Todd Sand(born October 30, 1963) is an Americanpair skater.With his wifeJenni Meno,he is the1998 World silver medalist,a two-time World bronze medalist (1995, 1996), and a three-timeU.S. national champion(1994–96). With his previous partnerNatasha Kuchiki,he is the1991 World bronze medalist.
Todd Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | October 30, 1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 10.5 in (179 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | United States Denmark(1981–83) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Partner | Jenni Meno(1992–98) Natasha Kuchiki(1989–1992) Lori Blasko (1985–88) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Coach | John Nicks | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Retired | 1998 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Personal life
editSand was born inBurbank,California.He has dual American and Danish citizenship, since his father is Danish.[1]He is married toJenni Meno,with whom he has two sons, Jack, born in 2004, and Matthew Kenneth, born in 2006.
In March 2023, while attending the2023 World Junior Figure Skating Championshipswith his students,Sophia Baram/Daniel TioumentsevinCalgary,Alberta,Sand suffered aheart attackand was hospitalized for an extended period.[2]
Skating career
editEarly career
editEarly in his career, Sand representedDenmarkas asingle skater.He competed for that country at theWorldandEuropean Championshipsin the early 1980s.
In 1985, Sand began competing as a pair skater with Lori Blasko, representing theUnited States.They were the 1985 U.S. nationalbronze medalistson the junior level.
Career with Kuchiki
editSand teamed up withNatasha Kuchikiin spring 1989.[3]They won three senior pairs medals at theU.S. Championships,including gold in 1991, and competed at three World Championships, winning a surprising bronze in1991.They also competed at the1992 Winter Olympics,where they placed 6th. Kuchiki and Sand announced the end of their partnership in April 1992.[3]
Career with Meno
editMeno and Sand teamed up on the ice in April 1992. They had immediate success, qualifying for the1993 World Figure Skating Championshipsin their first season with a 2nd-place finish at the U.S Nationals, and were the top Americans there placing 5th, qualifying three teams for the1994 Winter Olympicsin Lillehammer, Norway.[4]They became U.S Champions in 1994, then placed 5th in arguably the strongest pairs field assembled in history in Lillehammer with two clean skates.
In 1995, they won their second consecutive U.S title with perhaps their finest performance ever, gaining 6 perfect 6.0s for artistic impression. They then came from 5th after the short program to win the bronze medal at the1995 World Figure Skating Championships.In 1996, they won their third consecutive U.S title, and again climbed from 5th to 3rd, and won their second consecutive World bronze medal.
In 1997, they set themselves up as possible contenders for the World title early in the season, beating both the World gold and World silver medallistsMarina Eltsova/Andrei BushkovandMandy Woetzel/Ingo Steuerin fall competitions. They had also gained the necessary side by side triple toes that had prevented them from a higher finish than 3rd place at the previous two World Championships. They however lost their form and suffered a last place finish at the Champions Series final in Hamilton, Ontario, and lost their U.S title toKyoko Ina/Jason Dungjen.With a chance for the World title after major mistakes by the other top teams, they suffered another lacklustre outing and dropped to 5th at the1997 World Figure Skating Championships.
They missed much of the 1997–1998 competitive season with injury, and had to withdraw from the U.S Championships after the short program, but on their past record were named to the team for the1998 Winter Olympicsin Nagano, Japan.[5][6]After a dismal performance in Nagano in finishing 8th, they ended their career on a high on home ice in Minneapolis at the1998 World Figure Skating Championships,winning the short program, and taking the silver medal, their highest finish ever at Worlds. Following their retirement from competitive skating, they skated professionally in theStars on Icetour for six seasons.
Post-skating career
editSand appeared in theITVseriesDancing on Icewith double Olympic gold medallistKelly Holmes.They were eliminated in quarterfinal (Week 6) after the judges' votes to saveBonnie Langfordand her partnerMatt Evers.
Sand works as a coach with his wife. They previously coachedJohn Baldwin/Rena Inoue,Mary Beth Marley/Rockne Brubaker,[7]andJessica Calalang/Zack Sidhu.[8]Currently, they coachAlexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier.
Sand is an ISU Technical Specialist.[9]He was a technical specialist for the men's event at the2005 World Championships.[10]
Competitive highlights
editPairs career for the United States
editWith Jenni Meno
editInternational | ||||||
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Event | 1992–93 | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 |
Olympics | 5th | 8th | ||||
Worlds | 5th | 6th | 3rd | 3rd | 5th | 2nd |
CS Final | 4th | WD | ||||
CSLalique | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | |||
CSNHK Trophy | 5th | 1st | 2nd | |||
CSSkate America | 2nd | |||||
Prague Skate | 1st | |||||
National | ||||||
U.S. Champ. | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | WD |
CS =Champions Seriesfrom 1995–1996 (later renamedGrand Prix) WD = Withdrew |
With Natasha Kuchiki
editInternational | |||
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Event | 1989–1990 | 1990–1991 | 1991–1992 |
Olympics | 6th | ||
World Championships | 11th | 3rd | 8th |
Skate America | 4th | 6th | |
NHK Trophy | 5th | ||
Skate Canada | 5th | ||
National | |||
U.S. Championships | 2nd | 1st | 3rd |
With Lori Blasko
editInternational | ||||
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Event | 1984-1985 | 1985–1986 | 1986–1987 | 1987–1988 |
Skate America | 6th | |||
Prague Skate | 1st | |||
National | ||||
U.S. Championships | 3rd J | 7th | 8th |
Singles career for Denmark
editInternational | |||
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Event | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 |
World Championships | 19th | 22nd | |
European Championships | 19th | 19th | |
Nordic Championships | 2nd | 2nd | |
National | |||
Danish Championships | 1st | 1st |
References
edit- ^Meyers, Jeff (February 25, 1990)."Skater Kuchiki Overcomes Tears and Fears: Figure skating: Now comes the easy part for young Olympic hopeful, who will compete in World Championships".Los Angeles Times.
- ^"Todd Sand, Olympic skater, coach, in ICU after heart attack; family grateful for support".NBC Sports.April 1, 2023.
- ^abHarvey, Randy (April 9, 1992)."Skaters Kuchiki and Sand Go Their Own Way".Los Angeles Times.
- ^"Todd Sand".Sports Reference. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-05-31.(archived)
- ^Hersh, Philip (January 10, 1998)."Despite Foot Injury, Meno-sand Named To Nagano Pairs Team".Chicago Tribune.
- ^Hersh, Philip (February 7, 1998)."Meno-sand Takes The Hard Road To Winter Games".Chicago Tribune.
- ^Mary Beth Marley & Rockne Brubakerat theInternational Skating Union
- ^Jessica Calalang & Zach Sidhuat theInternational Skating Union
- ^"ISU Communication No. 1409"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2007-09-27.(381KiB)
- ^ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships