Following Breakthrough Season, Bradie Tennell Living Her Childhood Dream

Bradie Tennell still pinches herself every now and then.
 
Even through the grind of being an elite figure skater, Tennell realizes that she's living her childhood dream.
 
At the 2020 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships, following her bronze-medal finish, Tennell attended the Friends of Figure Skating breakfast. She was called onstage to answer questions and speak on the panel with Olympic gold medalist and four-time World champion Scott Hamilton.
 
"I once did an ice show with Scott Hamilton when I was like 10 years old," Tennell said. "And I remember I was so excited, because I got to hold his hand while I was bowing, and it's something I will never forget. I will never forget it. I was so excited.
 
"And so now I think back to 10-year-old me being ecstatic to hold Scott Hamilton's hand while I'm taking my bow after the show, and now I'm getting to go up onstage and take a selfie with him and give him a hug and talk to him. Ten-year-old me would've never dreamed this. This is so cool. This man is a legend, and he knows my name. That's amazing."
 
Tennell is making quite the name for herself. Following a career-best ISU Grand Prix finish – a silver medal at Skate America – the 2018 Olympian and Team Event bronze medalist qualified for her first Grand Prix Final in 2019, finishing fifth, and won bronze at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2020 in Seoul.
 
Tennell's season was a strong one, and she planned on landing in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the U.S. Championships to reclaim the U.S. title she'd won in 2018.
 
However, a lingering arm injury reared its ugly head, throwing a wrench into her meticulous preparations.
 
Several months prior, Tennell had hit her left arm hard on the wall when she fell. As time passed, it would occasionally swell up if she bumped it on something, but it would always return to normal, and Tennell wasn't concerned. But the Saturday before U.S. Championships, it began to swell, and didn't get any better.
 
"It was very painful," she said. "I couldn't really bend my arm. And I was at the point where I was jumping, and I was using my right arm to pull my left arm in. And I was like, alright, I'm competing tomorrow, we need to take care of this."
 
Tennell got her arm examined and was put on antibiotics, but her mom – a nurse – knew that she had to get it drained.
 
Once it was drained, it was good as new, and doctors told her it was a hematoma that had gotten infected.
 
But, after a season of feeling so strong and solid, a last-minute medical issue left her feeling shaken.
 
Tennell was able to get everything back in order to perform up to her usual standards in Greensboro. In first place following the short program, she ultimately finished third overall behind Alysa Liu and Mariah Bell following a fall on the loop in her free skate, a mistake she says was "inexcusable."
 
While she ultimately went home with a medal that was not the color she would've liked, Tennell gained a new appreciation for what she's able to do.
 
"It really shows me how tough I am," she said. "I don't mean that in an egotistical way, but just that my body is capable of more than I realize. I didn't realize that something so major could be going on, and I could still push through it like that. So it really gives me a new perspective on myself, and the things that I'm capable of, and just kind of my limits."
 
Just two weeks later, Tennell won her Four Continents bronze medal – her first major international championships podium finish – and set a new season's-best score in the process.
 
"Breaking my season's best has given me a very good confidence boost," she said. "At this competition (Four Continents) I feel like I was able to relax and skate the way that I do every day. That's kind of been my goal not only this year but also last year, but I feel like I never quite achieved it last year. But this year throughout each competition I've been getting closer and closer, and at this competition I was able to really achieve that.
 
"I kind of just feel more relaxed (at competitions) now. I know what to expect and I know what I'm capable of, and that helps put my mind at ease."
 
While the season ended prematurely, it was a breakthrough that should translate in the future as the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 inch closer.
 
Regardless of results, Tennell also hopes to simply make it all count for her 10-year-old self.
 
"I think my biggest thing is, I just want to go out there and skate for me," Tennell said. "I think that's really what this season has all been about. I've wanted to go out there every time and just put it all out there, leave nothing on the table, and just enjoy myself.
 
"This is what I love to do. It's what I'm passionate about. And I'm getting to live my childhood dream, you know? I watched skating all the time. And so now to be competing on the world stage and have these experiences and getting to travel so much, it's really a dream. And I'm just so grateful that I have these experiences."