Joseph Mero (born 1965) is an American former

pair skater Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

. With his skating partner, Katy Keeley, he won silver at the 1984 St. Ivel International, gold at the

1986 Skate America The 1986 Skate America was held at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) ...

, bronze at the 1987 Skate Canada International, bronze at the

1987 NHK Trophy The 1987 NHK Trophy was held in Kushiro. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historica ...

, and bronze at the

1988 Grand Prix International de Paris The 1988 Grand Prix International de Paris was held in Paris. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Results Men Ladies Pairs Ice dancing External links Skate Canada resu ...

. They are four-time

U.S. national Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

medalists, having won bronze in 1987 and 1989, and pewter in 1986 and 1988.

Personal life

Joseph Mero was born 1965. His father, Joseph Mero Sr., worked at a paper plant in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, and his mother, Bernie, had

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

Skating career

Early career

Mero began roller skating as a five-year-old and switched to ice skating six years later. Competing with Maria Lako, he placed 5th in junior pairs at the 1983 U.S. Championships. He and Tammy Crowson won the junior bronze medal at the 1984 U.S. Championships.

Partnership with Keeley

Mero teamed up with Katy Keeley in 1984.

John Nicks John Allen Wisden Nicks (born 22 April 1929) is a British figure skating coach and former Pair skating, pair skater. With his sister, Jennifer Nicks, he is the 1953 World Figure Skating Championships, World champion. As a coach, his skating pup ...

served as their coach throughout their career as a pair. Keeley/Mero's first international medal, a silver, came at the 1984 St. Ivel International in England. They stepped onto a national podium for the first time at the 1986 U.S. Championships, taking the pewter medal for fourth place. The following season, they won gold at the

and bronze at the 1987 U.S. Championships. In the 1987–1988 Olympic season, Keeley/Mero won bronze at the 1987 Skate Canada International and

before placing fourth at the 1988 U.S. Championships. In 1988, Keeley sustained a concussion at an ice show in London. 1988–1989 was Keeley/Mero's fifth season together. Granted free ice time at the Ice Capades Chalet in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

, the pair was training on-ice daily from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. They won the bronze medal at the

and then received bronze at the 1989 U.S. Championships. After nationals, they decided to retire from competition.

Partnership with Urbanski

He skated one season with

Calla Urbanski Calla Vita Urbanski-Petka (born June 26, 1960) is an American former pair skater. With Rocky Marval, she is the 1991 Skate America champion, the 1992 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion (1992–1993). They represented ...

in 1993-1994,winning the Eastern Sectionals but placing 7th at the

1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships The 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships were held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Medals were awarded in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth) in four disciplines – men's singles, ladie ...

Ban by USFSA

He is now banned for life from the USFSA and Professional Skaters Association after a hearing found him guilty of Code of Ethics violations relating to harassment and abuse.GRIEVANCES / PERSONS BANNED OR SUSPENDED FROM U.S. FIGURE SKATING MEMBERSHIP / PERSONS PERMANENTLY BANNED FROM U.S. FIGURE SKATING
/ref>

Competitive highlights

With Keeley

With Lako and Crowson

With
Calla Urbanski Calla Vita Urbanski-Petka (born June 26, 1960) is an American former pair skater. With Rocky Marval, she is the 1991 Skate America champion, the 1992 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion (1992–1993). They represented ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mero, Joseph 1960s births American male pair skaters Living people Figure skaters from Detroit