U.S. Pairs 2020-21 season - News & Updates, Part XI

[AxelAnnie]

I always got the impression that 2022 was her (and Chris’) end goal. But I agree, when I watched Alexa and Brandon skate not only was I impressed but they seemed so happy and free from past struggles that I would be sad if they were only in it til the Olympics. To think that they might never go to a World Championships is kind of disheartening as I have been so impressed with them thus far. Maybe the improvements will encourage them to go for longer, even if it’s not an entire Olympic cycle. I know hindsight is 20/20, but it makes me wish they had paired up after the 2018 Olympics.
I do hope that Haven is doing well. I saw that she posted some stuff congratulating them on social media after SA so hopefully she was okay with everything that happened. I always enjoyed Haven and Brandon (more than Alexa and Chris) but it seems like Alexa and Brandon are developing into quite the good pair team!

Why did they split?

 

[skylark]

Why did they split?

If you're talking about Haven and Brandon, is your question sarcastic? Are you asking the question to call attention to the fact that we don't really know?

Unless it was pretty much so that Brandon could pursue the opportunity to partner with Alexa? I don't think either Haven or Brandon gave a reason. Haven just put out the statement that she wished Brandon well in his competitive goals. Brandon pretty much just said he valued and was grateful to Haven for the years they had together. If my memory is right.

 

[BrightSkates]

Finster/Nagy Split.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIhBUq3LRWY/?igshid=ksko5e4ipen1

 

[PairSkater12345]

If you look at instagram the girl Nagy is with is Tarah Kayne.

 

[AxelAnnie]

oops - sorry.

 

[AxelAnnie]

If you're talking about Haven and Brandon, is your question sarcastic? Are you asking the question to call attention to the fact that we don't really know?

Unless it was pretty much so that Brandon could pursue the opportunity to partner with Alexa? I don't think either Haven or Brandon gave a reason. Haven just put out the statement that she wished Brandon well in his competitive goals. Brandon pretty much just said he valued and was grateful to Haven for the years they had together. If my memory is right.

Oops my bad. I do not follow Alexa. And I never put 1-1+ together. I kept reading that D/F were looking for a coach.

 

[mattiecat13]

Finster/Nagy Split.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIhBUq3LRWY/?igshid=ksko5e4ipen1

I thought they split months ago? Any definitive word on Danny O’Shea retiring?

 

[maureenfarone]

I thought they split months ago? Any definitive word on Danny O’Shea retiring?

I remember Finster/Nagy from the ISP virtual comps held in September/October so they were still together at that time.

Nothing new that I've read about Kayne/O'Shea. At SA they were with Jim Peterson who is now coaching in Michigan but that may have just been a temporary arrangement for that competition. No announcements since then about a coach or Danny retiring.

 

[Sylvia]

"Five Things - Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc" (USFS' latest IGTV video): https://www.instagram.com/tv/CIjjis5AL2c/

 

[skylark]

If you look at instagram the girl Nagy is with is Tarah Kayne.

That picture seems to confirm one thing TSL said, that Tarah and Balazs went on a vacation together. I don't know about the rest, I'm beginning to doubt. But then again, if Danny is retiring, he's under no obligation to announce it an any particular time, I guess. If K/O don't skate at Nationals, will that free a space for another pair? Or maybe they will skate at Nationals and all this was ... something else. I feel bad about speculating, but heck I do want to know. I still don't want Danny to retire.

 

[olympic]

That picture seems to confirm one thing TSL said, that Tarah and Balazs went on a vacation together. I don't know about the rest, I'm beginning to doubt. But then again, if Danny is retiring, he's under no obligation to announce it an any particular time, I guess. If K/O don't skate at Nationals, will that free a space for another pair? Or maybe they will skate at Nationals and all this was ... something else. I feel bad about speculating, but heck I do want to know. I still don't want Danny to retire.

I also don't want to see Danny retire. He has too much to offer the U.S. pairs program

 

[skatingguy]

I also don't want to see Danny retire. He has too much to offer the U.S. pairs program

I think his contributions will be greater as a coach going forward than what he could achieve as a competitor. Given his age he might have 1 more cycle in him, but I'm not certain there is a suitable partner, or the likelihood that a theoretical new partnership would be able to qualify for major competitions like Worlds & Olympics.

 

[HeatherC]

Unfortunately, I can now confirm the news that Tarah and Danny have ended their partnership. The USFSA will be sending out a press release sometime soon with more details so I'm going to refrain from any other comments until that official release goes out (the news will also be posted on their site once the PR is out). Thank you to all the fans here who have always supported them. I know how much it has always meant to both of them to see the support and love from everyone. I wish both of them all the best and I'm really going to miss seeing them together on the ice.

And seriously, this year can go away anytime...

 

[mjb52]

That's really too bad, I liked them a lot.

 

[maureenfarone]

That's really too bad, I liked them a lot.

I'm really sorry to read this as I was hoping for them to finish out this season. Wishing Danny the best!

 

[Spiralgraph]

I was hoping the news wasn't true. I do wish both Tarah and Danny the very best in the future.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Article on Tarah and Danny's split:

Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea End Partnership - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

2016 U.S. champions Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea have ended their partnership, the pair announced on Thursday.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Both Tarah and Danny are going to continue to skate!

 

[Rukia]

I thought their programs this year were some of their strongest material, so this is really a shame. Interesting that Tarah is set with Peterson/Evora coaching team apparently. I wonder if the coaching situation had anything to do with this?

Either way, best of luck to both in the future.

 

[happycamper2554]

Article on Tarah and Danny's split:

Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea End Partnership - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

2016 U.S. champions Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea have ended their partnership, the pair announced on Thursday.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Both Tarah and Danny are going to continue to skate!

NAGY is the obvious choice for her. But I dont know if they would be competitive for 2022.

I wonder who Danny is thinking of skating with. Im drawing a blank on anyone who would be really competitive for 2022.

 

[sk8nlizard]

NAGY is the obvious choice for her. But I dont know if they would be competitive for 2022.

I wonder who Danny is thinking of skating with. Im drawing a blank on anyone who would be really competitive for 2022.

I agree, I think Nagy will be Tarah’s new partner.

I was trying to think about Danny and I came up with a few names but not sure any of them are truly a consideration...Haven (not sure she is looking to skate competitively), Kate Finster (might be too tall) and Megan Wessenberg. I saw some clips of her on Instagram and she looked good but hasn’t ever competed in pairs. I know Danny has a house in Colorado, if he wants to move back there is there anyone there? I have no idea...is he willing to move somewhere else to train with someone? Danny is a terrific pairs guy, so if he does want to continue I hope he can find a suitable partner.

Also, both Tarah and Danny are older, if Tarah is teaming with Nagy it seems maybe she was planning to continue past 2022? If Danny’s end goal is 2022, I would think He might call Haven? It’s interesting that US Pairs is showing such a shake up after all these years. We all commented when Alexa was looking for a partner that none of these guys would leave their partners and here we are 9 months later and 2 of the 3 have split! I guess with so few competitions this year, and lots of uncertainties with the season, if you are going to switch partners, now is the time! I hope both Danny and Tarah are happy in whatever they decide to do.

 

[haribobo]

Well the article says they "plan to continue skating" but not necessarily competing. Based on TSL's earlier note, Danny is retiring from competition. So maybe he can do shows with Haven or something, who knows.

 

[sk8nlizard]

Well the article says they "plan to continue skating" but not necessarily competing. Based on TSL's earlier note, Danny is retiring from competition. So maybe he can do shows with Haven or something, who knows.

Good point, I didn’t think about just show skating!

 

[skylark]

Who might Danny skate with next? Well ... how about Kate Finster? She needs a taller partner than Nagy anyway.

Danny has got to have a wide range of options, even if we can't see them right at the moment. He may already have try-outs scheduled. He's always been regarded as the stronger skater in the K/O pair.... and remember he was speculated as a try-out for Alexa.

My first thought was Katie McBeath. But I'd actually hate to see her and Nate Bartholomay split up. I don't know whether they paired as mostly a great training experience for Katie in the beginning ... but I think they're great together.

If Danny finds a great partner, he could be competitive for 2022. And as things already stood, Danny and Tarah were pretty much seen as being 4th in line for the Olympics from USA anyway. I could see Danny as being happy to continue to skate and compete. Maybe Haven Denney? Whether she can land jumps or not, she's a stunning pairs skater.

 

[Aerobicidal]

I don't watch or follow TSL and find both Dave and Jonathan--at best--deeply annoying, but at this point I'm kind of puzzled by the notion that their info needs to be taken with even one grain of salt. Correct me if I'm wrong, but two weeks ago they said that there was a rumor O'Shea was retiring and it wasn't verified.

Two weeks later, turns out maybe O'Shea isn't retiring, but one of the only U.S. pairs that's a big name in skating is breaking up.

The years of Aunt Joyce's sexism and weight-shaming and the infamous crying in a bathroom episode and a million other things all make me very opposed to TSL in many ways, but I think the ship of not trusting their inside info has kind of sailed.

Now let's just hope at least one of Danny and Tarah finds a way to pair up with Krasnopolski.

 

[skylark]

This is confirmation that Dave Lease has excellent sources of information.

Mind you, I can't stand to listen to a lot of his drivel and opinions, but he does have an inside track on actual news.

 

[ilovepaydays]

Well the article says they "plan to continue skating" but not necessarily competing. Based on TSL's earlier note, Danny is retiring from competition. So maybe he can do shows with Haven or something, who knows.

What shows? Before the cancellation last year, SOI had shrunk to only a handful of cities in the U.S. And how many pairs/dance teams were in the cast? If the Knierims, who went to the Olympics and got a team medal, couldn’t make $$$ - how realistic is it that Danny could with a skater he never paired with?

 

[Frau Muller]

I don't watch or follow TSL and find both Dave and Jonathan--at best--deeply annoying, but at this point I'm kind of puzzled by the notion that their info needs to be taken with even one grain of salt. Correct me if I'm wrong, but two weeks ago they said that there was a rumor O'Shea was retiring and it wasn't verified.

Two weeks later, turns out maybe O'Shea isn't retiring, but one of the only U.S. pairs that's a big name in skating is breaking up.

The years of Aunt Joyce's sexism and weight-shaming and the infamous crying in a bathroom episode and a million other things all make me very opposed to TSL in many ways, but I think the ship of not trusting their inside info has kind of sailed.

Now let's just hope at least one of Danny and Tarah finds a way to pair up with Krasnopolski.

TSL was right again.

 

[Willin]

What shows? Before the cancellation last year, SOI had shrunk to only a handful of cities in the U.S. And how many pairs/dance teams were in the cast? If the Knierims, who went to the Olympics and got a team medal, couldn’t make $$$ - how realistic is it that Danny could with a skater he never paired with?

There's more shows that SOI. A lot of skaters go on to do stuff like Disney on Ice and Cruise Ship shows. There's also Cirque de Soliel's ice shows and touring stuff in Europe. All of them really like guys with pairs backgrounds as they are expected to do a lot of lifting.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Unfortunately, I can now confirm the news that Tarah and Danny have ended their partnership. The USFSA will be sending out a press release sometime soon with more details so I'm going to refrain from any other comments until that official release goes out (the news will also be posted on their site once the PR is out). Thank you to all the fans here who have always supported them. I know how much it has always meant to both of them to see the support and love from everyone. I wish both of them all the best and I'm really going to miss seeing them together on the ice.

And seriously, this year can go away anytime...

Hey u! How have u been??

Ugggg I can’t even imagine what the figure skating landscape is going to look like when all of this is over.

So Tarah to Balasz and Danny to Haven?

I wish I could swoop on in and team up with one of these gals, I got the brute and strength for the throws and the lifts. Although I’d already be Olympic champion with Yankowskas!!

 

[paskatefan]

So sorry to learn about this split. Glad to know that they both will continue to skate, though. Wishing them all the best in their futures!

I Danny's beautiful smile!