Team USA skaters won four awards at the 2023 ISU Skating Awards, held Sunday, Feb. 5 in Zurich, Switzerland.
The following U.S. athletes earned ISU Awards:
The ISU Skating Awards honor the careers and performances of outstanding figure skaters and the work of coaches and choreographers for the 2022 calendar year. Events included for consideration are the ISU Championships (European, Four Continents and World Championships 2022), the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series 2022.
Chen ended a successful competition season with the ultimate title: Olympic champion. He landed five quads in his free skate at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, becoming the seventh U.S. man to win Olympic gold.
Taking the Best Newcomer Award, which honors a talented young skater competing for the first time in ISU events on the senior level, 15-year-old Levito medaled in each of her ISU events in 2022. The reigning World Junior champion secured silver at her first two Grand Prix events at Skate America and the MK John Wilson Trophy before bringing home silver from the Grand Prix Final.
The Best Costume Award honors a costume that reflects creativity, fashion, style and originality. Chock and Bates showed just that with their "Astronaut Meets Alien" free dance costume during 2021-22 season, which was designed by Chock.
Malinin rounded out the awards for all U.S. skaters, bringing home the Special Achievement Award, which honors a skater who makes history by successfully performing a new, special or unique element/move or achieves something extraordinary at an ISU Event in 2022 (GP 2021 accepted) and pushes the boundaries of the sport.
In September at the 2022 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, Malinin became the first skater ever to successfully land the quad Axel in competition. He went on to land it three more times during the Grand Prix Series.
Both winners of the Coach of the Year and Choreographer of the Year Awards also have ties to U.S. athletes. Patrice Lauzon was awarded Coach of Year and Shae-Lynn Bourne secured the Choreographer of the Year Award.
Hailing from The Ice Academy of Montreal, Lauzon coached all three U.S. ice dance teams at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games – including
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, who earned the bronze medal. Hubbell and Donohue were joined on the podium at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 by Chock and Bates.
Bourne, who also won Best Choreographer in 2020, has choreographed for some of the world's top skaters, including Chen and pairs team
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier.
During the month of December, the public and media voted from the lost list of candidates for their favorite skaters, coaches and choreographers. After the ISU announced the final three nominees in each category, the winners were decided through a vote by the 2023 ISU Skating Awards panel, which was made up of six former figure skating champions: Eric Radford (CAN), Kiira Korpi (FIN), Miki Ando (JPN), Surya Bonaly (FRA), Christopher Dean (GBR) and Todd Eldredge (USA). The winners were announced and celebrated during a ceremony that was livestreamed on the ISU YouTube page.
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