Chelsea Liu
Chelsea Liu (born December 31, 1999) is an American pair skater. With her former partner, Balázs Nagy, she is the 2023 Skate America bronze medalist and 2024 U.S. national pewter medalist.
| Chelsea Liu | |
|---|---|
Liu and Johnson in March 2015 | |
| Other names | Liu Jiaxi (刘家希) |
| Born | December 31, 1999 Marshall, Missouri |
| Height | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country | United States |
| Coach | Todd Sand Jenni Meno Brandon Frazier Christine Binder Andrew Evans |
| Skating club | Saint Paul FSC |
| Began skating | 2006 |
With former partner Xie Zhong for China, Liu is the 2020 Chinese national bronze medalist.
With Brian Johnson, she won two medals on the ISU Challenger Series. They also competed together at one ISU Junior Grand Prix Final and two World Junior Championships.
Personal life edit
Chelsea Liu was born December 31, 1999, in Marshall, Missouri.[1] The daughter of Tingyuan Liu and Koman Ting, she has an older sister, Chaochih, who competed for Chinese Taipei, and a younger sister, Cheyenne.[2]
Career edit
Early years edit
Liu began skating in 2006.[1] She teamed up with Devin Perini in July 2010.[3] They debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series in 2013, placing fifth at both of their assignments, before winning the junior silver medal at the 2014 U.S. Championships.
Partnership with Johnson edit
Liu teamed up with Brian Johnson in May 2014.[2] They were coached by Todd Sand and Jenni Meno in Orange County, California.[4]
During the 2014–15 JGP series, Liu/Johnson won a bronze medal in Dresden, Germany and placed fourth in Zagreb, Croatia. Their results gave them a spot at the 2014–15 JGP Final in Barcelona, Spain, where the pair finished sixth. After winning the junior silver medal at the 2015 U.S. Championships, they were assigned to the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. The pair placed 5th in the short program, 8th in the free skate, and 7th overall.
Competing in the 2015–16 JGP series, Liu/Johnson placed 8th in Linz, Austria and 5th in Toruń, Poland. Ranked fifth in both segments, the pair finished fifth at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.
Partnership with O'Shea edit
On June 29, 2021, NBC Sports published an article announcing new partnership with Danny O'Shea.[5]
Liu/O'Shea finished fifth in their international debut at the Cranberry Cup, and went on to make their Grand Prix debut together at the 2021 Skate America, where they came seventh.[6] However, their partnership was derailed by an on-ice accident at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup that left both concussed. They withdrew from the 2022 U.S. Championships, and ultimately their partnership ended.[7][8]
Partnership with Nagy edit
Following the end of her partnership with O'Shea and requiring months off for concussion recovery, Liu contemplated retiring from competitive skating, later explaining that "I thought, 'You know, recover and live kind of a normal, safe life for the time being.' I took a whole eight months off the ice to recover and at that point I just didn't know if skating was in the picture for me." However, with encouragement from her parents to revisit whether she still wanted to pursue it, she tried out with Balázs Nagy in April of 2023.[9] The two announced their partnership in May.[10]
Liu/Nagy made their domestic debut by winning the Glacier Falls Summer Classic, before being sent to make their international debut on the Challenger debut at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International. They attracted notice for their innovative climactic lift in the free skate, but finished fourth.[11] They were subsequently invited to make their Grand Prix debut at the 2023 Skate America, finishing third in the short program with a new personal best score (61.23).[12] They were third in the free skate as well, despite Liu making two Salchow errors, winning the bronze medal. Liu said that "winning a medal on the Grand Prix is great, but what feels even better is that we put out a great program."[13] Liu/Nagy went on to place sixth at the 2023 NHK Trophy.[14]
In advance of the 2024 U.S. Championships, Liu/Nagy were preemptively assigned to the American team for the 2024 Four Continents Championships in Shanghai, which were to occur a week after the national championship.[15] At the national championships, they finished sixth in the short program. In the free skate they came third in the segment, moving up to fourth overall in the process, despite struggles on their jump and throw elements. Nagy said they were "a little bit frustrated that we were not able to show off our throws the way they've been in training."[16] At the Four Continents Championships the following weekend, Liu/Nagy came third in the short program, winning a bronze small medal, despite Liu stumbling out of her jump. Liu said that they had "been working so hard on our throws and they've been so good since the New Year. I'm super happy that we were able to show that."[17] They had a difficult free skate, and dropped to seventh.[18]
On March 26, Liu announced she had ended her partnership with Nagy to prioritize her mental health.[19]
Programs edit
With Nagy edit
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–2024 [9][20] |
|
|
|
With O'Shea edit
| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2021–2022 [6] |
|
|
With Meyh edit
| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–2019 |
|
|
With Johnson edit
| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2017–2018 [2] |
| |
| 2016–2017 [1] |
|
|
| 2015–2016 [21] |
| |
| 2014–2015 [4] |
|
|
With Perini edit
| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2013–2014 [22] |
|
|
| 2012–2013 [3] |
| |
| 2011–2012 [3] | ||
| 2010–2011 [3] |
|
|
Competitive highlights edit
GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
With Nagy for the United States edit
| International[23] | |
|---|---|
| Event | 2023–24 |
| Four Continents | 7th |
| GP Skate America | 3rd |
| GP NHK Trophy | 6th |
| CS Autumn Classic | 4th |
| CS Finlandia Trophy | WD |
| John Nicks Challenge | WD |
| National | |
| U.S. Championships | 4th |
| TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew | |
With O'Shea for the United States edit
| International | |
|---|---|
| Event | 2021–22 |
| GP Skate America | 7th |
| CS Warsaw Cup | WD |
| Cranberry Cup | 5th |
| John Nicks Challenge | 4th |
| National | |
| U.S. Championships | WD |
| TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew | |
With Xie for China edit
| National | |
|---|---|
| Event | 2019–20 |
| Chinese Champ. | 3rd |
With Meyh for the United States edit
| International: Junior | |
|---|---|
| Event | 2018–19 |
| Bavarian Open | 1st |
| Golden Spin | 3rd |
| National | |
| U.S. Champ. | 11th |
With Johnson for the United States edit
| International[24] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 14–15 | 15–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 |
| CS U.S. Classic | 3rd | |||
| CS Warsaw Cup | 2nd | 6th | ||
| International: Junior[24] | ||||
| Junior Worlds | 7th | 5th | 7th | |
| JGP Final | 6th | |||
| JGP Austria | 8th | |||
| JGP Croatia | 4th | |||
| JGP Czech Rep | 3rd | |||
| JGP Estonia | 5th | |||
| JGP Germany | 3rd | |||
| JGP Poland | 5th | |||
| National[2] | ||||
| U.S. Champ. | 2nd J | 6th | 7th | |
| Levels: J = Junior | ||||
With Perini for the United States edit
| International[25] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 10–11 | 11–12 | 12–13 | 13–14 |
| JGP Czech Rep. | 5th | |||
| JGP Slovakia | 4th | |||
| National[3] | ||||
| U.S. Champ. | 2nd N | 1st N | 4th J | 2nd J |
| Pacific Coast | 2nd N | 1st N | 2nd J | |
| Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior | ||||
Detailed results edit
Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 177.66 | 2023 Skate America |
| Short program | TSS | 61.90 | 2024 Four Continents Championships |
| TES | 33.92 | 2023 Skate America | |
| PCS | 29.19 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | |
| Free skating | TSS | 116.43 | 2023 Skate America |
| TES | 60.43 | 2023 Skate America | |
| PCS | 58.55 | 2024 Four Continents Championships |
With Nagy edit
| 2023–2024 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 30 – Feb. 4, 2024 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | 3 61.90 | 8 113.95 | 7 175.85 |
| January 22-28, 2024 | 2024 U.S. Championships | 6 60.13 | 3 118.70 | 4 178.83 |
| November 24–26, 2023 | 2023 NHK Trophy | 5 61.23 | 7 111.37 | 6 172.60 |
| October 20–22, 2023 | 2023 Skate America | 3 61.23 | 3 116.43 | 3 177.66 |
| September 14–17, 2023 | 2023 CS Autumn Classic International | 4 56.09 | 3 109.22 | 4 165.20 |
With O'Shea edit
| 2021–22 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 17–20, 2021 | 2021 CS Warsaw Cup | 5 62.55 | WD | WD |
| October 22–24, 2021 | 2021 Skate America | 7 60.16 | 7 115.24 | 7 175.40 |
| August 13–15, 2021 | 2021 Cranberry Cup International[26] | 6 56.31 | 5 108.89 | 5 165.20 |
References edit
- ^ a b c "Chelsea LIU / Brian JOHNSON: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. from the original on May 31, 2017.
- ^ a b c d . IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e . IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014.
. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. - ^ a b . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015.
- ^ "Former U.S. pairs champ Danny O'Shea and Chelsea Liu announce partnership". NBC Sports. 29 June 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ^ a b "Chelsea Liu / Danny O'Shea: 2021/22". International Skating Union. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "2022 U.S. Championships". International Figure Skating. December 5, 2021.
- ^ Capellazzi, Gina (February 8, 2023). "Kam/O'Shea Seize the Moment". A Divine Sport.
- ^ a b Schwindt, Troy (October 13, 2023). "Liu and Nagy: New Partnership Revamps Passion for Skating". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ "Liu/Nagy". Twitter. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Cloutier, Claire (October 18, 2023). ""We're Back": The Surprising Return of Chelsea Liu & Balazs Nagy". A Divine Sport. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ "Hocke/Kunkel (GER) take slim lead in Skate America Pairs Short Program". International Skating Union. October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ Slater, Paula (October 22, 2023). "Germany's Hocke and Kunkel secure pairs gold at Skate America". Golden Skate. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ Slater, Paula (November 25, 2023). "Hase and Volodin dominate pairs at NHK Trophy in debut season". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
- ^ "Eighteen Athletes Named to Four Continents Team". U.S. Figure Skating. January 9, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ Flett, Ted (January 28, 2024). "Kam and O'Shea snag gold at U.S. Nationals". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ "Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps (CAN) take Pairs Short at ISU Four Continents". International Skating Union. February 1, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ Slater, Paula (February 3, 2024). "Stellato-Dudek claims Four Continents title". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ @chel.sea.liu (March 26, 2023). "Hi everyone, I have decided to end my partnership with Balazs to prioritize my mental health" – via Instagram.
- ^ . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 21, 2023.
- ^ . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016.
- ^ "Chelsea LIU / Devin PERINI: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. from the original on June 21, 2014.
- ^ "Chelsea LIU / Balazs NAGY: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ a b "Competition Results: Chelsea LIU / Brian JOHNSON". International Skating Union. from the original on November 29, 2018.
- ^ "Competition Results: Chelsea LIU / Devin PERINI". International Skating Union. from the original on March 17, 2016.
- ^ "2021 Cranberry Cup International Senior Pairs". ijs.usfigureskating.org.
External links edit
- Chelsea Liu / Balazs Nagy at the International Skating Union
- Chelsea Liu / Danny O'Shea at the International Skating Union
- Chelsea Liu / Ian Meyh at the International Skating Union
- Chelsea Liu / Brian Johnson at the International Skating Union
- Chelsea Liu / Devan Perini at the International Skating Union