Team USA junior pairs skater Luke Wang says he is the polar opposite of his partner Olivia Flores.
"But in a way that we can come together and be balanced – in a good way," Wang said. "There's a really good energy, a good dynamic."
Flores is the upbeat one, bringing a positive attitude with her to every day of training. Wang keeps the duo focused and grounded.
And it's a combination that is getting results. In just their second season as a team, Flores and Wang earned silver at each of their two Junior Grand Prix assignments, in Austria and Turkey, and qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final. They finished fifth at the JGP Final, with a personal best score in the short program.
Now, last year's U.S. pewter medalists at the junior level have turned their focus to the 2024 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Columbus, Ohio, where they'll compete on January 23 and 24. The only U.S. pairs team to qualify for the JGP Final this year, Flores and Wang will be favorites heading into the junior pairs event at the U.S. Championships.
Their goals for the competition focus on the second half of the season, rather than any specific placement.
"Definitely qualifying for Junior Worlds is on our mind, and then kind of building on what we started at the Final and hoping for a better result, potentially. Working really hard for that," Wang said.
Flores and Wang were both singles skaters when they teamed up in June 2022 to try pairs skating for the first time. Both still compete at the junior level in singles, and Wang also qualified for the U.S. Championships in the junior men's event this year. Flores skated in the junior women's event at the 2023 U.S. Championships. And while the singles training helps with their jump elements for pairs, both skaters say that pairs is their priority.
Heading into their first junior international season this past fall, they were focused on gaining experience, with hopes of making it to the Final.
"Since it is only our second season, we didn't try to make too much of it. Obviously, it was a goal, but we didn't want to put too much pressure on ourselves," Wang said. "We just wanted to go to our two JGPs with an open mind. When we did make it, that was obviously the cherry on top – really exciting."
The team built momentum with each of their competitions this fall.
"The JGPs, they were such exciting events for us, because we hadn't done anything like that before," Flores said. "Riding the wave of momentum [from Austria] into Turkey, that helped and we were just so excited for all of those events. And for the Final, we were excited, but I feel like, at least for me, I know that I was more nervous than I was for the other competitions."
They felt a bit more pressure on the big stage of the Junior Grand Prix Final, which was held alongside the Senior Grand Prix Final in Beijing, China, from Dec. 7-10, 2023.
"We wanted to prove that we belonged there," Wang said.
Despite the added pressure, both Flores and Wang said they were inspired by competing at the same event as the best senior level skaters in the world.
"The people you look up to, such a high caliber of skating, and then you get to be with them, it was an exciting experience," Wang said. "But also nerve-wracking, because it's such a big event. So definitely lots of nerves. But [the senior Team USA skaters] were all super welcoming and super nice."
Competing at a major ISU championship event also meant they were skating in a large arena, with a high-quality sound system that made their music sound "even more epic," Flores said. "It's a different experience [than the music in practice]."
Wang agreed: "When the speakers are blasting the music and you're skating to it, I can't even explain what that feels like. Liv will tell me every time, 'This is epic, this is so cool.'"
Their short program music is "Once Upon a December" by Christy Altomare, from the Broadway musical version of
Anastasia. As a big Star Wars fan, Wang suggested their free skate music: "The Force Theme" and "Rey's Theme" from the
Star Wars movies.
There won't be any changes to their programs before the U.S. Championships, but they'll be training the nuances and choreography in each program to up their program components scores.
The pair trains in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with Drew Meekins, Natalia Mishkutenok and Danny O'Shea. With many of their training mates also preparing for the U.S. Championships, the next several weeks of training will include competition simulations.
"We hype each other up," Wang said.
In addition to the support of their fellow skaters, Flores and Wang have relied on each other as they learned pairs skating together. The learning curve was steep.
"Because we were both new, it was definitely a rougher start. We had to learn all the elements," Wang said. "All the elements were so different [from singles skating] and learning the foundation for everything was so challenging."
Flores looks back on that time with her trademark positivity: "Because we learned with each other, it also makes it easier for us to know how to work with each other," she said.
Both partners agree that they find pairs skating exciting and high-energy, which drew them toward the discipline.
Flores and Wang will take that energy to the ice at Nationwide Arena in Columbus during the U.S. Championships. They'll be focused on their goal of making the Junior World Championships team, but also excited for the familial atmosphere at the annual competition.
"We're excited to see our teammates from JGP Austria. It was such a good family and group of people," Wang said, and Flores added, "We're so excited to see everyone."
Follow Flores and Wang's results and catch all the action from the 2024 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships here on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone. To purchase tickets to see them live in Columbus, click here.
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