U.S. Olympic pairs’ figure skaters Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc are moving on from competitive skating.
“For now, we’re saying goodbye to the competitive side of skating,” LeDuc said in a social media video they recorded together.
Cain, 26, and LeDuc, 32, won their second national title in January, then were eighth at the Beijing Games in February.
They were in second place after the short program at the world championships in March, then withdrew during their free skate after Cain fell three times. She lay on the ice after the last fall, was tended to by LeDuc, then was standing before being taken off on a stretcher and to a hospital for evaluation.
LeDuc is the first publicly out non-binary athlete to compete at a Winter Olympics.
Both Cain and LeDuc said they will coach skaters. Cain also said she will skate professionally in shows. They will try to do ice shows together.
“I’m so grateful to have spent the last six years by your side,” Cain said. “We were able to accomplish all of our goals together.”
U.S. silver medalists Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson ended their partnership with Johnson announcing his retirement two months ago,
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, who won the world title in the absence of the top pairs from Russia and China, are the top returning U.S. pair going into next season.
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