Holly Ponichtera is an immunologist and former competitive figure skater who competed for Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Poichtera played on figure skating teams at Dartmouth that won the national championship in four consecutive years. [1] [2]
Ponichtera grew up in Gladstone, New Jersey. [3] She began figure skating at age five [4] and also raced horses as a child. Ponichtera captured the championship title for the Mini-Stirrup B Division at the 1995 New Jersey Horse Show Association's Silver Anniversary. [5]
During her high school years, Ponichtera competed as a figure skater at the American Academy Figure Skating Club in Hackensack, New Jersey. She performed at the opening ceremony for the dedication of the Twin Oaks Ice Rink in Morristown, New Jersey in 2001. [6] After advancing to the 2001-2002 Eastern Sectional Championship, [7] Ponichtera placed twelfth in the final standings. [8] Ponichtera graduated from Morristown-Beard School in Morristown, New Jersey in 2003. In 2014, Ponichtera delivered the keynote address at the school's induction ceremony for the Cum Laude Society. [4]
While competing at the national collegiate championship in figure skating in 2006, she captured gold medals in both the junior ladies freestyle and junior ladies short programs. [9] Ponichtera also earned entry into Dartmouth's Wearer of the Green Honors, the school's athletic hall of fame. [10] She was the tenth player in figure skating to attain the Honors. [11] During the four-year title run, which began in 2004, [12] Ponichtera and her teammates went undefeated in competition.
Ponichtera earned her bachelor's degree in biology at Dartmouth in 2007. She then completed her master's degree in biology at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts and her PhD in immunology at Tufts University School of Medicine in 2014. During her doctoral studies, Ponichtera helped discover an innate cell receptor (CD209a) linked to the development of T helper 17 cells and inflammation in schistosomiasis. Schistosomiasis is a disease caused by Schistosoma, parasitic worms commonly known as blood-flukes. [13] [14]
Maribel Yerxa Vinson-Owen was an American figure skater and coach. She competed in the disciplines of ladies' singles and pair skating. As a single skater, she was the 1932 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time World medalist, the 1937 North American champion, and a nine-time U.S. national champion. As a pair skater, she was the 1935 North American champion and four-time national champion with George Hill. She also won two national titles with Thornton Coolidge. She was the first female sportswriter at The New York Times, and continued competing and winning medals while working as a full-time reporter.
Ekaterina "Katia" Alexandrovna Gordeeva is a Russian figure skater. With her late husband Sergei Grinkov, she is the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion, a four-time World Champion, a three-time European Champion, the 1990 Goodwill Games champion, 1987 Soviet champion, and 1994 Russian champion in pair skating. After Grinkov's death, Gordeeva continued performing as a singles skater.
Alissa Czisny is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Grand Prix Final champion, a two-time Skate Canada champion, the 2011 Skate America champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion. She is also the 2019 and the 2021 U.S. Professional Open Grand Champion.
Emily Anne Hughes is an American former figure skater. She is the 2007 Four Continents silver medalist and 2007 U.S. national silver medalist. She competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics, finishing 7th.
Nicole Bobek is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1995 U.S. national champion and 1995 World bronze medalist. She also competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships is a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals". Medals are currently awarded in four disciplines: men's (boys') singles, ladies' (girls') singles, pair skating, and ice dancing in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth) on two levels, senior and junior. Medals were previously given at the novice, intermediate, and juvenile levels. The event is also used to determine the U.S. teams for the World Championships, World Junior Championships, Four Continents Championships, and Winter Olympics, however, U.S. Figure Skating reserves the right to consider other results.
Figure skating is a sport with participants across the world. Originally based in North America and Europe, the sport has experienced a major expansion in the countries of East Asia. The international governing body of the sport is the International Skating Union (ISU). Only those nations which are members of the International Skating Union are allowed to compete in the figure skating events in the Olympic Games.
Ice Castles is a 1978 American romantic drama film directed by Donald Wrye and starring Lynn-Holly Johnson and Robby Benson. It is the story of Lexie Winston, a young figure skater, and her rise and fall from super stardom. Tragedy strikes when, following a freak accident, Lexie loses her sight, leaving her to hide away in the privacy of her own despair. She eventually perseveres and begins competing in figure skating again.
Priscilla Hill-Wampler is an American figure skating coach and former competitor. She is a two-time U.S. national medalist and finished within the top ten at two World Championships. She won gold at three international events – the 1974 Nebelhorn Trophy, the 1975 Prague Skate, and 1977 Richmond Trophy. In 1975, she became the first American woman to land the triple loop jump in competition.
Caroline Zhao Zhang is an American figure skater. She is a two-time Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2007 World Junior Champion, the 2006 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a three-time U.S. national medalist.
Ashley Elisabeth Wagner is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2016 World silver medalist, a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2012 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final medalist, a thirteen-time Grand Prix medalist, and a three-time U.S. national champion. Wagner competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and placed 7th. At the junior level, Wagner is a two-time World Junior bronze medalist, the 2006-07 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time Junior Grand Prix medalist, and the 2007 U.S. junior bronze medalist.
Mirai Aileen Nagasu is an American figure skater. She is a 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents medalist, the 2007 JGP Final champion, a two-time World Junior medalist, and a seven-time U.S. national medalist.
Angela Yuka Maxwell is an American former competitive figure skater. She won five medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series and the junior silver medal at the 2008 U.S. Championships.
Rebecca Ann "Becky" Bereswill is an American figure skater. She is the 2008 Junior Grand Prix Final champion. In 2014, she was cast as Elsa in the Disney on Ice version of Frozen.
Christina Gao is an American former figure skater. She is the 2012 Skate America silver medalist, the 2009 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and the 2009 U.S. Junior bronze medalist.
Kiri Nicole Baga is an American former figure skater. She won two gold medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series and placed 7th at the 2010 World Junior Championships. She is the 2010 U.S. junior pewter medalist and 2009 novice national champion.
Joelle Forte is an American former figure skater. She is a five-time North Atlantic Regional champion, the 2009 Eastern Sectional champion, and represented the United States at Skate America in October 2011, Nebelhorn Trophy in September 2011, and Gradena Spring Trophy in May 2011.
Grace Elizabeth Gold, known as Gracie Gold, is an American figure skater. She is a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, a six-time Grand Prix medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion. Gold placed 4th at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. At the junior level, Gold is the 2012 World Junior silver medalist, the 2011 JGP Estonia champion, and the 2012 U.S. junior national champion.
The San Diego Figure Skating Club was established in 1939, received its charter from the United States Figure Skating Association and registered its Articles of Corporation on July 27, 1940 in the State of California. The Club’s purpose is to foster, promote, encourage, advance and improve the art of and interest in figure skating, and to encourage and to cultivate a spirit of harmony and friendship among ice skaters by such means as may be proposed from time to time by the membership. It is one of the oldest skating clubs in California.
Tomoe Kawabata is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2019–20 Japanese national bronze medalist. She has represented Japan at two World Junior Championships.