Ellie Kam

Last updated
Ellie Kam
Ellie Kam & Danny O'Shea 2024 Worlds Short Program 2.jpg
Ellie Kam and Daniel O'Shea at the 2024 World Championships
Born (2004-12-20) December 20, 2004 (age 19)
Yokota Air Base, Japan
Hometown Colorado Springs, Colorado
Height1.52 m (5 ft 0 in)
Figure skating career
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Discipline Pair skating
Partner Daniel O'Shea (since 2022)
Ian Meyh (2021–22)
Coach Drew Meekins
Sandy Straub
Bruno Marcotte
Skating clubThunderbirds Figure Skating Club
Medal record
Four Continents Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2024 Shanghai Pairs
U.S. Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Columbus Pairs
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2023 San Jose Pairs

Ellie Kam (born December 20, 2004) is an American pair skater. With her current skating partner, Danny O'Shea, she is the 2024 Four Continents bronze medalist, 2024 Skate America silver medalist, 2024 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, 2024 CS John Nicks Pairs gold 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/O'Shea at the 2023 Four Continents Championships FCC Day3 0160 01.jpg
Kam/O'Shea at the 2023 Four Continents Championships

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/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]

2024–2025 season

Kam and O'Shea began their season by competing on the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series. They won gold at the 2024 John Nicks Pairs Competition and bronze at the 2024 Nebelhorn Trophy. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, the pair won the silver medal at the 2024 Skate America, scoring a personal best free skate and combined total score in the process. The team followed up this result with a bronze medal at the 2024 NHK Trophy. [9] These Grand Prix results allowed the pair to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. [17]

Programs

Pair skating with Daniel O'Shea

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2024–25
[18]
2023–24
[19]
2022–23
[20]

Competitive highlights

Pair skating with Daniel O'Shea

Competition placements at senior level  [21]
Season 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
World Championships 12th11th
Four Continents Championships 6th3rd
Grand Prix Final 5th
U.S. Championships 3rd1stTBD
GP France WD
GP Finland 6th
GP NHK Trophy 3rd
GP Skate America 2nd
CS Finlandia Trophy 1st
CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 2nd
CS John Nicks Pairs 1st
CS Nebelhorn Trophy 3rd
Ice Challenge 1st

Detailed results

Pair skating with Daniel O'Shea

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System  [21]
SegmentTypeScoreEvent
TotalTSS201.73 2024 Skate America
Short program TSS73.16 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy
TES40.582024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy
PCS32.68 2024 NHK Trophy
Free skating TSS131.072024 Skate America
TES65.362024 NHK Trophy
PCS66.372024 Skate America
  • Small medals for the short program and free skating are only awarded at ISU Championships.
Results in the 2022–23 season   [21]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Nov 9–13, 2022 Flag of Austria.svg 2022 Ice Challenge 165.351117.841183.19
Dec 7–10, 2022 Flag of Croatia.svg 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 362.072116.762178.83
Jan 26–28, 2023 Flag of the United States.svg 2023 U.S. Championships 365.753118.263184.01
Feb 7–12, 2023 Flag of the United States.svg 2023 Four Continents Championships 757.495111.206168.69
Mar 20–26, 2023 Flag of Japan.svg 2023 World Championships 963.4013112.1912175.59
Results in the 2023–24 season   [21]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Oct 4–8, 2023 Flag of Finland.svg 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy 163.031119.041182.07
Nov 3–5, 2023 Flag of France.svg 2023 Grand Prix de France 554.75——–WD
Nov 17–19, 2023 Flag of Finland.svg 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo 655.99696.176152.16
Jan 22–28, 2024 Flag of the United States.svg 2024 U.S. Championships 264.572123.191187.76
Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg 2024 Four Continents Championships 460.722126.563187.28
Mar 18–24, 2024 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 2024 World Championships 1064.4411115.9711180.41
Results in the 2024–25 season   [21]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Sep 3–4, 2024 Flag of the United States.svg 2024 CS John Nicks Pairs Competition 167.462124.161191.62
Sep 18–21, 2024 Flag of Germany.svg 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy 273.167111.223184.38
Oct 18–20, 2024 Flag of the United States.svg 2024 Skate America 270.662131.072201.73
Nov 8–10, 2024 Flag of Japan.svg 2024 NHK Trophy 369.153128.293197.44
Dec 5–8, 2024 Flag of France.svg 2024–25 Grand Prix Final 568.915129.355198.26

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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 "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. ↑ "ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2024/2025 - Pairs". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  18. ↑ "Ellie KAM / Daniel O'SHEA: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 6, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. ↑ "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)
  20. ↑ "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)
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 "USA–Ellie Kam/Daniel O'Shea". SkatingScores.
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