Like many athletes who train in Colorado Springs, Zawadzki is no stranger to the Manitou Incline, a grueling trail that gains more than 2,000 feet of elevation in less than one mile. For this photo shoot, Zawadzki shows off a dress she bought in a West Hollywood boutique.
Zawadzki’s programs, including her sophisticated tango free skate, were choreographed by David Wilson.
“Agnes has worked hard and her mom has worked hard,” Blackmer,
Zawadzki’s future New York hangout partner, said. “She grew up without a dad and she’s a strong young woman, excellent at budgeting. I’ve never heard a word of complaint from her.” In the early years of her career, Zawadzki trained under David Santee,
the 1981 U.S. World silver medalist. After placing fourth in the novice division at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, her entire fam- ily — minus Bart, who is eight years older — moved to a two-bedroom apartment in Colorado Springs, so she could work with Zakrajsek at World Arena. Jolanta slept on the living room couch. Nothing came easy. Zawadzki had a tough time at her sectional cham- pionships, failing to qualify for the 2009 U.S. Championships. “Agnes didn’t have many opportunities as a junior,” Blackmer said. “It
wasn’t until she starting winning some titles that someone said, ‘OK, let’s start investing in this girl.’” Te following season, Zawadzki tore up the summer competition cir- cuit and won her regional and sectional championships. At the 2010 U.S. Championships, she took the junior title by more than 20 points. A month later, she brought home silver from the World Junior Championships. Te next season, Zawadzki jumped to the senior Grand Prix circuit, finishing sixth and fourth at her two events and placing fourth at the 2011 U.S. Championships. Although she won bronze at the 2011 World Junior Championships, she and Zakrajsek parted ways. “I was trying to find myself,” Zawadzki said. “I was frustrated being told what I had to do. My biggest problem was keeping everything in. I needed to be able to tell somebody if something was working or not.” At the 2012 U.S. Championships, Zawadzki led after the short pro-
gram but dropped to third after missing a few jumps in her free skate. In 2013, Zawadzki won her second U.S. bronze medal, but with just
two U.S. ladies’ spots, missed a chance to compete at the World Cham- pionships. With Ashley Wagner and Gracie Gold’s fifth- and sixth-place
48 DECEMBER 2013
finishes, though, it’s a different story this season. Zawadzki will not be satisfied with a third U.S. bronze. She and her
sports psychologist, Dr. Alexander Cohen, are focused on building the confidence she needs to perform clean free skates. “We talk about having that resilience so no matter what, I have to get going and not give up,” Zawadzki said. “If I try my hardest I can’t be upset with myself, but if I give up that’s the worst thing I could do, in my eyes.” “In my practices I haven’t been backing down, I’ve been pushing even
harder,” she continued. “Tat’s a big difference for me. Before, I would try to find excuses. Now if I have to stay on another session to get the jumps done, I will.” Zakrajsek has no doubt his skater belongs at the front of the pack. “Agnes is 100 percent strong at her core,” he said. “Vince Lombardi said, ‘Confidence comes from demonstrated ability.’ I’m a big believer in showing what you can do in practice. Tat’s a huge focus for Agnes.” So the New York dream is deferred for now. But Zawadzki and Black-
mer still have their moments. “Tis summer, we were both stressing out. Champs Camp was com-
ing, and my partner [Britney Simpson] was injured,” Blackmer said. “Ag- nes was getting her long program ready. I said, ‘Come on over to my apart- ment.’ And we had the music blaring as loud as possible and danced it out for three hours, using pots and pans as microphones.” Somewhere, during that crazy dance, Zawadzki reconnected to her
skating dream, and it’s guided her ever since. “If I skate from my heart — and as easy as this sounds, just do what I do in training — I think I can do really well and not just hit third,” she said. “I would really like to be national champion. [In 2012] I had a good chance of being that, if I had not messed up my long. “I’ve had a taste of it for one day and it really drives me.”
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
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