Since coming home from Sochi, Olympic figure skaters have kept pretty busy. Take a look at what the Americans have been up to.
Meryl Davis and Charlie White
The ice dancing gold medalists seem to be everywhere. Together, they were named grand marshals of the 88th America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit. The duo will also be grand marshals at NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Pure Michigan 400 on Sunday.
Davis competed on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and won with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. White finished fifth with partner Sharna Burgess.
White proposed to girlfriend and Olympic silver medalist Tanith Belbin in Hawaii.
https://twitter.com/CharlieaWhite/statuses/476456177757618176
http://instagram.com/p/pE5DBmMT-3/
Though the ice dancing team hasn’t officially retired, they are sitting out the upcoming season.
Women
Gracie Gold, fourth in Sochi, said she’s taking baby steps getting ready for the new season. She toured in Japan and attended a few Hollywood parties, such as the “Divergent” movie premiere.
Ashley Wagner, seventh in Sochi and at Worlds, is scheduled to open her Grand Prix season at Skate Canada in two months, followed by Trophée Éric Bompard in Bordeaux, France (full Grand Prix assignments here).
Polina Edmunds, the youngest of the Americans at 16, will also skate in the Grand Prix season. She participated in the July 4 Rose, White and Blue Parade in her hometown of San Jose, Calif.
Men
Jeremy Abbott‘s decision not to retire after Sochi paid off. He finished fifth at the World Championships in March, helping earn three men’s spots for the U.S. at the 2015 World Championships.
He’s not done with the sport – he wants to leave an impact in some way – but doesn’t know how long he will continue. He is entered in Skate America and NHK Trophy in Japan next season.
Jason Brown, whose “Riverdance” free skate captivated audiences, will return to Skate America and is slated for the Moscow stop in the Grand Prix season.
Ice Dancing
Maia and Alex Shibutani have been on tour in Japan, uploading their trademark “ShibSibs” videos of their travels. They placed ninth in Sochi and sixth at the World Championships in March, one spot behind another U.S. couple, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, at both competitions.
Pairs
Even though Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay split since Sochi, Zhang threw out a ceremonial first pitch from Bartholomay’s shoulders at a Tampa Bay Rays-Milwaukee Brewers game July 28 (video here).
Zhang has since retired and plans on attending the University of South Florida. Bartholomay has teamed with Gretchen Donlan.
Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir also split and found new partners. For Castelli, it’s Canadian Mervin Tran, who has sought release from Skate Canada.
“I’m American all the way,” Castelli said to Icenetwork, when asked if she would consider representing Canada.
Tran joked that the six-hour commute from Boston to Montreal is good bonding time, as the pair will train in both locations.
Shnapir will stay in Boston with DeeDee Leng, 20, who split with partner Timothy LeDuc in the spring. From day one, the new pair said the goal will be Pyeongchang 2018.
Adelina Sotnikova: I want to show I deserved to be Olympic champion