Aimee Buchanan (born June 11, 1993) is an

American-Israeli , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...

former competitive figure skater who competed in ladies' singles for

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. She is a two-time Israeli national champion and competed in the team event at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...

Early life

Buchanan was born and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, and subsequently lived in

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...

, and

Euless, Texas Euless ( ) is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. Euless is part of the Mid-Cities region between Dallas and Fort Worth. In 2020 Census, the population of Euless was 61,032. The population of t ...

. Buchanan's mother Wendy is Jewish and is from

, as are both of her maternal grandparents, and Buchanan is and also identifies as Jewish. She attended synagogue on the High Holidays and Hebrew school for a few years, before sports became too demanding. She attended

Endicott College Endicott College is a private college in Beverly, Massachusetts. History Endicott College was founded as Endicott Junior College in 1939 by Eleanor Tupper and her husband, George O. Bierkoe. Originally a two-year women’s college, its miss ...

and the

United States Sports Academy The United States Sports Academy is a private university focused on sports and located in Daphne, Alabama. It offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs as well as certificate programs. Founded in 1972, the academy has provided its ...

, studying for a B.S. in Strength and Conditioning. In 2014, she became a dual American-Israeli citizen.

Skating career

Buchanan began figure skating at age 4, but she did not start seriously training until age 19. While she lived in Boston, she trained at the Colonial Figure Skating Club in

Boxborough, Massachusetts Boxborough is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. The town name is often simplified to "Boxboro" on highway signs and official documents. Geography According to the United State ...

, with coaches Julie Graham-Eavzan and Chad Brennan, while her programs were choreographed by former Olympian Sheryl Franks. In November 2013, she came in second at the New England Regional Figure Skating Championships Newington, Connecticut. She relocated to Texas to train with figure skating coaches Peter and Darlene Cain. Buchanan has represented Israel three times at the

European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European champion. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, an ...

, and was the Israeli national ladies champion in 2016. In August 2017, she had foot surgery to remove a bursa sac. She was not able to enter the Olympics single women's qualifier competition in Germany in 2017, because the qualifier was scheduled to take place on

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

. She competed for

Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics Israel competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with ten competitors in four sports. Competitors The following is a list of the number of Israeli competitors participating at the Games per sp ...

in team figure skating in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Buchanan placed 10th in the woman's short program of the team event with a score of 46.30, an improvement of 1.23 points as compared to her personal best before that program. Israel finished in 8th place, ahead of South Korea and France, and did not qualify for the finals of the team event. Buchanan announced her retirement from competitive skating in June 2019 after having three ankle surgeries and two injections to help with injuries. Doctors subsequently advised her against further training at a competitive level.

Programs

Results

''CS: Challenger Series; JGP:

Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...

For Israel

For the United States

References

External links

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"Figure skater Aimee Buchanan gears up for her Olympic debut,"
NBC (video), February 10, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Aimee 1993 births American female single skaters Living people Figure skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Israel Israeli female single skaters Jewish American sportspeople Jewish Israeli sportspeople American emigrants to Israel American people of Israeli descent People from Lexington, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts People from Euless, Texas Sportspeople from the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Endicott College alumni United States Sports Academy alumni 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women