| Ava Marie Ziegler | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ava Marie Ziegler |
| Born | February 28, 2006 Morristown, New Jersey, United States |
| Hometown | Dover, New Jersey |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  United States |
| Discipline | Women's singles |
| Coach | Oleg Makarov Larisa Selezneva |
| Skating club | Skating Club of New York |
Ava Marie Ziegler (born February 28, 2006) is an American figure skater. She is the 2023 NHK Trophy champion and 2022 CS Budapest Trophy champion.
Ziegler was born on February 28, 2006, in Morristown, New Jersey, to parents Ron and Patricia (Mansfield). Her mother is a former competitive figure skater, who finished fifth at the 1995 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, as well as a figure skating coach. [1] She has a younger brother, Ronny. She is a resident of Dover, New Jersey. [2]
Ziegler has a Shepherd-Rottweiler named Duke and a rabbit named Cocoa. [3]
As a juvenile, Ziegler won the pewter medal at the 2019 U.S. Championships. [3] On the junior level, she won the bronze medal at the 2021 U. S. Championship Series. She then went on to win the pewter medal at the 2021 U.S. Junior Championships behind Isabeau Levito, Kanon Smith, and Clare Seo. [3]
Ziegler made her international junior debut by winning a gold medal at the 2021 Cranberry Cup. She was given two assignments on the 2021–22 Junior Grand Prix series, and placed sixth at the 2021 JGP Slovakia and seventh at the 2021 JGP Slovenia. She reflected afterward that she had made mistakes on the circuit that she attributed to adjusting to the higher level of competition, but added that "I loved being on the ice with people who were better than me because it pushes me to work harder." [1]
At the 2022 U.S. Junior Championships, Ziegler won the silver medal, finishing behind Clare Seo. [4]
Debuting as a senior, Ziegler started her season with a fourth-place finish at the 2022 Philadelphia Summer International. She then made her Challenger series debut at the 2022 CS Budapest Trophy, which she won, scoring a new personal best free skate score in the process. [5]
Ziegler was not initially given any assignments on the ISU Grand Prix, but following the withdrawal of fellow American skater Kate Wang from the 2022 Skate Canada International, she was called up to replace her. [5] Ziegler placed third in the short program, earning a new personal best score, but dropped to fourth place overall after falling twice in the free skate and finishing seventh in the segment. Despite this, she set a new personal best in total score as well. [6] Ziegler then went on to compete at the U.S. Eastern Sectional Championships, where she won the gold medal. [3]
At the 2023 U.S. Championships, Ziegler finished ninth after placing eighth in the short program and tenth in the free skate. She closed her season by winning the bronze medal at the 2023 Coupe du Printemps. [7]
Ziegler began the season by winning the silver medal at the 2023 Cranberry Cup International, behind training mate Lindsay Thorngren. [8] She said afterward that she was "super happy with my skates" at the event, adding that there "are things that I can improve throughout the season, but the overall, the competition was successful." [5] Appearing on the Challenger circuit at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy, she came sixth, before finishing fifth at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy. [7]
For the second consecutive season, Ziegler did not initially receive a Grand Prix assignment, but was invited to attend the 2023 NHK Trophy following the withdrawal of German skater Nicole Schott. [8] She placed fifth in the short program after receiving an incorrect edge call on her triple Lutz and an underrotation call on the back half of her jump combination, but won the free skate after landing seven triple jumps, the only error being another call on her Lutz edge. [9] Ziegler's free skate carried her into first place, overtaking Thorngren by less than two points for the gold medal. She set a new American women’s record for fewest appearances needed before winning a Grand Prix, having done so in her second appearance. [10] She became the second American woman to win the NHK Trophy after Gracie Gold who won in 2014. Ziegler said of the result that "this is the moment I do this sport for!" [9]
In advance of the 2024 U.S. Championships, Ziegler was preemptively named to the American delegation to the 2024 Four Continents Championships, which were to be held in Shanghai the week after the national championships. [11] Shortly afterward, Ziegler announced that she was withdrawing from the national championship in favour of focusing on preparations for the Four Continents Championships, saying in a statement that "this was a difficult decision, however her team believes it in her best interest with both major competitions so close together." [12] She would later reveal that "some health issues" after NHK Trophy had necessitated the choice. [13]
At the Four Continents Championships, Ziegler came third in the short program, 1.03 points in front of Japan's Rinka Watanabe in fourth. Her only technical error was a call for an incorrect edge on her triple Lutz. She won a bronze small medal for the segment, and said she felt "really honored and enjoy being here." In the free skate both of her triple Lutzes received edge calls, and she put a foot down on the latter attempt, coming fourth in the free skate. She finished fourth overall, 1.02 points behind Watanabe, who overtook her for the bronze medal. [13]
Ziegler was named to both 2024 Skate Canada International and the 2024 Cup of China. [14] In August, she was forced to withdraw due to needing surgery done due to an injury sustained during the previous season. [15]
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–2024 [16] |
|
| |
| 2022–2023 [17] |
|
| |
| 2021–2022 [18] |
|
| |
| 2020–2021 [3] |
|
| Season | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
|---|---|---|
| Four Continents Championships | 4th | |
| U.S. Championships | 9th | |
| GP NHK Trophy | 1st | |
| GP Skate Canada | 4th | |
| CS Budapest Trophy | 1st | |
| CS Finlandia Trophy | 5th | |
| CS Lombardia Trophy | 6th | |
| Coupe du Printemps | 3rd | |
| Cranberry Cup | 2nd | |
| Philadelphia Summer | 4th |
| Season | 2020–21 | 2021–22 |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Championships | 4th | 2nd |
| JGP Slovakia | 6th | |
| JGP Slovenia | 7th | |
| Cranberry Cup | 1st |
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 201.19 | 2024 Four Continents Championships |
| Short program | TSS | 68.25 | 2024 Four Continents Championships |
| TES | 36.71 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | |
| PCS | 31.54 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | |
| Free skating | TSS | 138.46 | 2023 NHK Trophy |
| TES | 74.97 | 2023 NHK Trophy | |
| PCS | 65.23 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Aug 3–7, 2022 |  2022 Philadelphia Summer International | 6 | 46.66 | 4 | 99.60 | 4 | 146.26 |
| Oct 13–16, 2022 |  2022 CS Budapest Trophy | 4 | 55.59 | 1 | 130.24 | 1 | 185.83 |
| Oct 28–30, 2022 |  2022 Skate Canada International | 3 | 66.49 | 7 | 120.27 | 4 | 186.76 |
| Jan 23–29, 2023 | 2023 U.S. Championships | 8 | 61.09 | 10 | 106.61 | 9 | 167.70 |
| Mar 17–19, 2023 |  2023 Coupe du Printemps | 3 | 57.10 | 2 | 116.74 | 3 | 173.84 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Aug 9–13, 2023 | 2023 Cranberry Cup International | 1 | 68.12 | 2 | 115.67 | 2 | 183.79 |
| Sep 8–10, 2023 |  2023 CS Lombardia Trophy | 5 | 60.26 | 10 | 97.13 | 6 | 157.39 |
| Oct 4–8, 2023 |  2023 CS Finlandia Trophy | 2 | 65.07 | 6 | 108.53 | 5 | 173.60 |
| Nov 24–26, 2023 |  2023 NHK Trophy | 5 | 62.04 | 1 | 138.46 | 1 | 200.50 |
| Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024 |  2024 Four Continents Championships | 3 | 68.25 | 4 | 132.94 | 4 | 201.19 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Jan 11–21, 2021 | 2021 U.S. Championships (Junior) | 8 | 53.73 | 4 | 107.04 | 4 | 160.77 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 1–4, 2021 |  2021 JGP Slovakia | 6 | 60.03 | 6 | 116.26 | 6 | 176.29 |
| Sep 22–25, 2021 |  2021 JGP Slovenia | 6 | 59.62 | 7 | 115.25 | 7 | 174.87 |
| Oct 11–15, 2021 | 2021 Cranberry Cup International | 3 | 49.46 | 1 | 107.97 | 1 | 157.43 |
| Jan 3–9, 2022 | 2022 U.S. Championships (Junior) | 4 | 60.24 | 3 | 115.26 | 2 | 175.50 |
Michael Parsons is an American ice dancer. With his skating partner, Caroline Green, he is the 2022 Four Continents champion, a two-time ISU Grand Prix medalist, a four-time medalist on the ISU Challenger Series, and a four-time U.S. national medalist.
Lorraine McNamara is an American ice dancer. With her skating partner, Anton Spiridonov, she is the 2023 World University Games silver medalist and 2022 CS U.S. Classic bronze medalist.
Romain Le Gac is a French-Canadian ice dancer who currently represents Canada with his partner and wife Marie-Jade Lauriault, in which capacity he is the 2022 Skate America bronze medallist, 2023 CS Budapest Trophy silver medallist, and two-time Canadian national medallists.
Kaitlin Hawayek is an American ice dancer. With her skating partner, Jean-Luc Baker, she is the 2018 Four Continents champion, the 2018 NHK Trophy champion, and a four-time U.S. national bronze medalist (2019–22).
Wakaba Higuchi is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2018 World silver medalist and a five-time Japanese national medalist. On the junior level, she is a two-time World Junior bronze medalist, the 2014–15 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and a two-time Japan Junior national champion. She won a silver medal in team event, representing Japan at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Mai Mihara is a Japanese competitive figure skater. She is the 2022 Grand Prix Final champion, a two-time Four Continents champion, the 2018 Four Continents silver medalist, the 2019 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy champion, the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo champion, and a two-time Japanese national medalist.
Yuna Aoki is a Japanese competitive figure skater. She is the 2019 Bavarian Open silver medalist, the 2023 Triglav Trophy silver medalist, and the 2024 Challenge Cup silver medalist.
Emily Chan is an American pair skater. With her skating partner, Spencer Howe, she is a two-time Four Continents silver medalist silver medalist, a two-time Grand Prix silver medalist, and a two-time U.S. national medalist.
Tomoki Richard Hiwatashi is an American figure skater. He is the 2018 CS Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy bronze medalist and a two-time U.S. national medalist.
Marie-Jade Lauriault is a Canadian-French ice dancer who currently represents Canada with her partner and husband Romain Le Gac, in which capacity she is the 2022 Skate America bronze medallist, 2023 CS Budapest Trophy silver medallist, and two-time Canadian national medallists.
Kim Ye-lim is a South Korean figure skater. She is a two-time Four Continents medalist, the 2022 NHK Trophy champion, 2022 Grand Prix de France silver medalist, a three-time ISU Challenger Series gold medalist, the 2023 Winter World University Games bronze medalist, and the 2021 South Korean national champion. She represented her country at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Anastasiia Vitalyevna Gubanova, is a Russian-Georgian figure skater who represents Georgia in women's singles. She is the 2023 European champion, the 2024 European silver medalist, the 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy bronze medalist, and a two-time ISU Challenger Series gold medalist.
Lim Eun-soo is a retired South Korean figure skater. She is the 2018 Rostelecom Cup bronze medalist, the two-time CS Asian Open champion, the 2018 CS U.S. Classic silver medalist, and the 2017 South Korean national champion. She has finished within the top ten at three senior ISU Championships.
Camden Pulkinen is an American figure skater and he is the 2024 U.S. bronze medalist. He competed at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics and is the first male figure skater to compete on behalf of Team USA in the men's singles event at the Winter Youth Olympic Games. He is the 2017–18 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time JGP Austria champion, and the 2018 U.S. national junior champion. He finished within the top five at the 2022 World Championships and within the top six at the 2018 World Junior Championships. He is the former world record holder for the junior men's short program. He graduated from Columbia University in May 2024.
Misha Mitrofanov is an American pair skater. With his her current partner, Alisa Efimova, he is the 2024 U.S. national silver medalist.
Lee Hae-in is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2023 World silver medalist, the 2023 Four Continents champion, the 2022 Four Continents silver medalist, and a six-time South Korean national senior medalist. At the junior level, she is the 2019 JGP Latvia champion and the 2019 JGP Croatia champion.
Wi Seo-yeong is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy silver medalist.
Lindsay Thorngren is an American figure skater. She is the 2023 NHK Trophy silver medalist and 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb champion.
Clare Seo or Seo Hee-won is a Korean-American figure skater. Competing for the United States, she is the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy bronze medalist, 2021 JGP France I bronze medalist, and the 2022 U.S. junior national champion. She has placed within the top ten at two World Junior Championships, finishing sixth in 2022 and eighth in 2023.
Kim Min-chae is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2022 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge champion and 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy bronze medalist
|
