Make it 10 straight Skate America titles for U.S. ice dance couples. Fittingly, it’s the first for Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, the new mantle holders in the nation’s deepest figure skating discipline as the Beijing Olympic cycle begins.
Hubbell and Donohue, the U.S. champions and world silver medalists, distanced a field this weekend lacking anybody else from the top nine at the PyeongChang Olympics (where Hubbell and Donohue were fourth).
They could therefore afford a miscue at the end of Saturday’s rhythm dance, when Hubbell put too much weight sitting on Donohue’s knee. That caused Donohue to put his hands on the ice. She stumbled and stepped on one of his fingers.
No matter, they led by 3.42 points going into Sunday’s free dance, which they topped by 5.1. Hubbell and Donohue distanced silver medalists Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy by 8.52.
Their total -- 200.82 -- is the highest score in the world this season, granted Olympic silver medalists and world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France have yet to debut.
SKATE AMERICA: Full Results
U.S. couples have won 14 of the last 16 Skate America crowns.
It began with Tanith White and Ben Agosto, who earned five total golds surrounding a 2006 Olympic silver medal. Then came Meryl Davis and Charlie White, the best-ever U.S. dance team with four straight Skate Americas leading up to their 2014 Olympic title.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates won in 2014 and 2015, followed by siblings Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani in 2016 and 2017.
Hubbell and Donohue took six years before taking their turn at the top. They were third or fourth at every nationals between 2012 and 2017, then won the 2018 U.S. title. They were third in the Olympic short dance, but Donohue’s fall in the PyeongChang free dance helped allow the Shibutanis to take bronze.
The Shibutanis are taking at least this fall off from competition. Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the Olympic champions, are likely done competing.
That makes Hubbell and Donohue, after winning their second Grand Prix event on Sunday (and first in three years), not only the leading American couple, but also the top threats to training partners Papadakis and Cizeron.
Hubbell and Donohue go for another Grand Prix title at next week’s Skate Canada. They won’t face the French (outside of practice) until December’s Grand Prix Final at the earliest.
As a reminder, you can watch the ISU Grand Prix Series live and on-demand with the ‘Figure Skating Pass’ on NBC Sports Gold. GO HERE to sign up for access to every ISU Grand Prix and championship event, as well as domestic U.S. Figure Skating events throughout the season…NBC Sports Gold gives subscribers an unprecedented level of access on more platforms and devices than ever before.
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