U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS: THEY KEEP IT IN FAMILY : BROTHER-SISTER TEAM WINS U.S. PAIRS TITLE.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. When they began skating together nine years ago, Danielle and Steve Hartsell Steve Hartsell (born January 6 1978, Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American pair skater. With sister Danielle Hartsell, he is the 1999 U.S. national champion. After his sister retired, he skated with Marcy Hinzmann and Kristen Roth. could only dream of growing up to win the U.S. Figure Skating U.S. Figure Skating (USFS), officially called the United States Figure Skating Association or USFSA, is the national sport governing body for figure skating in the United States. Championships pairs title. They grew into champions Friday night. The siblings from Westland, Mich., who have been on the rise since finishing second in a regional intermediate competition in 1990, easily won the senior crown with a strong display of lifts, jumps and throws. Danielle, 18, and Steve, 21, added the title to their 1997 junior world crown and 1995 gold medal gold medal traditional first prize. [Western Cult: Misc.] See : Prize in the U.S. juniors. ``In the past few years, we matured as people, and that shows in our skating,'' Steve said. ``We took a performance like this and made it a national championship performance. It shows how we've matured as people and skaters.'' Kyoko Ina Kyoko Ina (伊奈 恭子 Ina Kyoko , who won the past two nationals with Jason Dungjen Jason Dungjen is an American professional pairs figure skater. He competed first with his sister Susan Dungjen, with whom he placed second at the 1984 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. After that, he competed with Kyoko Ina. , finished second with new partner John Zimmerman John Luther Zimmerman IV (born November 26, 1973 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American professional figure skater who tours with Stars On Ice with his partner Kyoko Ina. He has two older sisters and is of German and Norwegian descent. . They were sloppy, as might be expected from a duo that has been together for only a few months. Both went down on a split triple twist A supertwist variation that twists crystals to 260 degrees for improved clarity. See LCD. when Ina crashed into Zimmerman's chest and he tripped over her. ``First of all, we need to evaluate what went wrong,'' Ina said. ``Is it an element in the program, the way things are set up, or were we nervous? ``We have never, ever missed the twist. We tried to pick up the rest of the program, but because of that we were a little bit late.'' Still, they are headed to next month's world championships - Ina's fifth appearance at worlds, and Zimmerman's second - along with the Hartsells and third-place finishers Laura Handy Laura Lynn Handy (born July 25, 1980 in Atlantic City, NJ) is an American figure skater. She competed in pairs with partner Paul Binnebose, and the duo won the bronze medal at the 1999 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. and J. Paul Binnebose J. Paul Binnebose (born November 26, 1977 in Sacramento, CA) was an American figure skater. He competed in pairs with partner Laura Lynn Handy, and the duo won the bronze medal at the 1999 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. . Earlier Friday, America's new wave of ice dancers was identified, and it includes three men not born in the United States. The best of them, Russian Peter Tchernyshev, partnered with Naomi Lang to win. Performing a playful tango, they swept the judging panel. Second place went to Eva Chalom and Mathew Gates, an Englishman. Another Russian, Oleg Fediukov, teamed with Debbie Koegel for third. ``What we really wanted to find is a partner we can skate with,'' said Chalom, whose partner skated despite a bout with pneumonia. ``I don't think any one of us had it mind to find someone from overseas . . . that's just the way it ended up.'' The top two couples qualified for the world championships at Helsinki, but they are long shots for a high finish. The best American ice dancers of the 1990s, Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow, turned pro last year. They won five U.S. crowns, but never managed to climb higher than sixth at worlds. ``As the years come, the American teams will develop,'' Lang said. ``We just have to give it time.'' Lang and Tchernyshev were training partners with Punsalan and Swallow at the Detroit Skating Club. The winners first teamed in late 1996 after he hand-wrote a letter to her asking if she was interested in a partnership. Both had recently split with their partners. They were fifth in the 1997 nationals and moved up to third last year. In ice dancing, where upsets almost never happen, they were next in line for the title when Punsalan-Swallow moved on and Jessica Joseph and Charles Butler - the other U.S. duo at the Nagano Olympics - split. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev complete their winning ice dancing pairs program during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Beth A. Keiser/Associated Press |
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