When you ask Bradie Tennell which part of skating she prefers, she is quick to answer. "Jumping!" she stated enthusiastically. "Jumping is a fun challenge, and there is absolutely no feeling like that on the planet! But obviously it's not the only thing there is in skating."
Tennell had set two major breakthroughs for her skating this season: one in jumping, with the potential inclusion of a triple Axel into her routines. And one in choreography and body movements. The former was stopped by a stress fracture she sustained at the end of the summer. The latter could be seen through her performances at two Grand Prix events and the Final. It has deeply modified her style on the ice.
Tennell had worked on her triple Axel with Alexei Mishin during his summer camp in Courchevel, France, in the French Alps. "Bradie had her triple Axel ready at the start of the season, and only her injury prevented her from including it in her programs," Benoit Richaud, who choreographed Tennell's programs and could witness his protégée's work in Courchevel, explained. "It's only a question of time. She will have it for the [Olympic Winter] Games, and probably even next year," he predicted.
"I am very happy I've been able to learn from Mr. Mishin," Tennell said. "He's one of the best in the world, if not the best! This summer was fun. You know, I'm living my childhood dream, which very few people have a chance to do. I feel so lucky and grateful that I have such an opportunity," she added.
One month later, however, she injured her foot and had to lower her ambition. "Obvioulsy my triple Axel was pushed to the side because of my foot injury," Tennell acknowledged. "It's not what I had hoped for, but that's how it was. It won't be in my program for U.S. Championships this year, but of course, I still have hope for the future!" she offered with her radiant smile.
Tennell's season had a rough start after her injury. "I came back just one month before Skate America," she explained. "I only had one thing to do: attack. I attacked both my programs. My jumps. I really wanted to be ready. It's a different feeling when you come back from an injury. It's still your jumps, of course, but it's like you need to shake the dust off."
Tennell skated her two Grand Prix back-to-back quite early in the season. She placed second at Skate America and fourth at Skate Canada International one week later. After weeks of effort, Tennell could catch back up with her technical level. "When I arrived in Torino, I was feeling like I was back to the level I was when I had to leave," she said.
Tennell was the only American senior lady to qualify for the Final this year. She competed in an incredible field of ladies, including the Japanese phenom, Rika Kihira, as well as four Russians: Alena Kostornaia, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova (who swept the podium in Torino), and reigning Olympic and World champion Alina Zagitova. Tennell delivered a delightful free skate and took a creditable fifth place for the first Final of her career, ahead of Zagitova.
"It felt really great to qualify for the Final," she said. "I'm so excited that I was able to make it. It was an amazing opportunity. Also, it was such an exclusive group of ladies."
In Torino, Tennell showed the result of her work on choreography. She made it clear that she had become a master of movement. This was visible both in her short and free programs.
"My short program is very staccato. I'm working on the energy of the performance even on those spots when there is no music. I want the audience to feel it.; each time there is a pause in the music, I'm pausing accordingly. I wanted to show changes of tempo, more broken up and also show different speed," she offered.
Tennell's efforts were even more visible in her free program to "Cinema Paradiso". "For my free program, I really wanted to challenge myself and show that I can do more than one genre," she explained. "I really like how the program turned out. The music is slower and very heartfelt, so I really want to be more elegant and connected with the music. The choreography isn't as intense (as was her "Romeo and Juliet" program last season), so it allows me to use my breath more and inflate my movement. To put more of myself into it. The goal Benoit (Richaud, her choreographer) gave me was to skate the program as if I were creating the music myself through my movement."
Tennell's new level of skating was obvious in Torino. She has worked extensively on her gesture, especially with her upper body. That amplifies her lines on the ice and adds to the feelings she is trying to express. "I fell a lot when we were choreographing this piece!" She laughed. "I was literally a fish out water. I felt like a Zamboni!" She recalled in her usual open way. "But I think it was great for me to expand my movement and widen my range of gesture."
"When I started working with Bradie, three years ago, she still had a lot to discover," Richaud acknowledged. "She was so good in technique, but she had a hard time skating. She has learnt how to manage her emotions and to express them. She learnt how to move her body.
"She has always been ready to learn and to put herself in question. She has worked so much on her skating skills, and now she is one of the best on the artistic side. At 21 she has developed so much, and she is so mature and adult."
"I will do everything in my power to be the next U.S. champion," Tennell offered. "I'm going to continue to work on things I wish to improve upon. Basically, that's my overall program. I want to be more comfortable in it and develop it even more. Of course, my goals will increase as the season unfolds."
The road up the 2020 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, was quite clear for her. "I think until Greensboro I will keep working on everything in my programs. Jumps and spins and steps, of course, but also every smaller detail, the placement of each finger, eye motion. Obviously the next step for me is to include a triple Axel into my program. So until then I will strive at making the programs as artistically advanced as possible."
U.S. Championships kicks off next week in Greensboro on Monday, Jan. 20. The junior and championship events will be live and on demand on the
Figure Skating Pass on NBC Sports Gold. Tickets are available at
ncskate2020.com.
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