Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic derailed the comeback plans of two-time U.S. silver medalist and 2014 Olympian Polina Edmunds. While completing her senior year at Santa Clara University, Edmunds was also ramping up her training and intending to give it full attention after graduation with the goal of qualifying for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
Rinks were forced to close in March and Edmunds decided to essentially retire from competitive skating. Although the injuries that derailed her competitive career were behind her, she felt the time was right to move into the future.
"Coronavirus pretty much changed everyone's lives," said Edmunds, who is still based near her San Jose roots. "For me, I took this past summer to just enjoy living in the present and taking some time off. I've been exercising, but the ice rinks in San Jose were closed and I wasn't able to skate, so I've been focusing my energy on a future career."
In June, Edmunds graduated from Santa Clara University, where her major was communications and her minor business entrepreneurship. She would like to work in sportscasting and sports media.
"One of my goals would be to be an Olympic sportscaster, whether that's for figure skating or interviewing athletes. That would be really cool, and I'd love to do that," she said. "I also want to work with kids and I want to work with talented young athletes all over the country. I'm also interested in digital marketing and social media marketing. I've been looking in all of the realms."
Edmunds said she loved being a college student, calling it eye-opening and amazing to be able to connect with so many other people in her age group and take part in social opportunities that had been off limits to her as an elite athlete. While she enjoyed it, the transition from the strict regimen of a competitive skater to full-time college student wasn't without its bumps. Occasionally, the endless possibilities made her feel pulled in many directions.
Thankfully, time management and discipline from skating carried over, and she was able to focus on her priorities and get work done efficiently. She continued to put time in on the ice in anticipation of a return to competition, but she also embraced the classroom experience to an even higher degree.
"I see a lot of college students not really able to figure out time management until maybe the second half of their college careers, and that they need to be prioritizing their academics and projects over a lot of social events," Edmunds said. "For me, I knew already from my sport how important it is to do some things first and make sure those are all good before you go off and do anything fun."
Edmunds was in fairly intense training all of 2019 and 2020 up until the pandemic hit. She was on a great track with new programs. When rinks closed, it was a huge setback in her plans, which gave her pause. While she is not ready to say she is 100 percent done with competing, she sees herself on a different path, but she is open to show skating.
"I want to keep performing and I still want to be involved in skating," said Edmunds, who tended to keep her Olympic background under the radar at college.
For much of her skating life, Edmunds was the youngest skater on freestyle sessions. When she skates now, she is typically the oldest, but she appreciates the opportunity to inspire and help young skaters. She doesn't coach much, but does choreography, most notably working on Christmas shows in association with Yamaguchi's Always Dream Foundation.
"The passion for skating is the same," she said. "It's a great community. For me, it always has been."
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