Carreira and Ponomarenko Ready for a Reset

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko finished last season in style, winning a bronze medal at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2022 in Tallinn, Estonia.
 
It was a high point in a season that was otherwise full of challenges. The team was adjusting to a new coach and training location, and Ponomarenko also struggled with a chronic ankle injury that ultimately required surgery. Now, Carreira and Ponomarenko are back on the ice and looking to rebuild their confidence and joy in skating.
 
"Last year was a tough season. We changed coaches, and it was a pretty big adjustment," Carreira said. The team moved to the Ice Academy of Montreal (I.AM) in London, Ontario, to work with Olympic champion Scott Moir.
 
"Everything felt really different," Carreira said. "We felt solid and more confident at competitions, but it takes time for that to translate [into results]. We're happy that we could pull it together at Four Continents and make the podium."
 
"It was a battle for us last season. A lot of ups and downs," Ponomarenko agreed.
 
All season, he was dealing with a worsening injury to his right ankle.
 
"I sprained my ankle severely back in 2015. At the time, I thought it was just a sprain, but there was some damage to my joint," Ponomarenko explained. "I skated through it. I was always skating with pain, but with the [competition] seasons, I didn't really have a good opportunity to get surgery done. Then last year, I really did not feel confident in my ankle anymore. It was getting to the point where every opinion I heard was: 'Get the surgery.' Since the Olympic quad was over, this was the time to get the surgery done, to make sure I'm fully ready for the next four years."
 
Ponomarenko scheduled his surgery for the end of the season, knowing it meant a long recovery period away from the ice. Although he knew it was the right decision, it still weighed on his mind last season.
 
"I was used to the pain at that point. I sustained the injury seven years ago. But it took a mental toll, to know that as soon as the season's done, I'm going onto the operating table," he admitted. "And that this offseason was going to look very different for me."
 
A week after Four Continents, Ponomarenko flew to Colorado for surgery. He spent most of the next three months in Colorado Springs, working on his recovery.
 
"At first, it was trying to learn to walk again, very slowly," Ponomarenko said. "I had a certain amount of time that I could walk per day. The rest had to be crutch time. Then I came back to skating, and it was only 30 minutes of the most basic forward skating and little T-stops. It was like I was in Learn to Skate again. For the first month and a half, it increased very, very slowly. I worked up to an hour and a half [of skating], and then they made me drop back to an hour. But I'm really thankful I did that, because I feel like everything was done correctly. My team made sure that I had no pain."
 
While Ponomarenko was recovering in Colorado Springs, Carreira stayed in London.
 
"I had a lot of stuff to work on myself, so I just kept working for those three months. It was pretty boring," Carreira admitted, with a laugh. "My lesson times were always fun, but [when] I was by myself, I mainly just did stroking. Looking at how I'm skating now, I'm happy that I had that time to work on myself. But I sure missed Anthony."
 
Ponomarenko returned to London on May 1 and eased slowly back into skating. It was not until June that he and Carreira resumed full training.
 
Meanwhile, the creative process for their 2022-23 programs had already begun. Madison Hubbell and Adrian Diaz, new coaches in the I.AM London group, took a major role in helping create the programs. They worked on the Latin rhythm dance first.
 
"Madi and Adrian were the main choreographers. We discussed music and ideas while Anthony was still recovering," Carreira said.
 
The group chose songs that portrayed the fun and sultry sides of Latin dance.
 
Both Carreira and Ponomarenko give a thumbs up to the ISU's recent changes to the rhythm dance, eliminating the compulsory pattern and adding a choreographic element.
 
"There was a lot more to discover, a lot more elements that we could play around with," Ponomarenko said. "The process went a lot smoother."
 
"I think it was a really good decision, for the Latin year, to not have a pattern dance," Carreira added. "The choreo step is super fun, and I think it adds a lot to the program."
 
"In general, without the pattern dance, we have a lot more time to work on other key elements in both programs," Ponomarenko commented. "So I'd say that not having the pattern dance this year is a big positive."
 
In mid-July, the couple spent three weeks in Montreal, working with I.AM head coach Marie-France Dubreuil on their free dance. Hubbell assisted.
 
"Marie-France is a genius at what she does, so it was a lot of fun," Ponomarenko said. "As a group, we created something really special. We believe that this piece is elegant and different from what we've done in the past."
 
The program is set to two versions of the classic standard "Summertime," along with a selection from the Backbone soundtrack. Carreira and Ponomarenko worked with Dubreuil to conceptualize the storyline.
 
"Marie-France's vision was New York City, in three different eras," Ponomarenko said. "The beginning is the modern era. Then we go into 'Summertime,' which is the main theme. It's the 1950s [time frame] – a little bit older style, with different movements and expression. Toward the end, we go into the orchestrated version of the piece. That's where we show the 1920s/30s era. So, we have three significant pieces, all [with] a change of character."
 
Carreira and Ponomarenko said they enjoy working with new coaches Hubbell and Diaz.
 
"I love having Madison, because having a female coach is always good for the girl (female partner)," Carreira said.
 
Ponomarenko lives near their rink in London, while Carreira resides in Michigan to maintain permanent residency in the United States. She has her green card and expects to get U.S. citizenship before the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Carreira and Ponomarenko both coach part time at Lakeland Arena, near Detroit.
 
The duo started their Grand Prix season at MK John Wilson Trophy, placing fourth. They're excited to compete again this week at the Grand Prix of Espoo in Finland.
 
"This season is different for us. It's the beginning of a new quad, and we've made lots of improvements. We're really proud of our product this year," Carreira said.
 
"We want to skate for ourselves and show everybody that we love this sport," Ponomarenko added. "It's a season for us to gain back the confidence we lost last season and to end the year feeling good."