Ilia MalininIsabeau LevitoJason BrownEvan BatesAlexa KnierimBrandon FrazierGracie GoldJean-Luc BakerKaitlin HawayekMadison ChockMirai Nagasu

A Weekend With Jason Brown At Skate America

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by Imogen Rosa

Jason Brown of Team United States poses for a portrait during the Team USA Beijing 2022 Olympic shoot on September 12 2021, in Irvine, California.

 

Team USA Olympic medalist Jason Brown may have not been competing at Skate America, but that didn't stop him from cheering on his teammates on the sidelines. At this year's Skate America competition in Norwood, Massachusetts, Jason joined the Team USA digital team to be the correspondent on the ground. Over three days of competition, Jason used his figure skating knowledge and radiant personality to interview his former teammates, rivals, and rising stars in the sport of figure skating. Here are some of his highlights from Skate America 2022.

 

 

It didn't take long for Jason to reconnect with some of his teammates from US Figure Skating at Skate America 2022. On day one of the event, he found the pairs team of Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier. Fresh off their historic placement in Beijing, which resulted in them producing the best U.S. Pairs Olympic result in 20 years, the duo was back with a "Stranger Things" inspired routine.

 

Gold medalists Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier pose with the American flag at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating - Skate America at The Skating Club of Boston on October 22, 2022 in Norwood, Massachusetts.
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Olympian and hometown athlete Gracie Gold was also back in action this weekend, competing in the Women’s Short Program. Although Gold narrowly missed the podium, placing fifth, that didn’t stop her from catching up with former teammate Jason. They talked about her 10-year long professional career, advice that she has carried with her since the beginning, and what’s next for the Team USA veteran.  

Silver medalist Isabeau Levito and bronze medalist Amber Glenn pose with American flags after competing in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating - Skate America at The Skating Club of Boston on October 23, 2022 in Norwood, Massachusetts

 

Mirai Nagasu, a two-time Olympian for Team USA joined Jason after the conclusion of the Women's Short Program. Kaori Sakamoto of Japan placed first, while 15-year-old Isabeau Levito and Team USA Olympic Alternate Amber Glenn secured second and third, respectively.

From left, silver medalists Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker of the United States, gold medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States, and bronze medalists Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain le Gac of Canada pose for a photo with their medals during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating - Skate America at The Skating Club of Boston on October 23, 2022 in Norwood, Massachusetts.

 

Next up were the Team USA Ice Dancers. Duo's Evan Bates, Madison Chock, Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker were all back with Team USA for the 2022/23 season. Chock and Bates won the Ice Dance Title at Skate America, extending the winning streak of Team USA to 14 consecutive years for the event. Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker secured second place in the event .73 of a point behind Chock and Bates.

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin of the United States celebrates with an American flag at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating - Skate America at The Skating Club of Boston on October 22, 2022 in Norwood, Massachusetts.

 

Perhaps the biggest performance of the weekend came from 17-year-old Ilia Malinin of Fairfax Virginia. Speaking to Team USA on the Thursday before competition Malinin was unsure of whether he would perform the quadruple axel in his Skate America debut. After a solid performance on Day 1, Malinin was forth going into Day 2, he then went on to make history with his free skate on Day 2. A quad axel that scored 16.61 points, a record for a single jump propelled Malinin to the top of the leaderboard. It was a day of bests for Malinin as he earned new international personal bests in free skate and overall score to secure the title of the youngest man ever to win Skate America. He caught up with Jason Brown after his final performance.

By the end of the event, Team USA had secured five medals in the three different disciplines, marking a very strong start to the season. Multiple athletes from Team USA will be back in action this weekend at Skate Canada.

Imogen Rosa #

Imogen Rosa is the Digital Content Manager for The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

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