Their new short dance, featuring Waltz of the Flowers and Dance of the Parents fromThe Nutcracker, came together through collaboration between the [], There are days when some things dont work quite right forKaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker. I really enjoy watching them and was hoping for a great season for them. 0. I thought it was just me being out of shape, she said. Hawayek and Baker Withdraw from 2021 NHK Trophy, Synchronized Skating Athlete Support Fund. I hope she takes it easy and gets the rest she needs. Kaitlin Hawayek is one of the brightest athletes you would ever want to meet, an ice dancer whose observations can be as deep and flowing as her movements on the rink. A concussion is a type of brain injury. Emily Bratti/Ian Somerville - New team Bratti/Somerville teamed up just six month ago but have really made a splash already this season, hitting big scores for a new team at Golden Spin, where they finished fifth in their international debut. Hawayek and Baker earned bronze at the last four U.S. Championships and were 11th in their Olympic debut last year. I'm very sad that H/B are out of NHK. Figure Skating Championships in Nashville Jan. 3-9. Stolz has been the breakout story of the sport this season. If I can get three for three, that would be the end-of-the-season celebration.. The skaters have been building their careers since their World Junior win in 2014 most recently with fifth-place finishes at the 2016 and 2017 [], U.S. ice dancers Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker talk about the growing pains they went through in the 2015-16 season and their breakout performance at last years NHK Trophy. What I've learned is we can lean into each other without relying on each other. But shell be the first to tell you that this years U.S. Twizzles arent in perfect unison. Oi my second favorite US team!!! Canadian Rachael Karkertook bronze. When the pandemic hit last March, Hawayek and Baker decided to move in with her parents in East Aurora for a time so they could be together to train. Hawayek went to the hospital, where she received stitches to her head and was diagnosed with a concussion. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. There was the concussion Baker suffered in September, though not from a nasty fall to the ice as you might expect in a swift and slippery sport. Of course, as a multiple world champ that example was extreme, but remember that Hawayek/Baker were consistently towards the top of their game during the GP series, and qualified for GPF. But that third spot is more open than it was a season ago, and Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker come in looking to secure that spot that looked to be squarely theirs for the past few years. They lost training time and werent able to compete before their first Grand Prix event of the season, NHK Trophy in Japan in November. American David Wise, a two-time Olympic champ, was ninth. Ive been communicating with her since August, two or three times a week We have another plan set for the rest of the Ashley Cain-Gribble spent time in the hospital with COVID-19, an illness that left her with long-term asthma. We are incredibly grateful for everything that Pasquale and Angelika and the rest of our team [], If anything happens to one of the U.S. Olympic ice dance teams in Pyeongchang, South Korea, phones in Western New York may start ringing. Were true competitors, Hawayek, 25, said. She landed a 900 and back-to-back 720s. Caroline Green/Michael Parsons - If there is to be a surprise at this event, it will be a sneak third-place finish from Green/Parsons, who have been turning heads this season, particularly with their phenomenal free dance. Kaitlin Hawayek spent last summer dealing with a concussion that she got in practice, unsure of when she would be able to join ice dance partner Jean-Luc Baker Hope Kaitlin recovers quickly and completely and they can are able to compete at their last GP. We moved from our training location of six [], Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker announced today they will begin training with Marie France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon this summer in Montreal, Canada. Even the most musically nuanced ice dancers are dancing in blades on an ice surface; they are obligated to incorporate a number of required technical elements, including lifts and separated sections very [], I am infinitely charmed by these two simply due to their equal ability to lift each other off the ice, but I am even more impressed with Hawayeks fabulously sexy dress for the pairs short dance. I think I have a good chance in it, Stolz said. ROCKER SKATING | Real, level-headed figure skating analysis | jackie@rockerskating.com, 2022 US Championships preview (dance): A final showdown, 2022 US Championships play-by-play/results: Pairs short program, Opining on 2022 US Championships: Distilling the selection criteria . But they pushed it to the limit, lost their balance and Hawayek cracked her head on the ice. After Olympic bronze medalists Madison HubbellandZachary Donohue retired, Hawayek and Baker ascended this Grand Prix season by ranking second among American couples behind Madison ChockandEvan Batesand placing fifth at Decembers Grand Prix Final. ET. JapansTaiga Hasegawa, 17, won the mens snowboard big air for his first global championships podium. It was just a surreal moment, he said. They were ninth at Cup of Austria in their senior international debut. Figure Skating Championships, before Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker seriously mulled the possibility of bringing back or, rather, keeping with their well-received Liebestraum free dance for the Olympic season We had a meeting the next morning [], Ice dancers Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker discuss their Olympic season programs and how they first partnered up with NBC Olympics. Its a goal that Ive had since I was a little kid, she told 2 On Your Side. We still have a lot of work to do. Im a pretty ugly crier, to be honest, Baker said. Due to Covid, the Olympics will be held in a bubble in Beijing, with limited movement for athletes and no outsiders allowed into the country. His mom competed in the 1988 Olympic Games. She and Baker realized that regardless of how they had scored in the rhythm dance, it would come down to the free dance, the larger part of the overall score. It was definitely not what I wanted in terms of my own ability and what I know Im capable of. //-->