Matthew Blackmer(born December 12, 1991, inFindlay, Ohio) is a retiredAmericanpair skaterturnedice dancer.With former pairs partnerBritney Simpson,he is the 2011Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist,the 2012U.S. Junior silver medalistand the2013 U.S. Junior Champion.He also skated with ice dancerAlexandra Aldridge.
| Matthew Blackmer | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Blackmer and Simpson in 2011 | |||||||||||||||
| Born | December 12, 1991 Findlay, Ohio | ||||||||||||||
| Hometown | Detroit,Michigan | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft11+1⁄2in) | ||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||
| Partner | Alexandra Aldridge | ||||||||||||||
| Coach | Angelika Krylova,Pasquale Camerlengo,Natalia Denner | ||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Detroit SC | ||||||||||||||
| Began skating | 2003 | ||||||||||||||
| Retired | September 13, 2016 | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Personal life
editBlackmer began skating at the age of 12, having switched over fromhockey.[1]Blackmer is a graduate ofLake Orion High SchoolinLake Orion, Michigan.[2]
Career
editBlackmer started out with Silver Blades, which is a figure skating club inFindlay, Ohio.[3]
Partnership with Simpson
editBlackmer teamed up with Simpson in February 2011 after his previous partner, Kaitlin Budd, quit.[4]He moved from Michigan to Colorado Springs to train with Simpson under coach Dalilah Sappenfield.[5]
In the 2011–2012 season, Simpson and Blackmer won gold at their first Junior Grand Prix event,2011 JGP Poland,[6]and silver at their second event,2011 JGP Estonia.They won the bronze medal at the2011–2012 Junior Grand Prix Final.They competed at the2012 World Junior Championshipsand finished 10th.
On December 2, 2013, Simpson and Blackmer announced the end of their two-year partnership; both expressed an interest to compete with new partners.[7]
Partnership with Aldridge
editOn July 31, 2015, IceNetwork announced that Blackmer had teamed up with ice dancerAlexandra Aldridge,though they had teamed up two months prior. They began work with coachesAnjelika Krylova,Pasquale Camerlengo,andNatalia Annenko-Deller,him moving to Detroit Skate Club inBloomfield Hills, Michigan,fromBroadmoor Skating Clubin Colorado.[8]He passed sixteen dance tests in one week in order to compete with her.[9][10]Their first competition together was the Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships, where they placed third in the senior category, finishing fourth in the short dance[11]and third in the free.[12]They finished ninth at the2016 United States National Championships.
On September 13, 2016, Blackmer and Aldridge announced the end of their one-year partnership; Aldridge looks to continue competing with a new partner while Blackmer decided to retire from competition.[13]
Programs
editWith Aldridge
edit| Season | Short Dance | Free Dance | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–2016 [8] |
|
|
|
With Simpson
edit| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2014 [14] |
Flamenco by Didulia |
Beethoven's Five Secrets byThe Piano Guys |
|
| 2012–2013 [14] |
The Mask of Zorro by James Horner |
Henry V by Patrick Doyle |
|
| 2011–2012 [15] |
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon byTan Dun |
Titanic byJames Horner |
Competitive highlights
editWith Simpson
edit| Results[16] | ||
|---|---|---|
| International | ||
| Event | 2011–2012 | 2012–2013 |
| Junior Worlds | 10th | 10th |
| JGP Final | 3rd | |
| JGP Austria | 5th | |
| JGP Estonia | 2nd | |
| JGP Poland | 1st | |
| JGP Germany | 5th | |
| National | ||
| U.S. Championships | 2nd J. | 1st J. |
| J. = Junior level; JGP = Junior Grand Prix | ||
References
edit- ^"Britney Simpson & Matthew Blackmer | Official Web Site".figureskatersonline.com.RetrievedAugust 31,2015.
- ^"Britney Simpson & Matthew Blackmer".Archived fromthe originalon February 3, 2012.
- ^"Still Rocking at 40 - Silver Blades Figure Skating Club Ice Show Announcement".Retrieved2015-08-31.
- ^Brannen, Sarah S.; Meekins, Drew (November 2, 2011)."The Inside Edge: JGP Final qualifiers".IceNetwork.
- ^Walker, Elvin (March 21, 2012)."Simpson and Blackmer encouraged by early success".Golden Skate.
- ^Felton, Renee; Zinsmeister, Kristin (September 17, 2011)."Team USA brings home two golds from Poland".IceNetwork.Archived fromthe originalon March 13, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 19,2011.
- ^"Britney Simpson and Matthew Blackmer End Partnership".www.usfsa.org.Retrieved2015-08-31.
- ^abBrannen, Sarah S. (July 31, 2015)."From throws to twizzles: Blackmer takes up dance".IceNetwork.
- ^Rutherford, Lynn [@LynnRutherford] (July 23, 2015).".@MattBmer now dancing w/@Aaldi7, passed 16 tests in 1 week"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^Slater, Paula (6 October 2015)."Aldridge and Blackmer 'cutting edges'".Golden Skate.
- ^"2015 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships - Senior Short Dance Results".Lake Placid Skating.Olympic Regional Development Authority. July 30, 2015.
- ^"2015 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships - Senior Free Dance Results".Lake Placid Skating.Olympic Regional Development Authority. July 31, 2015.
- ^"Aldridge, Blackmer Announce End of Partnership".ice-dance.com.
- ^ab"Britney SIMPSON / Matthew BLACKMER: 2012/2013".International Skating Union.Archived fromthe originalon September 17, 2012.
- ^"Britney SIMPSON / Matthew BLACKMER: 2011/2012".International Skating Union.Archived fromthe originalon September 17, 2012.
- ^"Competition Results: Britney SIMPSON / Matthew BLACKMER".International Skating Union.
External links
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