Emily Samuelson (born May 14, 1990) is an American former competitive
ice dancer
Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...
. With former partner
Evan Bates
Evan Bates (born February 23, 1989) is an American ice dancer. With his skating partner, Madison Chock, he is a 2022 Olympic team event silver medalist, a three-time World medalist (silver in 2015, bronze in 2016 and 2022), a four-time Grand Pr ...
, she is the
2009 Four Continents bronze medalist, the
2008 World Junior champion, and the
2009 U.S. national silver medalist. The duo competed at the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...
. Samuelson later skated with
Todd Gilles
Todd Gilles (born April 14, 1986) is an American former ice dancer. With Trina Pratt, he won four ISU Junior Grand Prix medals and the 2005 U.S. national junior title, and placed sixth at the 2006 World Junior Championships. With Jane Summerse ...
.
Personal life
Emily Samuelson was born in
Southfield, Michigan
Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618.
As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was original ...
.
[ Due to her father's job, she also lived in Europe as a child.][ She was selected for the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Scholastics Honors Team][ and graduated from ]Novi High School
Novi High School (commonly Novi or NHS) is a public high school in Novi, Michigan, United States in Greater Detroit, serving students in grades 9– 12. It is operated by Novi Community School District and was awarded Blue Ribbon Schoo ...
in spring 2008. In 2013, she received a degree in international studies, with a focus on political economy and development, from the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
.[ As of 2016, she is a financial advisor at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Michigan.][
]
Early years
Emily Samuelson began skating in autumn 1995 after being inspired by a skater she saw while vacationing with her family in Switzerland.[ She competed in ]single skating
Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Men's singles and women's singles are governed by the International Skating Union (ISU). Figure skating is the oldest winter sport contested ...
through the intermediate level and tested up to the novice level in the USFSA
U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee "USOPC" under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act an ...
testing structure.[ At the age of nine, she began learning ice dancing at the suggestion of her coach, Karen Lingenfelter, who paired Samuelson with her son, Kurt.][ The two skated together for a few months.][
]
Partnership with Bates
Juvenile to novice
Samuelson teamed up with Evan Bates
Evan Bates (born February 23, 1989) is an American ice dancer. With his skating partner, Madison Chock, he is a 2022 Olympic team event silver medalist, a three-time World medalist (silver in 2015, bronze in 2016 and 2022), a four-time Grand Pr ...
in May 2000 following the suggestion of their coach, Gary Clark.[ In the 2000–01 season, competing on the juvenile level, they won the pewter medal at their regional championship. This qualified them for the 2000–01 U.S. Junior Championships, where they won the bronze medal. Moving up to the intermediate level in the 2001–02 season, they won the silver medal at their regional championship. At the 2001–02 U.S. Junior Championships, they won the intermediate national title.
In the 2002–03 season, Samuelson/Bates moved up to the novice level. They competed internationally for the first time through the ]North American Challenge Skate The North American Challenge Skate was a series of annual summer figure skating competitions for American and Canadian figure skaters on the novice and junior levels. It was a developmental program rather than an elite competition series; the purp ...
program. They placed 10th on the novice level at the event in Thunder Bay, Ontario. They won the pewter medal at their regional championship to qualify for their sectional championship. At their sectional championship, they placed 6th and did not qualify for the 2003 U.S. Championships. Remaining as novices in the 2003–04 season, Samuelson/Bates won their regional championship to qualify for their sectional championship, where they won the silver medal. This qualified them for the 2004 U.S. Championships on the novice level. At nationals, they won the bronze medal. Their placement at nationals earned them a trip to the Estonia International Ice Dancing Championships on the novice level, where they won the silver medal. In the 2004–05 season, competing in their third season as novices, Samuelson/Bates won the silver medal at their regional championship and won their sectional championship to qualify for the 2005 U.S. Championships. At nationals, they won the novice title.
Junior career
In the 2005–06 season, Samuelson/Bates moved up to the junior level. Their made their debut on the ISU 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 ...
. At the 2005–06 ISU Junior Grand Prix
The 2005–06 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the ninth season of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, a series of international junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union
The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international ...
event in Slovakia, they placed 6th in the compulsory dance, 10th in the original dance, and 6th in the free dance to place 8th overall. At the event in Sofia, Bulgaria, they placed 5th in all three segments of the competition and overall. They won their sectional championship to qualify for the 2006 U.S. Championships, where they won the silver medal on the junior level. This medal qualified them for a trip to the 2006 Junior Worlds, where they placed 10th.
In the 2006–07 season, Samuelson/Bates remained on the junior level. They competed on the 2006–07 ISU Junior Grand Prix
The 2006–07 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the tenth season of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, a series of international junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union
The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international ...
. At their event in Mexico, they won all three segments of the competitions and won the gold medal overall. At their event in Taipei, they placed second in the compulsory dance and won the original and free dances to win the gold medal overall. These medals qualified them for the Junior Grand Prix Final. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, they placed second behind training mates Madison Hubbell
Madison Hubbell (born February 24, 1991) is an American former ice dancer. She competed with Zachary Donohue from 2011 to 2022. With him, she is a two-time 2022 Winter Olympics medalist, a four-time World medalist, the 2018 Grand Prix Final cha ...
/ Keiffer Hubbell. Qualifying for the Junior Grand Prix Final had given them a bye to the 2007 U.S. Championships. Competing again against the Hubbells, Samuelson/Bates won the junior national title. They were placed on the team to the 2007 World Junior Championships. At Junior Worlds, they were in second place going into the free dance. However, they were forced to withdraw from the competition in the middle of their free dance due to injury. Samuelson fell shortly into the program, and Bates, in an effort to avoid colliding with her head, leaped over her and landed on Samuelson's left hand, and wound up severing the tendon in her middle finger.[ Their withdrawal, combined with the placement of the other American teams, meant the U.S. would only have two entries to the 2008 Junior Worlds.
In 2007–08, Samuelson/Bates remained juniors internationally, but moved up to seniors nationally. They began their season on the ]2007–08 ISU Junior Grand Prix
The 2007–08 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the 11th season of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, a series of international junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the Junior-level complement to the 2007–08 ISU G ...
. Skating with a minor knee injury at their first Junior Grand Prix event, in Lake Placid, Samuelson/Bates won all three segments of the competition to win the gold medal overall. At their second event, they won both the compulsory and original dances, but placed second in the free dance, to win the gold medal overall. These medals qualified them for the 2007–08 Junior Grand Prix Final and also earned them a bye to the 2008 U.S. Championships. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, they placed third in the compulsory dance and second in the original and free dances to win the silver medal overall. At the U.S. Championships, Samuelson/Bates made their senior national debut. They placed fourth in the compulsory and original dances. In the free dance, Samuelson/Bates fell during a lift that had been inserted into the program for the senior program due to the different requirements between junior and senior level free dances. They placed 6th in the free dance and won the pewter medal, continuing their medal streak at the U.S. Championships. Their placement at the U.S. Championships earned them a trip to the 2008 World Junior Championships. At Junior Worlds, they won all three segments of the competition and won the title overall.[
]
Senior career
In the 2008–09 season, Samuelson/Bates moved up to the senior level internationally. Their first international competition of the season was the 2008 Nebelhorn Trophy. They placed second in the compulsory dance and won both the original and free dances to win the title overall. They made their senior Grand Prix debut at the 2008 Skate America, where they placed 5th in the compulsory dance, fourth in the original dance, and third in the free dance, to place fourth overall. At their second Grand Prix event, the 2008 NHK Trophy
The 2008 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2008–09 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo on November 27–30. Medals wer ...
, they placed third in the compulsory dance and fourth in the original and free dances to win the bronze medal. At the 2009 U.S. Championships, they placed second in all three segments of the competition, and won the silver medal overall.[ It was their sixth consecutive medal at the U.S. Championships. This medal qualified them for the teams to the 2009 Four Continents and the 2009 World Championships.][ At the Four Continents, they placed fourth in the compulsory dance and then third in the original and free dances to win the bronze medal overall.][ At the World Championships, they placed 13th in the compulsory dance, 11th in the original dance, and 9th in the free dance to place 11th overall.][
Samuelson/Bates had an up and down season in 2009–10, failing to medal in their two Grand Prix appearances but finishing 11th at their first Olympics and 9th at Worlds. On April 28, 2010, they announced that they would be leaving long-time coaches Yuri Chesnichenko and Yaroslava Nechaeva to train with ]Igor Shpilband
Igor Yuryevich Shpilband (russian: Игорь Юрьевич Шпильбанд, born July 14, 1964) is an American ice dancing coach and former competitor for the Soviet Union. He is the 1983 World Junior champion with former partner Tatiana G ...
and Marina Zueva
Marina Olegovna Zoueva or Zueva (russian: Марина Олеговна Зуева; born 9 April 1956) is a Russian figure skating coach, choreographer, and former competitor in ice dancing. Representing the Soviet Union with Andrei Vitman, she ...
in Canton, Michigan.[ In September 2010, Bates suffered a complete laceration of his Achilles tendon after Samuelson hit him with her skate blade as she came down from a lift.][ They missed the entire 2010–11 season as a result. In June 2011, it was reported that they had ended their partnership.][ On June 28, 2011, Samuelson and Bates confirmed that they had split and said that they were both looking for new partners.][
]
Partnership with Gilles
On August 22, 2011, Samuelson announced that she would be skating with Todd Gilles
Todd Gilles (born April 14, 1986) is an American former ice dancer. With Trina Pratt, he won four ISU Junior Grand Prix medals and the 2005 U.S. national junior title, and placed sixth at the 2006 World Junior Championships. With Jane Summerse ...
.[ In September, they revealed they would train in Ann Arbor, Michigan, coached by Nechaeva and Chesnichenko with choreography by Tom Dickson and Christopher Dean.][ In November 2011, they competed in their first event together, the ]2011 Cup of China
The 2011 Cup of China was the third event of six in the 2011–12 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai on November 3–6. M ...
, where they finished 8th. At the time, they had been skating together for approximately two months, and had had their programs choreographed one month earlier.[ Samuelson and Gilles confirmed the end of their partnership in June 2012.][
]
Programs
With Gilles
With Bates
Competitive highlights
''GP: Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
; 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 ...
''
With Gilles
With Bates
References
External links
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*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelson, Emily
1990 births
American female ice dancers
Living people
Sportspeople from Southfield, Michigan
Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Olympic figure skaters of the United States
Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists
World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists
University of Michigan alumni
People from Novi, Michigan
21st-century American women