Article and photos by Sarah S. Brannen
John Misha Petkevich, who would go on to become the 1971 U.S. champion, founded “An Evening with Champions” in 1970 to raise money for cancer patients. Petkevich had walked through a pediatric cancer ward and was horrified to hear that, at that time, only one out of every 10 patients would survive. He and his Harvard University classmate, John Powers, put together the first fundraising show in just six weeks.
The 50th annual show was delayed for more than two years by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it finally took place April 9 and 10 at Harvard’s Bright Arena. Paul Wylie and a pregnant Emily Hughes hosted; Wylie was thrilled to be back at his alma mater.
“Isn’t it great to have everyone back again?” he said. “I first skated in this show 40 years ago.”
Headliners Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue showed off the perfection that earned them medals at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games and World Championships, skating an emotional number to “Once I Was Loved.” Camden Pulkinen also kept his form from Worlds, showing off clean jumps and smooth skating skills to “Human.”
Pulkinen said he was inspired by his excellent result in Montpellier, France, where he finished third in the free skate.
“Now is the time to prepare for the next Olympics, and I’m going to use that experience as a positive one,” he said. “Hopefully this has shown me that I can compete with the top skaters in the world and I can build off this consistency. I’ve done two clean programs on one of the biggest stages, so I feel confident that I’m headed in the right direction for these next four years.”
Pulkinen will attend Columbia University in New York City this fall.
Amber Glenn, the 2021 U.S. silver medalist, did the sassiest of sassy skates to “Bad Guy,” wearing yellow overalls and a jacket covered with caution tape fringe. Caroline Green and Michael Parsons went for laughs, skating to a mash-up of “Singin’ in the Rain” and Usher’s “Yeah.”
Other performers included Jimmy Ma, Gabriella Izzo, Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud, Emily Chan and Spencer Howe, Audrey Shin, Audrey Lu, Ryan Dunk, Sean Rabbit, and Hazel Collier and Misha Mitrofanov.
Since 1970, the show has raised more than $3 million for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund.
