Greg Zuerlein (born October 26, 1988) is an American former

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

Madison Chock Madison La'akea Te-Lan Hall Chock (born July 2, 1992) is an American ice dancer. With her skating partner, Evan Bates, she is a 2022 Olympic team event silver medalist, a three-time World medalist (silver in 2015, bronze in 2016 and 2022), a fo ...

, he is the 2009 World Junior champion, 2008 JGP Final champion, and 2011 U.S. national bronze medalist. They competed together from 2006 to 2011.

Personal life

Zuerlein was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He enrolled in

Schoolcraft College Schoolcraft College is a public community college in Livonia, Michigan. History Schoolcraft College was established in 1961. Originally named Northwest Wayne County Community College, the name of the college was changed because of the length. ...

. His older sister competed in

synchronized skating Synchronized skating is an ice skating sport where between 8 to 16 skaters perform together as a team. They move as a flowing unit at high speed over the ice, while performing elements and footwork. This complex sport originated in 1956 and was ...

at Junior Synchro Worlds. In March 2014, Zuerlein married Philippe Maitrot, who is originally from France.

Career

Zuerlein began skating at the age of four. He 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 ...

at the 2002 and 2003 U.S. junior championships on the juvenile level. He then took up

ice dancing 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 ...

. Zuerlein skated with Anastasia Olsen from 2002 through 2006. They won the bronze medal in intermediate dance in 2005 and placed 12th at the novice level at the 2006 U.S. Championships. Zuerlein teamed up with

in June 2006. They placed 5th in the novice division at the 2007 U.S. Championships. They began working 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 2007. Chock/Zuerlein were assigned to the 2007–08 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in

Tallinn, Estonia Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, which they won. They won the bronze medal at their second event, qualifying them for the

ISU Junior Grand Prix Final The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final or JGP Final (titled the ISU Junior Series Final in the 1997–98 season) is the culmination of a series of junior-level competitions – the ISU Junior Grand Prix organized by the International Skating Union. Medals ...

, where they placed 5th. During the 2008–09 season, Chock/Zuerlein won gold at the

Junior Grand Prix Final The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final or JGP Final (titled the ISU Junior Series Final in the 1997–98 season) is the culmination of a series of junior-level competitions – the ISU Junior Grand Prix organized by the International Skating Union. Medals ...

and at the U.S. Junior Championships. They capped off the season by becoming World Junior champions. In the 2009–10 season, Chock/Zuerlein made their senior Grand Prix debut, finishing 6th and 8th at 2009 Skate America and 2009 Cup of China respectively. They placed 5th in their senior national debut. Chock/Zuerlein won their first senior Grand Prix medal, bronze, at 2010 Skate Canada International. They won a second bronze medal at 2010 Trophée Éric Bompard. They won their first senior national medal, bronze, at the 2011 U.S. Championships. They made the team to the

Four Continents Europeans in the 16th century divided the world into four continents: Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Each of the four continents was seen to represent its quadrant of the world—Africa in the south, America in the west, Asia in the east, a ...

where they finished 5th. They finished 9th in their first and only appearance at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, setting personal best scores in both segments of the competition. On June 7, 2011, Chock and Zuerlein announced the end of their five-year partnership, with Zuerlein retiring from competition.

Programs

(with Chock)

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 Chock

With Olson

References

External links

*
Anastasia Olsen / Greg Zuerlein
at Tracings.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuerlein, Greg American male ice dancers 1988 births Living people Schoolcraft College alumni Sportspeople from Cincinnati World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Gay sportsmen LGBT figure skaters LGBT people from Ohio American LGBT sportspeople LGBT dancers