Carreira and Ponomarenko Motivated by Fresh Start with Scott Moir

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko knew that by moving to new coaches in a new training environment they would be unpacking much more than their belongings.
 
"We're going down to the bare bones of skating," said Ponomarenko.
 
In February, the ice dancers announced they were joining Canadian Olympic gold medalist Scott Moir at the new branch of the renowned Ice Academy of Montreal (I.AM).
 
"There's a lot that we want to change," said Ponomarenko. "We're just learning I.AM's technique of skating. Our main focus for the next few months is just getting that technique down -- a new way of skating and a new way of performing -- so essentially taking two steps back to make a giant leap forward."
 
The ice dancers have been partners since April 2014 and previously worked with coach Igor Shpilband in Novi, Michigan, outside Detroit.
 
Carreira, 21, and Ponomarenko, 20, enjoyed a steady rise, winning the World Junior bronze medal in 2017 and the World Junior silver medal in 2018. As seniors, they claimed the pewter medal at the 2020 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships and then took the bronze at 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America in October last year.
 
They said they had been considering a coaching change before the 2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and then were devastated when they had to withdraw due to having direct contact with a positive COVID-19 case at their training center in early January. Although both tested negative, they were still unable to compete.
 
"That was pretty awful," Carreira said. "It was definitely a low point, but I think it pushed us to move forward. We honestly couldn't be happier with how things are going with the I.AM team."
 
Since they were alternates for the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021, they initially remained in the United States and began working with Moir and coach Patrice Lauzon, the I.AM co-founder based at the Montreal campus, via Zoom.
 
"We just got the ball rolling for the next season," said Ponomarenko, "and then after the World Championships we officially came to Canada and did our quarantine and started training live and not over a computer screen."

Carreira said their days are now "much more structured and well-rounded. We tackle everything we have to do in a day -- every element, every transition."
 
Although she was born in Montreal, this is only a partial homecoming for Carreira. She will still live in Michigan as she pursues U.S. citizenship. Once Carreira moves into her own place later this month with her Maltipoo Charlie, her commute will be a little over an hour, but she said the drive will be worth it. Ponomarenko will live in London, Ontario, with his new Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named George.
 
Alas, Carreira added, "I still don't need my French."
 
Well, maybe a little since they work every day with the Montreal coaches via Zoom.
 
"The two camps are pretty intertwined with how they function, and we will be taking trips to Montreal," Ponomarenko said.
 
That's where they will train on the same ice as the three top U.S. teams: Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, and Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker.
 
"They're a great motivation to us," Ponomarenko said, "and we love learning how they train, how they perform and how they carry themselves on the ice."
 
 "We're really happy to be part of that team," added Carreira.
 
They had considered moving to the main I.AM training center – with Carreira living across the border in upstate New York -- but chose to join Moir. They had experience working with him before and were familiar with the way he worked.
 
"When he competed, he had this great amount of energy, and that really transferred into his coaching," Ponomarenko said. "He coaches with a lot of enthusiasm and this young energy."
 
Moir and his ice dancing partner, Tessa Virtue, are the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history with three gold medals and two silvers. After winning the gold medal in ice dancing in 2010, the Canadians took the silver medal in Sochi and returned to the top of the podium in 2018. They also won silver and gold medals in the team event.
 
Of course, Ponomarenko's parents, Sergei Ponomarenko and Marina Klimova are the only ice dancers to win an Olympic medal of every color – bronze in 1984, silver in 1988 and gold in 1992.
 
"It was a funny thing, sometimes when they would go to bed, I would just go downstairs and stare at the gold medal," Ponomarenko said. "Most of their trophies are in Russia, but the very important ones are all in a glass case, so just looking at that glass case you see the history and you see all the hard work that paid off."
 
His mother and Carreira's mother played integral parts in getting them together after they stopped skating with their previous partners around the same time.
 
"They were kind of stalking each other," said Carreira. "I know my mom, after we saw Anthony at Lake Placid, she really liked him so she kept following his results."
 
"The same here," said Ponomarenko. "My mom kept up with how she was doing and when we ended up at Igor's camp around the same time, it was very great timing."
 
They bonded over laser tag and a common work ethic.
 
"I think it was our drive and our hard work," Ponomarenko said. "We are like windup toys: you put us on the ice and we'll just work, work, work."
 
And now they are doing just that, but in a new environment.
 
"I feel like U.S. ice dancing is the toughest event, and that is a great motivator," said Ponomarenko. "It shows that there are no days off, that we always need to be focused and working hard."
 
And poised to make that giant leap forward.