Ellie Kam(born December 20, 2004) is an Americanpair skater.With her current skating partner,Danny O'Shea,she is the2024 Four Continentsbronze medalist,2024 Skate Americasilver medalist,2024 NHK Trophybronze medalist,2024 CS John Nicks Pairsgold medalist,2023 CS Finlandia Trophygold medalist, and2024 U.S. nationalchampion.
| Ellie Kam | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ellie Kam and Daniel O'Shea at the2024 World Championships | ||||||||||||||
| Born | December 20, 2004 Yokota Air Base,Japan | |||||||||||||
| Hometown | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.52 m (5 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | |||||||||||||
| Discipline | Pair skating | |||||||||||||
| Partner | Daniel O'Shea(since 2022) Ian Meyh (2021–22) | |||||||||||||
| Coach | Drew Meekins Sandy Straub Bruno Marcotte | |||||||||||||
| Skating club | Thunderbirds Figure Skating Club | |||||||||||||
| Medal record | ||||||||||||||
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Skating career
editEarly years
editKam trained as a pair skater. With partner Ian Meyh, she qualified for the2022 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
edit
Kam formed a new partnership with veteran pair skaterDanny 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 the2022 Ice Challengeand won the gold medal in the pairs competition. They then made theirChallengerdebut at the2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb,winning the silver medal.[2]
Kam/O'Shea competed next at the2023 U.S. Championships,where they placed third in the short program.[3]They opened their free skate with Kam falling on theirtriple 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 the2023 Four Continents Championships,held in their home training location ofColorado 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 the2023 World ChampionshipsinSaitama,where they finished twelfth.[8]
2023–24 season
editKam/O'Shea began the season with a victory at the2023 CS Finlandia Trophy.[9]They were invited to make theirGrand Prixdebut at the2023 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, the2023 Grand Prix of Espoo,coming sixth.[11]
At the2024 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 leadersChan/Howewithdrew in advance of the free skate, leaving Kam/O'Shea thede factofirst-place finishers heading into that segment. They were second in the free skate behindEfimova/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 the2024 Four Continents Championshipsin advance of the national championships, due to the events being separated by less than a week.[13]Traveling toShanghaifor 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 the2024 World ChampionshipsinMontreal,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
editKam and O'Shea began their season by competing on the2024–25 ISU Challenger Series.They won gold at the2024 John Nicks Pairs Competitionand bronze at the2024 Nebelhorn Trophy.Going on to compete on the2024–25 Grand Prixseries, the pair won the silver medal at the2024 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 the2024 NHK Trophy.[9]These Grand Prix results allowed the pair to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.[17]
Programs
editPair skating with Daniel O'Shea
edit| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 [18] |
|
|
|
| 2023–24 [19] |
|
|
|
| 2022–23 [20] |
|
Competitive highlights
edit- GP – Event of theISU Grand Prix Series
- CS – Event of theISU Challenger Series
- WD – Withdrew from competition
Pair skating with Daniel O'Shea
edit| Season | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 12th | 11th | |
| Four Continents Championships | 6th | 3rd | |
| Grand Prix Final | TBD | ||
| U.S. Championships | 3rd | 1st | TBD |
| GPFrance | WD | ||
| GPFinland | 6th | ||
| GPNHK Trophy | 3rd | ||
| GPSkate America | 2nd | ||
| CSFinlandia Trophy | 1st | ||
| CSGolden Spin of Zagreb | 2nd | ||
| CSJohn Nicks Pairs | 1st | ||
| CSNebelhorn Trophy | 3rd | ||
| Ice Challenge | 1st |
Detailed results
editPair skating with Daniel O'Shea
edit| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 201.73 | 2024 Skate America |
| Short program | TSS | 73.16 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| TES | 40.58 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | |
| PCS | 32.68 | 2024 NHK Trophy | |
| Free skating | TSS | 131.07 | 2024 Skate America |
| TES | 65.36 | 2024 NHK Trophy | |
| PCS | 66.37 | 2024 Skate America |
- Small medals for the short program and free skating are only awarded atISU Championships.
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 9–13, 2022 |  2022 Ice Challenge
|
1 | 65.35 | 1 | 117.84 | 1 | 183.19 |
| Dec 7–10, 2022 |  2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb
|
3 | 62.07 | 2 | 116.76 | 2 | 178.83 |
| Jan 26–28, 2023 |  2023 U.S. Championships
|
3 | 65.75 | 3 | 118.26 | 3 | 184.01 |
| Feb 7–12, 2023 | 2023 Four Continents Championships
|
7 | 57.49 | 5 | 111.20 | 6 | 168.69 |
| Mar 20–26, 2023 |  2023 World Championships
|
9 | 63.40 | 13 | 112.19 | 12 | 175.59 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Oct 4–8, 2023 |  2023 CS Finlandia Trophy
|
1 | 63.03 | 1 | 119.04 | 1 | 182.07 |
| Nov 3–5, 2023 |  2023 Grand Prix de France
|
5 | 54.75 | — | — | – | WD |
| Nov 17–19, 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo
|
6 | 55.99 | 6 | 96.17 | 6 | 152.16 |
| Jan 22–28, 2024 | 2024 U.S. Championships
|
2 | 64.57 | 2 | 123.19 | 1 | 187.76 |
| Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024 |  2024 Four Continents Championships
|
4 | 60.72 | 2 | 126.56 | 3 | 187.28 |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 |  2024 World Championships
|
10 | 64.44 | 11 | 115.97 | 11 | 180.41 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 3–4, 2024 | 2024 CS John Nicks Pairs Competition
|
1 | 67.46 | 2 | 124.16 | 1 | 191.62 |
| Sep 18–21, 2024 |  2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy
|
2 | 73.16 | 7 | 111.22 | 3 | 184.38 |
| Oct 18–20, 2024 | 2024 Skate America
|
2 | 70.66 | 2 | 131.07 | 2 | 201.73 |
| Nov 8–10, 2024 | 2024 NHK Trophy
|
3 | 69.15 | 3 | 128.29 | 3 | 197.44 |
References
edit- ^abCapellazzi, Gina (February 8, 2023)."Kam/O'Shea Seize the Moment".A Divine Sport.
- ^"Team USA Wraps up Challenger Series with Seven Medals at Golden Spin of Zagreb".U.S. Figure Skating.December 10, 2022.
- ^Walker, Elvin (January 27, 2023)."Knierim and Frazier, Levito, Chock and Bates Take First Step Toward Gold".U.S. Figure Skating.
- ^Flett, Ted (January 29, 2023)."Knierim and Frazier reclaim US pairs title".Golden Skate.
- ^Field, Carson (February 10, 2023)."Danny O'Shea, Ellie Kam represent Colorado Springs at Four Continents championships".The Gazette.
- ^Dombrowski, Judith (February 10, 2023)."Miura and Kihara 'achieve goal' in short program".Golden Skate.
- ^Slater, Paula (February 11, 2023)."Miura and Kihara reign at Four Continents".Golden Skate.
- ^"Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier Win Second Straight World Championships Medal with Silver".U.S. Figure Skating.March 23, 2023.
- ^ab"Competition Results: Ellie KAM / Daniel O'SHEA".International Skating Union.
- ^"Pereira/Michaud (CAN) claim first ISU Grand Prix crown at Grand Prix de France".International Skating Union.October 21, 2023.RetrievedNovember 4,2023.
- ^Slater, Paula (November 18, 2023)."Hase and Volodin golden in Grand Prix debut".Golden Skate.RetrievedNovember 22,2023.
- ^Flett, Ted (January 28, 2024)."Kam and O'Shea snag gold at U.S. Nationals".Golden Skate.RetrievedFebruary 6,2024.
- ^"Eighteen Athletes Named to Four Continents Team".U.S. Figure Skating.January 9, 2024.RetrievedFebruary 5,2024.
- ^Slater, Paula (February 3, 2024)."Stellato-Dudek claims Four Continents title".Golden Skate.RetrievedFebruary 6,2024.
- ^Schwindt, Troy (March 20, 2024)."Levito shines in short program at Worlds, places second".U.S. Figure Skating.RetrievedApril 1,2024.
- ^Schwindt, Troy (March 21, 2024)."Malinin third after short program at Worlds, with Brown close behind".U.S. Figure Skating.RetrievedApril 1,2024.
- ^"ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2024/2025 - Pairs".International Skating Union.International Skating Union.Retrieved18 November2024.
- ^"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) - ^"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) - ^"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) - ^abcde"USA–Ellie Kam/Daniel O'Shea".SkatingScores.
External links
edit- Ellie Kam & Daniel O'Sheaat theInternational Skating Union
- Ellie Kam & Daniel O'Sheaat SkatingScores