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U.S. Figure Skating

2011 U.S. Championships ladies podium
U.S. Figure Skating

National Team: Figure Skating Jennifer Zeleski

Greensboro Holds Fond U.S. Championships Memories

With the 2019 GEICO U.S. Figure Skating Championships officially coming to a close on Jan. 27 with the men's free skate, all eyes are on Greensboro, North Carolina, for 2020.

The city is no stranger to the event. When the U.S. Championships return to Greensboro next January, the city will land a "triple" of its own - Greensboro formerly hosted the premier domestic event in 2011 and 2015 with many familiar names taking the ice.
 
In 2011, Alissa Czisny took the top step of the podium, becoming the first woman to win more than one U.S. title since Michelle Kwan. Nine-time U.S. champion Kwan won her last U.S. Championship gold in 2005.

Agnes Zawadzki made her senior national debut at the Greensboro Coliseum in 2011, placing fourth overall for the pewter medal. She placed just a few points short of third place, with Mirai Nagasu getting bronze. Since 2011, Nagasu went on to become the first American woman to land a triple Axel at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 and an Olympic Team Event bronze medalist with her U.S. teammates in February 2018.
 
In his final season competing, Ryan Bradley won the U.S. men's title in Greensboro with his short program set to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and a Mozart free skate. 
 
With an Olympic silver medal under their belts from Vancouver the season prior, Meryl Davis and Charlie White won their third consecutive U.S. title in Greensboro. The duo went undefeated at the U.S. Championships for three more seasons, winning their sixth U.S. title in Boston heading into the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. The 2014 Olympic champions still hold the record for the most U.S. ice dance titles today.

Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani finished second in their first senior U.S. Championships, joining then-training mates Davis and White on the podium.
 
The U.S. Championships returned to Greensboro for another post-Olympic season in 2015.
 
That year, Karen Chen made her senior U.S. Championships debut in Greensboro at 15. Though she was in sixth after the short, Chen fought back in the free skate to finish on the podium in third behind Ashley Wagner and Gracie Gold. Wagner won her third U.S. title in Greensboro and set the record for highest ladies free skate score with 148.98 and final score with 221.02 points that still hold today.
 
In the men's field, Jason Brown followed up his breakout Olympic season with a U.S. title in Greensboro. Adam Rippon, who would win the event the following year in 2016, earned silver just 2.5 points behind Brown.

Greensboro marked Nathan Chen's first senior U.S. Championships. The now three-time U.S. champion finished eighth.
 
Also in 2015, Alexa Scimeca-Knierim and Chris Knierim, then not yet married, moved up the podium to win their first U.S. title. The team's short program score of 74.01 still stands as the highest pairs short program score to this day. They also became the first American team to execute a quadruple twist in competition. They went on to become the first U.S. team to perform a quadruple twist at the Olympics in 2018.
 
The ice dance podium was left open in 2015 as then-defending champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White sat out the post-Olympic season. Madison Chock and Evan Bates won their first U.S. title in Greensboro, where they narrowly beat the Shibutani siblings, who earned silver. Now two-time U.S. champions Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue won bronze, with Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker rounding out the podium in fourth in their senior national debut.
 
With iconic U.S. Championships memories already made in Greensboro, the host city is bound to deliver more in 2020.
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Players Mentioned

Adam Rippon

Adam Rippon

Nov. 11, 1989
Senior/Men
Scranton, Pa.
Jason Brown

#3 Jason Brown

Dec. 15, 1994
Senior/Men
Los Angeles
Nathan Chen

#9 Nathan Chen

May 5, 1999
Senior/Men
Salt Lake City
  Alexa Knierim and Chris Knierim

#51   Alexa Knierim and Chris Knierim

June 10, 1991 | Nov. 5, 1987
Senior/Pairs
Addison, IL | Tucson, AZ
  Madison Chock and Evan Bates

#10   Madison Chock and Evan Bates

July 2, 1992 | Feb. 23, 1989
Senior/Ice Dance
Redondo Beach, CA | Ann Arbor, MI
  Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker

#27   Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker

Nov. 4, 1996 | Oct. 7, 1993
Senior/Ice Dance
Buffalo, NY | Burnley, GBR
  Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue

#30   Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue

Feb. 24, 1991 | Jan. 8, 1991
Senior/Ice Dance
Lansing, MI | North Madison, CT
Gracie Gold

#21 Gracie Gold

Aug. 17, 1995
Senior/Ladies
Boston
Karen Chen

#8 Karen Chen

Aug. 16, 1999
Senior/Ladies
Fremont, CA
Mirai Nagasu

#44 Mirai Nagasu

April 16, 1993
Senior/Ladies
Montebello, Calif.
Ashley Wagner

#57 Ashley Wagner

May 16, 1991
Senior/Ladies
Heidelberg, Germany

Players Mentioned

Adam Rippon

Adam Rippon

Senior/Men
Scranton, Pa.
Nov. 11, 1989
Jason Brown

#3 Jason Brown

Senior/Men
Los Angeles
Dec. 15, 1994
Nathan Chen

#9 Nathan Chen

Senior/Men
Salt Lake City
May 5, 1999
  Alexa Knierim and Chris Knierim

#51   Alexa Knierim and Chris Knierim

Senior/Pairs
Addison, IL | Tucson, AZ
June 10, 1991 | Nov. 5, 1987
  Madison Chock and Evan Bates

#10   Madison Chock and Evan Bates

Senior/Ice Dance
Redondo Beach, CA | Ann Arbor, MI
July 2, 1992 | Feb. 23, 1989
  Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker

#27   Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker

Senior/Ice Dance
Buffalo, NY | Burnley, GBR
Nov. 4, 1996 | Oct. 7, 1993
  Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue

#30   Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue

Senior/Ice Dance
Lansing, MI | North Madison, CT
Feb. 24, 1991 | Jan. 8, 1991
Gracie Gold

#21 Gracie Gold

Senior/Ladies
Boston
Aug. 17, 1995
Karen Chen

#8 Karen Chen

Senior/Ladies
Fremont, CA
Aug. 16, 1999
Mirai Nagasu

#44 Mirai Nagasu

Senior/Ladies
Montebello, Calif.
April 16, 1993
Ashley Wagner

#57 Ashley Wagner

Senior/Ladies
Heidelberg, Germany
May 16, 1991