Lindsay Thorngren (born December 5, 2005) is an American figure skater.[1][2] She is the 2023 NHK Trophy silver medalist and 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb champion.

Lindsay Thorngren
Born (2005-12-05) December 5, 2005 (age 18)
White Plains, New York
HometownMontclair, New Jersey
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Figure skating career
Country United States
DisciplineWomen's singles
CoachJulia Lautowa
Skating clubIce House Figure Skating Club of New Jersey
Began skating2011
Medal record
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Tallinn Singles

At the junior level, Thorngren was the 2022 World Junior bronze medalist, the 2021 JGP France I champion, and the 2020 U.S. national junior champion.[3]

Personal life

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Thorngren was born on December 5, 2005, in White Plains, New York, to parents Edward and Elizabeth. Her mother, Elizabeth, immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic at age 15.[4]

Career

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Early years

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Thorngren began learning to skate in 2009 as a four-year-old in Maple Grove, Minnesota. She participated in her first competition in 2010 at the age of five. She began training under her current coach, Julia Lautowa when her family relocated from Minnesota to New Jersey. Thorngren competed at her first U.S. Championship in 2017 at the juvenile level, where she finished sixth. She went on to win the U.S. intermediate women's title in 2019 and the junior title in 2020.

2019–20 season: Junior international debut

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Thorngren made her junior international debut on the Junior Grand Prix in September at the 2019 JGP Poland, where she placed eighth. In January, she won the US junior national title, earning an assignment to the 2020 World Junior Championships. She placed twenty-sixth in the short program, failing to advance to the free skate.[5]

2020–21 season

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With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the cancellation of the international junior season, Thorngren's lone major appearance was in making her domestic senior debut at the 2021 U.S. Championships. She finished in sixth place.[5]

2021–22 season: World Junior bronze

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Thorngren was a fan of the Netflix miniseries The Queen's Gambit, choosing to skate her free program to Carlos Rafael Rivera's original score for the program and portray lead character Beth Harmon. She analogized that Harmon "falls in love with chess, competes, and she fights to win a chess game. So in my program, I'm fighting to land all my jumps and skate cleanly and perform the best I can."[6]

Returning to the Junior Grand Prix, Thorngren's first assignment was the first edition of the 2021 JGP France in Courchevel. Due to French travel rules, Russian women's skaters who normally dominated the Junior Grand Prix could not participate in the event.[7] Thorngren won the gold medal in Courchevel. Reflecting on the lack of junior events in the previous year, she said, "since there were no competitions, I worked more on building my skills and my jumps."[8] At her second event, the 2021 JGP Slovenia, Thorngren won the bronze medal behind Russians Adeliia Petrosian and Sofia Samodelkina. She attempted a triple Axel in the free skate, but the jump was downgraded due to a forward landing.[9] These results qualified her for the 2021–22 Junior Grand Prix Final, but it was subsequently canceled due to restrictions imposed as a result of the Omicron variant.[10] Thorngren made her senior international debut at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup, where she finished fifth.[5]

Hoping to qualify for the American Olympic team at the 2022 U.S. Championships, Thorngren was fifth in the short program with a clean skate, only 1.20 points behind third-place Alysa Liu. However, she struggled in the free skate, falling on two jumps and underrotating two others. Seventh in that segment, Thorngren dropped to fifth overall.[11] She was subsequently assigned to the International Challenge Cup, winning the silver medal.[5]

Thorngren was assigned to compete at the 2022 World Junior Championships, but events would soon complicate the situation. Shortly after the conclusion of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Russia invaded Ukraine. As a result, the International Skating Union banned all Russian athletes from competing at ISU championships.[12] As Russian women had dominated international figure skating in recent years, this had a significant impact on the field, and Thorngren was considered a medal contender.[13] Due to both the invasion and the Omicron variant, the World Junior Championships could not be held as scheduled in Sofia in early March, and were rescheduled for mid-April in Tallinn.[14] Thorngren finished fourth in the short program, 0.14 points behind third-place Yun Ah-sun of South Korea.[15] She went on to place third in the free skate, rising to third overall, almost four points ahead of Yun.[16] Standing on the podium alongside fellow American, Isabeau Levito, she concurred that "the medal is a reflection of our training and how hard we've worked this season, and I'm really happy."[6]

2022–23 season

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In her first competition of the season, Thorngren won the silver medal at the Philadelphia Summer International.[5] She was then assigned to the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy on the Challenger series, where she finished in sixth place.[17]

Thorngren was invited to make her Grand Prix debut at the 2022 Skate Canada International, placing ninth of twelve skaters.[18] She finished fourth in the short program at her second event, the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo, but dropped to sixth place after the free skate.[19] She went on to win the gold medal at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, earning a personal best in the free skate.[5]

At the 2023 U.S. Championships, Thorngren placed sixth in the short program and fifth in the free skate, finishing sixth overall.[5]

2023–24 season: First Grand Prix medal

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Thorngren began the season by winning gold at the 2023 Cranberry Cup International.[5] She sustained a lower back fracture in September, and as a result did not compete on the Challenger circuit.[20] Recovering in time to appear on the Grand Prix at the 2023 Skate Canada International, Thorngren finished fifth in the short program despite underrotating the second half of her jump combination. She remained in fifth place after the free skate.[21][20] At her second assignment, the 2023 NHK Trophy, Thorngren sprained her ankle in practice before the short program, but won the segment by a margin of 5.49 points over Belgian Nina Pinzarrone. Her only mistakes in the program were an incorrect edge call on her triple flip and a point deduction for a time violation. In the free skate she doubled and fell on a planned triple Salchow and again received a flip edge call and a time violation. She finished second in the segment and second overall behind training mate Ava Marie Ziegler, with the two time violation deductions comprising more than the margin between them. Having won the silver medal, she called it an "amazing experience," and praised her team for helping her compete through the sprain.[22]

Following the Grand Prix, Thorngren sustained injuries that forced her to suspend training for most of the period in advance of the 2024 U.S. Championships.[23] Despite this, she was included in the preemptively-named American team for the 2024 Four Continents Championships, which were to take place the week after the national championships.[24] Thorngren resumed training triple jumps the week prior to the national championships, where she ultimately placed seventh.[23][25] She went on to finish twelfth at the Four Continents Championships.[5]

2024–25 season

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Thorngren started the season by competing at the 2024 CS Budapest Trophy, finishing fourth. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, she would finish ninth at the 2024 NHK Trophy and the 2024 Finlandia Trophy.[5]

Programs

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Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2019–20
[26]
2020–21
[27]
2021–22
[28]
2022–23
[29]
2023–24
[30]
2024–25
[31][32]

Competitive highlights

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Competition placements at senior level [33]
Season 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
Four Continents Championships 12th
U.S. Championships 6th 5th 6th 7th TBD
GP Finland 6th 9th
GP NHK Trophy 2nd 9th
GP Skate Canada 9th 5th
CS Budapest Trophy 4th
CS Finlandia Trophy 6th
CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 1st
CS Warsaw Cup 5th
Challenge Cup 2nd
Cranberry Cup 1st
Philadelphia Summer 2nd
Competition placements at junior level [33]
Season 2019-20 2021-22
World Junior Championships 26th 3rd
U.S. Championships 1st
JGP France 1st
JGP Slovenia 3rd
JGP Poland 8th

Detailed results

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ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [33]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 199.42 2022 World Junior Championships
Short program TSS 70.24 2021 JGP Slovenia
TES 40.90 2021 JGP Slovenia
PCS 31.19 2023 NHK Trophy
Free skating TSS 135.99 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb
TES 72.72 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb
PCS 63.79 2023 NHK Trophy

Senior level

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Results in the 2020–21 season[33]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Jan 11–21, 2021   2021 U.S. Championships 6 62.54 7 116.35 6 178.89
Results in the 2021–22 season[33]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 17–20, 2021   2021 CS Warsaw Cup 8 60.75 4 123.65 5 184.40
Jan 3–9, 2022   2022 U.S. Championships 5 70.22 7 116.16 5 186.38
Feb 24–27, 2022   2022 International Challenge Cup 4 54.87 2 131.35 2 186.22
Results in the 2022–23 season[33]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 4–7, 2022   2022 Philadelphia Summer International 2 69.57 2 134.05 2 203.62
Oct 4–9, 2022   2022 CS Finlandia Trophy 14 52.86 5 112.23 6 165.09
Oct 28–30, 2022   2022 Skate Canada International 10 55.16 6 120.93 9 176.09
Nov 25–27, 2022   2022 Grand Prix of Espoo 4 65.75 6 117.48 6 183.23
Dec 7–10, 2022   2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 2 60.49 1 135.99 1 196.48
Jan 23–29, 2023   2023 U.S. Championships 6 62.64 5 124.55 6 187.19
Results in the 2023–24 season[33]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 9–13, 2023   2023 Cranberry Cup International 2 66.43 1 132.73 1 199.16
Oct 27–29, 2023   2023 Skate Canada International 5 61.99 5 127.53 5 189.52
Nov 24–26, 2023   2023 NHK Trophy 1 68.93 3 129.80 2 198.73
Jan 22–28, 2024   2024 U.S. Championships 4 65.33 8 115.65 7 180.98
Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024   2024 Four Continents Championships 7 64.11 12 98.52 12 162.63
Results in the 2024–25 season[33]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 11–13, 2024   2024 CS Budapest Trophy 2 66.19 4 113.26 4 179.45
Nov 8–10, 2024   2024 NHK Trophy 10 54.79 7 114.24 9 169.03
Nov 15–17, 2024   2024 Finlandia Trophy 8 57.37 9 113.27 9 170.64

Junior level

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Results in the 2019–20 season[33]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 18–21, 2019   2019 JGP Poland 8 57.44 9 100.65 8 158.09
Jan 20–26, 2020   2020 U.S. Championships (Junior) 2 59.66 1 124.10 1 183.76
Mar 2–8, 2020   2020 World Junior Championships 26 49.61 26 49.61
Results in the 2021–22 season[33]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 18–21, 2021   2021 JGP France I 2 62.63 1 118.82 1 181.45
Sep 22–25, 2021   2021 JGP Slovenia 3 70.24 3 123.53 3 193.77
Apr 13–17, 2022   2022 World Junior Championships 4 66.14 3 133.28 3 199.42

References

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  1. ^ Elfman, Lois (9 September 2021). "NJ's Lindsay Thorngren skated to first international win". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  2. ^ Ryan, Sam. "13-year-old New Jersey student is future star of figure skating". WABC-TV. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  3. ^ "U.S. Figure Skating Championships women's preview: who delivers under pressure?". NBC Sports. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Lindsay Thorngren: Proud to Be Dominican". U.S. Figure Skating. September 21, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Competition Results: Lindsay Thorngren". International Skating Union.
  6. ^ a b Slater, Paula (April 17, 2022). "USA's Isabeau Levito skates to gold in Tallinn". Golden Skate.
  7. ^ "Russian junior skaters out of French events". International Figure Skating. 10 August 2021.
  8. ^ "USA celebrates gold medal sweep as ISU Junior Grand Prix starts in Courchevel". International Skating Union. August 23, 2021.
  9. ^ "Russia sweeps gold medals at ISU Junior Grand Prix in Ljubljana (SLO)". International Skating Union. September 27, 2021.
  10. ^ "Figure skating Grand Prix Final cancelled over travel rules". CBC Sports. December 2, 2021.
  11. ^ Slater, Paula (January 8, 2022). "Mariah Bell takes first National title". Golden Skate.
  12. ^ "ISU Statement on the Ukrainian crisis – Participation in international competitions of Skaters and Officials from Russia and Belarus". International Skating Union. March 1, 2022.
  13. ^ "2022 World Junior Championships". International Figure Skating.
  14. ^ "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2022 allotted to Tallinn (EST)". International Skating Union. March 4, 2022.
  15. ^ Slater, Paula (April 16, 2022). "USA's Isabeau Levito leads Women at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate.
  16. ^ "Isabeau Levito (USA) strikes gold in Junior World debut". International Skating Union. April 17, 2022.
  17. ^ "Hawayek and Baker secure ice dance silver in Finland". U.S. Figure Skating. October 9, 2022.
  18. ^ Rutherford, Lynn (October 29, 2022). "Starr Andrews skates to historic silver medal at Skate Canada". United States Olympic Committee.
  19. ^ "Mihara (JPN) wins second Grand Prix gold in Espoo". International Skating Union. November 26, 2022.
  20. ^ a b Slater, Paula (October 29, 2023). "Japan's Kaori Sakamoto seizes Skate Canada gold". Golden Skate. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  21. ^ "Browns, Thorngren Earn Career-Best Grand Prix Finishes at Skate Canada International". U.S. Figure Skating. October 28, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  22. ^ Slater, Paula (November 25, 2023). "Ava Marie Ziegler takes surprising win at NHK Trophy". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Golden Skate [@goldenskate] (January 27, 2024). "After a struggle in her Twilight freeskate, Lindsay Thorngren said she looks forward to focussing on the Four Continents Championships and coming back strong next season" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 11, 2024 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "Eighteen Athletes Named to Four Continents Team". U.S. Figure Skating. January 9, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  25. ^ Flett, Ted (January 27, 2024). "Amber Glenn captures U.S. national title". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  26. ^ "Lindsay Thorngren: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019.
  27. ^ "2021–22 Figure Skating Roster: Lindsay Thorngren". U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone. U.S. Figure Skating.
  28. ^ "Lindsay Thorngren: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021.
  29. ^ "Lindsay Thorngren: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. July 17, 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-01-26.
  30. ^ "Lindsay Thorngren: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. August 27, 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-02-03.
  31. ^ "Lindsay Thorngren: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. August 27, 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-08-22.
  32. ^ Wilson, David. "Lindsay Thorngren: 2024/25 Free Program". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "USA–Lindsay Thorngren". SkatingScores.
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