Ellie Kam

Last updated
Ellie Kam
FCC Day3 0160 01.jpg
O'Shea/Kam at the 2023 Four Continents Championships
Born (2004-12-20) December 20, 2004 (age 19)
Yokota Air Base
Hometown Colorado Springs, Colorado
Height1.52 m (5 ft 0 in)
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
Partner Danny O'Shea
Coach Drew Meekins, Sandy Straub
Skating clubThunderbirds FSC
Medal record
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Figure skating: Pairs
Four Continents Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2024 Shanghai Pairs

Ellie Kam (born December 20, 2004) is a Japanese-born American pair skater. With her current skating partner, Danny O'Shea, she is the 2024 Four Continents bronze medalist, 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy gold medalist, and 2024 U.S. national champion.

Contents

Skating career

Early years

Kam trained as a pair skater. With partner Ian Meyh she qualified for the 2022 U.S. Junior Championships, but they subsequently withdrew. Their partnership ended in mid-2022, after having competed in senior-level club competitions twice. She would later characterize her work with Meyh as "an amazing experience," adding "I learned everything, pairs-wise, with Ian." [1]

2022–23 season

Kam formed a new partnership with veteran pair skater Danny O'Shea, who had previously been acting as an advisor at her camp. They had initially begun skating together at her coach's suggestion as a way to keep her skills practised. [1] In the fall, they made their international debut at the 2022 Ice Challenge and won the gold medal in the pairs competition. They then made their Challenger debut at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, winning the silver medal. [2]

Kam/O'Shea competed next at the 2023 U.S. Championships, where they placed third in the short program. [3] They opened their free skate with Kam falling on their triple twist, but still managed to place third in that segment as well, winning the bronze medal. Kam called the experience "quite the whirlwind." [4]

Having reached the national podium, Kam/O'Shea were assigned to make their ISU championship debut together at the 2023 Four Continents Championships, held in their home training location of Colorado Springs. O'Shea considered this "pretty special." [5] They placed seventh in the short program, but a fifth-place free skate moved them up to sixth overall. [6] [7] Kam/O'Shea finished the season at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, where they finished twelfth. [8]

2023–24 season

Kam/O'Shea began the season with a victory at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy. [9] They were invited to make their Grand Prix debut at the 2023 Grand Prix de France, and finished fifth in the short program, but had to withdraw after Kam suffered an injury in training. [10] Despite this, Kam/O'Shea were able to attend their second Grand Prix, the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo, coming sixth. [11]

At the 2024 U.S. Championships, Kam/O'Shea finished second in the short program with a score of 64.57, with Kam having struggled on the throw landing and O'Shea two-footing his jump. Segment leaders Chan/Howe withdrew in advance of the free skate, leaving Kam/O'Shea the de facto first-place finishers heading into that segment. They were second in the free skate behind Efimova/Mitrofanov, but won their first national title by 0.85 points. O'Shea enthused that "being first is amazing," while noting there was room to improve on their performance, in particular continued difficulties with throw landings. [12]

Kam and O'Shea during their short program at the 2024 World Championships Ellie Kam & Danny O'Shea 2024 Worlds Short Program 2.jpg
Kam and O'Shea during their short program at the 2024 World Championships

Kam/O'Shea had already been named to the American team for the 2024 Four Continents Championships in advance of the national championships, due to the events being separated by less than a week. [13] Traveling to Shanghai for the competition, they finished fourth in the short program despite Kam's throw fall, before a second-place free skate lifted them to the bronze medal, their first international championship podium as a team. Kam noted that the turnaround between the events was such that she did not feel their national gold had "sank in yet." [14]

In the short program at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Kam fell on their throw triple loop, but the team was otherwise clean and they came tenth in the segment. O'Shea said that it was "nice to see that with a fall – a fairly large mistake – we still get a season-best. That means the other things we’ve been working on are improving and the judges are starting to see that piece as well." [15] Difficulties with jumps and throws continued in the free skate, and Kam/O'Shea dropped to eleventh overall. [16]

Programs

With O'Shea

Season Short program Free skating
2023–2024
[17]
2022–2023
[18]

Competitive Highlights

With O'Shea

International [9]
Event 22–23 23–24
Worlds 12th11th
Four Continents 6th3rd
GP Finland 6th
GP France WD
CS Finlandia 1st
CS Golden Spin 2nd
Ice Challenge 1st
National [9]
U.S. Championships 3rd1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew

Detailed results

With O'Shea

2023–2024 season
DateEvent SP FS Total
March 18–24, 2024 2024 World Championships 10
64.44		11
115.97		11
180.41
Jan. 30 – Feb. 4, 2024 2024 Four Continents Championships 4
60.72		2
126.56		3
187.28
January 22–28, 2024 2024 U.S. Championships 2
64.57		2
123.19		1
187.76
November 17–19, 2023 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo 6
55.99		6
96.17		6
152.16
November 3-5, 2023 2023 Grand Prix de France 5
54.75		WDWD
October 4-8, 2023 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy 1
63.03		1
119.04		1
182.07
2022–2023 season
DateEvent SP FS Total
March 20–26, 2023 2023 World Championships 9
63.40		13
112.19		12
175.59
February 7–12, 2023 2023 Four Continents Championships 7
57.49		5
111.20		6
168.69
January 26–28, 2023 2023 U.S. Championships 3
65.75		3
118.26		3
184.01
December 7–10, 2022 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 3
62.07		2
116.76		2
178.83
November 9–13, 2022 2022 Ice Challenge 1
65.35		1
117.84		1
183.19

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References

  1. 1 2 Capellazzi, Gina (February 8, 2023). "Kam/O'Shea Seize the Moment". A Divine Sport.
  2. ↑ "Team USA Wraps up Challenger Series with Seven Medals at Golden Spin of Zagreb". U.S. Figure Skating. December 10, 2022.
  3. ↑ Walker, Elvin (January 27, 2023). "Knierim and Frazier, Levito, Chock and Bates Take First Step Toward Gold". U.S. Figure Skating.
  4. ↑ Flett, Ted (January 29, 2023). "Knierim and Frazier reclaim US pairs title". Golden Skate.
  5. ↑ Field, Carson (February 10, 2023). "Danny O'Shea, Ellie Kam represent Colorado Springs at Four Continents championships". The Gazette .
  6. ↑ Dombrowski, Judith (February 10, 2023). "Miura and Kihara 'achieve goal' in short program". Golden Skate.
  7. ↑ Slater, Paula (February 11, 2023). "Miura and Kihara reign at Four Continents". Golden Skate.
  8. ↑ "Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier Win Second Straight World Championships Medal with Silver". U.S. Figure Skating. March 23, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "Competition Results: Ellie KAM / Daniel O'SHEA". International Skating Union.
  10. ↑ "Pereira/Michaud (CAN) claim first ISU Grand Prix crown at Grand Prix de France". International Skating Union. October 21, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  11. ↑ Slater, Paula (November 18, 2023). "Hase and Volodin golden in Grand Prix debut". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  12. ↑ Flett, Ted (January 28, 2024). "Kam and O'Shea snag gold at U.S. Nationals". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Eighteen Athletes Named to Four Continents Team". U.S. Figure Skating. January 9, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  14. ↑ Slater, Paula (February 3, 2024). "Stellato-Dudek claims Four Continents title". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  15. ↑ Schwindt, Troy (March 20, 2024). "Levito shines in short program at Worlds, places second". U.S. Figure Skating . Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  16. ↑ Schwindt, Troy (March 21, 2024). "Malinin third after short program at Worlds, with Brown close behind". U.S. Figure Skating . Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Ellie KAM / Daniel O'SHEA: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. ↑ "Ellie KAM / Daniel O'SHEA: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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