Johnny Weir, Aly Raismann and Victoria Komova
• Favorite TV shows: “Pretty Little Liars” and “Make It or Break It”
• Favorite music styles: pop, hip-hop and rap Hall of famer Rudy Galindo works on Edmunds’ lines at a practice
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
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