2017 U.S. ADULT CHAMPIONSHIPS
CHAMPIONSHIP ADULT SILVER MEN
Shipley carries love of skating to gold medal
BARB REICHERT Christopher Shipley has been here before.
In truth, seven times before. Strong and calm in his warm-up, Shipley
was the fi rst skater to take the ice Saturday. When it ended, he was still fi rst. Shipley’s clean program to music from
Lawrence of Arabia earned a 5/2 majority from seven judges in the 6.0 system to earn the gold medal, a big jump from last season’s fi fth-place fi nish.
“I did what I wanted to do and I was thrilled with that; then I got to watch every- one else,” Shipley said with a relaxed smile. “I was really happy with the way I skated today.” All of Shipley’s jumps were solid, but his
fi nal jump, a Lutz, showed a crisp landing that seemed to linger until the applause dimmed. With strong jumps and a connection to the audience, Shipley was just as pleased for his coach, Olympian Suna Murray. An independent skater from Boston, he also was impressed with the competition. “It was a really strong group with some
new younger guys,” Shipley, 38, said. “I think everyone skated really well. It was a great event.” Shipley manages deposit accounts at a
private bank in Boston, which at times can be stressful. “I love skating,” he said. “It makes me happier than anything else. When you get on the ice, everything else goes away.”
(l-r) Thomas Harrison, Christopher Shipley, Mark Adams, Todd Maine
T omas Harrison (Bay Country FSC)
was the true entertainer of the nine-man group, and received a 4/2 majority good for the silver medal. Skating to “Feeling Good” by Michael Bublé, Harrison expressively played for both the crowd and the judges. He overcame an early error — a missed loop in the combination jump — but recov- ered to skate the rest of the program cleanly. “T is is the best I’ve ever skated,” said
Harrison, 52, who is coming off a back injury. “To get out there and show no pain, that makes me very happy.” A skating coach in Delaware and a fl ight attendant for American Airlines, Harrison put on a show. “I love to entertain,” he said. “I practice
what I preach, because that’s what I tell my students. Even when I made a mistake, I didn’t let it aff ect my skating — I got more expres- sive as the program went on.” Mark Adams (Washington FSC) brought the heat, skating to “Salsation” from Saturday Night Fever. His energetic performance was
28 JUNE/JULY 2017
rewarded with a 4/3 majority, good for the bronze medal. Adams, whose playful footwork seemed
to hit every salsa-disco beat, also nailed all his jumps, most notably a Lutz-loop combina- tion.
A youthful-looking 58 and retired mar-
keting executive at Verizon, Adams chose his music for its performance aspect. “I like doing the showcase numbers, and
I realized that I needed to put more perfor- mance, along with the elements, into a free program,” he said. “My coach and I worked on it and really tried to make sure that we were getting all the moves, all the beats into it because that’s what really makes the program work.” Adams said this is one of the last pro- grams he put together with coach Jaya Kanal, who has retired. Adams, too, said he will retire — the program, “but not from skating.” Todd Maine (Pines FSC) won the pewter with a 4/4 majority.
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES GODWIN
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