Ting Cui(/tsw/;[1]born September 6, 2002) is an Americanfigure skater.She is the2018 CS Tallinn Trophysilver medalist, the2018 U.S. junior nationalbronze medalist, and the2019 Junior Worldsbronze medalist.

Ting Cui
Born(2002-09-06)September 6, 2002(age 22)
Baltimore, Maryland,
United States
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
DisciplineWomen's singles
CoachTom Zakrajsek
Skating clubBaltimore Figure Skating Club
Began skating2009
Medal record
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Zagreb Singles

Personal life

edit

Ting Cui was born on September 6, 2002, inBaltimore,Maryland,[2]the eldest child of Lily and Larry Cui.[1]She graduated fromTowson High Schoolin 2020.[1]She enrolled atMiddlebury Collegein 2022, where she currently in the process of obtaining a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Government.[3]

Career

edit

Early years

edit

Cui began learning to skate in 2009.[2]She received a pewter medal after finishing fourth in the intermediate category at the2015 U.S. Championships.Two years later, she won silver in the novice ranks at the2017 U.S. Championships.

2017–18 season

edit

Cui made herISU Junior Grand Prix(JGP) debut in August, placing sixth inBrisbane,Australia. In January, she won the junior bronze medal at the2018 U.S. Championships,having finished third behindAlysa Liuand Pooja Kalyan after placing eleventh in the short and second in the free. She placed seventh at the2018 World Junior ChampionshipsinSofia,Bulgaria. She was coached byVincent RestencourtinAston, Pennsylvania,until the end of the season.[4]In June, she joinedTom ZakrajsekinColorado Springs, Colorado.[1]

2018–19 season

edit

Cui began her season on the JGP series, placing fifth inLinz,Austria, and then seventh inOstrava,Czech Republic. Making her senior international debut, she won silver at the2018 CS Tallinn Trophyin November.

At the2019 U.S. Championships,Cui debuted on the senior level domestically. She placed twelfth in the short program after falling twice and failing to execute a combination. She rallied in the free skate, where she placed third, rising to fifth place overall. Cui said afterward that it "felt amazing, and the audience was so different from juniors. I could feel the energy from the crowd, and I was just so happy, and people were on their feet too, which was really amazing." Cui was then assigned to the2019 World Junior Championshipsalongside pewter medalistHanna Harrell.Because both Harrell and gold medalist Alysa Liu were ineligible for senior international competition, Cui was also assigned to the2019 Four Continents Championship.[5]

Competing at Four Continents, Cui placed seventh in the short program. Despite an edge call on her flip, she said it was "so much fun skating for the crowd, especially during my footwork, that was great. It’s my first Championship event, and I really want to enjoy every moment of it."[6]In the free program, she fell three times and finished in eleventh place overall.[7]

She won the bronze medal at the2019 World Junior Championshipsafter placing third in both segments, becoming the first American lady to medal at Junior Worlds sinceGracie Goldin2012.[8]

2019–20 season

edit

Cui suffered from a serious ankle injury over the summer but returned to compete at the2019 U.S. Classic,where she finished fourth.[9]On October 9, 2019, Cui announced that she had reinjured her ankle in training and would consequently withdraw from herGrand Prix assignmentsfor the year, theInternationaux de FranceandNHK Trophy.[10]

In January, Cui qualified for the2020 U.S. Championshipsbut withdrew in December 2019 to focus on recovering from her ankle injury.[11]

2020–21 season

edit

Cui switched coaches fromTom ZakrajsektoNatalia LinichukinNewark, Delaware,during the offseason.[12]She did not compete at either2020 Skate Americaor the2021 U.S. Championships.

While appearing onPolina Edmunds's podcast, on an episode that was released in February 2021, Cui said she was training inLake Placid, New York,withPaul Wylieand was still recovering from her injury. She said she was working on getting her triples consistent and looking to return and compete for the next season. Cui also said her coaching situation for the upcoming season would be dependent upon several factors, including where she decided to attend college.[13]Roland Burghart would eventually become her new coach.[14]

During the following season, Cui would only appear at small domestic events.[15]

2022–23 season

edit

Competing at the2023 Eastern Sectional Championshipsin early November, Cui would win the silver medal, which allowed her to qualify for the U.S. Championships.[15]

Although assigned to compete at the2023 Winter World University Games,she would withdraw following a nineteenth-place short program due to illness.[15][16]Shortly following the event, Cui would compete at the2023 U.S. Championships,where she finished in twelfth place.[15]

2023–24 season

edit

Competing at the2024 Eastern Sectional Championships,Cui won the bronze medal.[15]

2024–25 season

edit

Cui began the season by competing at the2025 Eastern Sectional Championships,where she won the gold medal, thus qualifying for the U.S. Championships.[15]

Programs

edit
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2024–2025
[17][18]
2023–2024
[19]
2022–2023
2021–2022
[20]
2020–2021
2019–2020
[21]
2018–2019
[2]
2017–2018
[4]
2016–2017
[22]

Competitive highlights

edit
Competition placements at senior level [15]
Season 2018–19 2019–20 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Four Continents Championships 11th
U.S. Championships 5th 12th TBD
CSTallinn Trophy 2nd
CSU.S. Classic 4th
Kings Cup WD
World University Games WD
Competition placements at junior level [15]
Season 2017–18 2018–19
World Junior Championships 7th 3rd
U.S. Championships 3rd
JGPAustralia 6th
JGPAustria 5th
JGPCzech Republic 7th
Philadelphia Summer 1st

Detailed results

edit
ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [15]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 199.79 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy
Short program TSS 70.20 2018 JGP Czech Republic
TES 40.43 2018 JGP Czech Republic
PCS 30.96 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy
Free skating TSS 132.23 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy
TES 72.11 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy
PCS 61.84 2019 CS U.S. International Classic
ISU personal best scores in the +3/-3 GOE System [15]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 180.39 2018 World Junior Championships
Short program TSS 62.22 2018 World Junior Championships
TES 36.33 2018 World Junior Championships
PCS 25.89 2018 World Junior Championships
Free skating TSS 118.17 2018 World Junior Championships
TES 65.16 2018 World Junior Championships
PCS 54.01 2018 World Junior Championships
  • Small medals for the short program and free skating are only awarded atISU Championships.

Senior level

edit
Results in the2018–19 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2018 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy 2 67.56 2 132.23 2 199.79
Jan 19–27, 2019 2019 U.S. Championships 12 54.64 3 139.66 5 194.30
Feb 7–10, 2019 2019 Four Continents Championships 7 66.73 14 98.11 11 164.84
Results in the2019–20 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 17–22, 2019 2019 CS U.S. International Classic 3 63.10 4 114.37 4 177.47
Results in the2022–23 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Jan 13–15, 2022 2023 Winter World University Games 19 47.33 WD
Jan 23–29, 2023 2023 U.S. Championships 10 57.11 12 104.16 12 161.27
Results in the2023–24 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 5–7, 2023 2023 Kings Cup International 3 55.72 WD

Junior level

edit
Cui at the2019 World Junior Championships
Results in the2017–18 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 3–6, 2017 2017 Philadelphia Summer International 1 54.01 1 97.78 1 151.79
Aug 23–26, 2017 2017 JGP Australia 5 55.34 7 95.61 6 150.95
Dec 29, 2017 –Jan 8, 2018 2018 U.S. Championships (Junior) 11 45.55 2 119.96 3 165.51
Mar 5–11, 2018 2018 World Junior Championships 7 62.22 7 118.17 7 180.39
Results in the2018–19 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 29 – Sep 1, 2018 2018 JGP Austria 6 53.25 5 102.79 5 156.04
Sep 26–29, 2018 2018 JGP Czech Republic 2 70.20 7 102.54 7 172.74
Mar 4–10, 2019 2019 World Junior Championships 3 67.69 3 126.72 3 194.41

References

edit
  1. ^abcdLee, Edward (January 14, 2019)."Pikesville resident Ting Cui, 16, ready to compete among top U.S. skaters".Baltimore Sun.
  2. ^abc"Ting Cui: 2018/2019".International Skating Union. Archived fromthe originalon March 31, 2019.
  3. ^"Ting Cui".LinkedIn.LinkedIn.Retrieved18 November2024.
  4. ^ab"Ting Cui: 2017/2018".International Skating Union. Archived fromthe originalon May 29, 2018.
  5. ^Mammoser, Scott (January 26, 2019)."Alysa Liu swoops in for Ladies' U.S. title; makes history".Golden Skate.
  6. ^Slater, Paula (February 7, 2019)."Bradie Tennell takes slight lead in Anaheim".Golden Skate.
  7. ^Slater, Paula (February 9, 2019)."Kihira captures gold in Anaheim in debut at Four Continents".Golden Skate.
  8. ^"Ting Cui Takes Home Bronze Medal at World Junior Championships".U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.March 9, 2019.
  9. ^Cui, Ting [@ting_a_ding] (September 25, 2019)."#USIntlClassic this past weekend💙 Happy to have been back on the ice competing after a bad ankle injury during off season. Onwards and upwards from here"– viaInstagram.
  10. ^FigureSkatersOnline [@fsonline] (9 October 2019)."Team USA's Ting Cui posted on Instagram that she has to withdraw from both her #GPFigure assignments (#IFP19 and #NHKTrophy) due to re-injuring her right ankle while doing off-ice jumps"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  11. ^Cui, Ting [@ting_a_ding] (December 22, 2019)."Hi everyone, I have decided to withdraw from Nationals this year to focus on my recovery and rehabilitation from my second right ankle injury this year"– viaInstagram.
  12. ^"2020–21 Figure Skating Roster: Ting Cui".U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.U.S. Figure Skating.RetrievedOctober 16,2020.
  13. ^"Bleav in Figure Skating: Ting Cui".February 9, 2021.
  14. ^Cui, Ting."so grateful to still be skating in college and I can't even describe how it feels to have qualified for nationals for the first time in a long time after a long journey💙".Instagram.Instagram.Retrieved18 November2024.
  15. ^abcdefghijklmnop"USA–Ting Cui".SkatingScores.
  16. ^Cui, Ting."This has been one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make… after a very long conversation with my doctor and my coach I decided to withdraw from the long program because of issues with my heart".Instagram.Instagram.Retrieved18 November2024.
  17. ^"Ting Cui - Senior Women Short Program - 2025 Eastern Sectional Singles Final".YouTube.U.S. Figure Skating.Retrieved18 November2024.
  18. ^"Ting Cui - Senior Women Free Skate - 2025 Eastern Sectional Singles".YouTube.U.S. Figure Skating.Retrieved18 November2024.
  19. ^""Can't Help Falling in Love". 🖤♠️ Ting Cui @ting_a_ding performs Tommee Profitt's dark cover of Elvis Presley at Patriot FSC's 2nd annual Ice Show earlier this month. Thank you @PatriotFSC for having me back this year ".Instagram.On Ice Perspectives.Retrieved18 November2024.
  20. ^Cui, Ting [@ting_a_ding] (July 22, 2020)."a little peek of my new SP🖤"– viaInstagram.
  21. ^"Ting Cui: 2019/2020".International Skating Union. Archived fromthe originalon June 28, 2020.
  22. ^"Ting Cui".U.S. Figure Skating.Archivedfrom the original on September 29, 2018.
    "Earlier versions".IceNetwork.com.Archived fromthe originalon July 1, 2018.
edit