Battle of Honey Springs

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.

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

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

Early years

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

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

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

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

With Nagy

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2023–2024
[9][20]

With O'Shea

Season Short program Free skating
2021–2022
[6]

With Meyh

Season Short program Free skating
2018–2019

With Johnson

Season Short program Free skating
2017–2018
[2]
2016–2017
[1]
2015–2016
[21]
2014–2015
[4]

With Perini

Season Short program Free skating
2013–2014
[22]
2012–2013
[3]
2011–2012
[3]
2010–2011
[3]
  • "The Can Can"
    by Rugby World Cup Classic

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Nagy for the United States

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

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

National
Event 2019–20
Chinese Champ. 3rd

With Meyh for the United States

International: Junior
Event 2018–19
Bavarian Open 1st
Golden Spin 3rd
National
U.S. Champ. 11th

With Johnson for the United States

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

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

Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System 
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

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

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

  1. ^ a b c "Chelsea LIU / Brian JOHNSON: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 31, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Chelsea Liu and Brian Johnson". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Chelsea Liu and Devin Perini". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014.
    "Earlier versions". Archived from the original on January 28, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Chelsea LIU / Brian JOHNSON: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015.
  5. ^ "Former U.S. pairs champ Danny O'Shea and Chelsea Liu announce partnership". NBC Sports. 29 June 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Chelsea Liu / Danny O'Shea: 2021/22". International Skating Union. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  7. ^ "2022 U.S. Championships". International Figure Skating. December 5, 2021.
  8. ^ Capellazzi, Gina (February 8, 2023). "Kam/O'Shea Seize the Moment". A Divine Sport.
  9. ^ a b Schwindt, Troy (October 13, 2023). "Liu and Nagy: New Partnership Revamps Passion for Skating". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  10. ^ "Liu/Nagy". Twitter. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  11. ^ Cloutier, Claire (October 18, 2023). ""We're Back": The Surprising Return of Chelsea Liu & Balazs Nagy". A Divine Sport. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  12. ^ "Hocke/Kunkel (GER) take slim lead in Skate America Pairs Short Program". International Skating Union. October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  13. ^ Slater, Paula (October 22, 2023). "Germany's Hocke and Kunkel secure pairs gold at Skate America". Golden Skate. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  14. ^ Slater, Paula (November 25, 2023). "Hase and Volodin dominate pairs at NHK Trophy in debut season". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  15. ^ "Eighteen Athletes Named to Four Continents Team". U.S. Figure Skating. January 9, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  16. ^ Flett, Ted (January 28, 2024). "Kam and O'Shea snag gold at U.S. Nationals". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  17. ^ "Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps (CAN) take Pairs Short at ISU Four Continents". International Skating Union. February 1, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  18. ^ Slater, Paula (February 3, 2024). "Stellato-Dudek claims Four Continents title". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  19. ^ @chel.sea.liu (March 26, 2023). "Hi everyone, I have decided to end my partnership with Balazs to prioritize my mental health" – via Instagram.
  20. ^ "Chelsea LIU / Balazs NAGY: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 21, 2023.
  21. ^ "Chelsea LIU / Brian JOHNSON: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016.
  22. ^ "Chelsea LIU / Devin PERINI: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 21, 2014.
  23. ^ "Chelsea LIU / Balazs NAGY: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Competition Results: Chelsea LIU / Brian JOHNSON". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018.
  25. ^ "Competition Results: Chelsea LIU / Devin PERINI". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016.
  26. ^ "2021 Cranberry Cup International Senior Pairs". ijs.usfigureskating.org.

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Liu