Jennifer Kirk
Kirk in 2003.
Born (1984-08-15) August 15, 1984
Newton, Massachusetts
Height1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
Skating clubSC of Boston
Began skating1994
RetiredSeptember 7, 2005
Medal record
Representing  United States
Figure skating: Ladies' singles
Four Continents Championships
Gold medal – first place2002 JeonjuLadies' singles
Bronze medal – third place2005 GangneungLadies' singles
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2000 OberstdorfLadies' singles
Junior Grand Prix Final
Silver medal – second place1999–2000 GdanskLadies' singles

Jennifer Anne "Jenny" Kirk (born August 15, 1984) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2000 World Junior champion and the 2002 Four Continents champion.

Early life

Jennifer Kirk was born in Newton, Massachusetts.[1] Prior to skating, she was a gymnast until the age of nine.[2] She also studied ballet and once performed with the Boston Ballet.[3]

Career

Kirk grew interested in skating and began training with coaches Evy and Mary Scotvold at the age of 10[2] at the Skating Club of Boston. She was featured as a young up-and-coming skater on the PBS shows Zoom and Arthur.[4][5] At 15, a piece of bone tore from her pelvis and jutted into her hip flexor.[6]

Kirk won gold at the 2000 World Junior Championships. In 2002, she captured the Four Continents title. At the 2002 World Championships, she placed 15th in the short program before withdrawing due to a hip injury.[7]

Ahead of the 2002–03 season, Kirk moved to train with Richard Callaghan in Detroit. In addition to single skating, she also briefly dabbled in pair skating with Fedor Andreev in the summer of 2003, describing it as fun but challenging. In the summer of 2004, Kirk moved to the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California, to train with Frank Carroll and Ken Congemi.[2][8][9]

Kirk won the bronze medal at the 2004 U.S. Championships. The following season, she withdrew from her first Grand Prix assignment due to an injury.[7] She placed 10th at the 2004 Cup of Russia and won bronze at the 2005 Four Continents.

On September 7, 2005, Kirk announced her retirement from competitive figure skating.[10] She moved to Boston, where she worked as a coach, but later returned to Southern California. Kirk's decision to quit competitive skating the year before the Olympics was profiled on Ice Diaries.

Kirk is a member of the U.S. Figure Skating International Committee. In the fall of 2012, she and her colleague, David Lease, launched "The Skating Lesson", a podcast and website.[11] The two interview current and former skaters, coaches, choreographers and skating officials including Debi Thomas, Frank Carroll, Sandra Bezic, Alissa Czisny, Tiffany Chin, and Rudy Galindo. The web-series has garnered a following of thousands of figure skating fans with its weekly video interviews.

Personal life

In May 1999, Kirk's mother, Pat Harris, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died in August 2001. The loss of her mother was one of the reasons Kirk decided to retire. "Although I still love skating very much, my passion and love for the competitive aspect of the sport has dwindled following the death of my mother in 2001 and my nagging hip injuries."[10] In 2009, she revealed her career-long struggle with eating disorders and mentioned that it had been a factor in her decision to retire.[12][13] She also stated that disordered eating was very common among skaters but not enough was being done to address the problem.[14][15]

Programs

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2004–05
[1]
2003–04
[16]
  • Chicago
    by John Kander, Fred Ebb
  • Chicago
    by John Kander, Fred Ebb
2002–03
[17]
  • Die Fledermaus
    by Johann Strauss II
2001–02
[18]
2000–01
[19]
1999–2000
  • Evita
    by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Results

GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International[20]
Event 97–98 98–99 99–00 00–01 01–02 02–03 03–04 04–05
WorldsWD118th17th
Four Continents5th1st3rd
GP Cup of Russia10th
GP NHK Trophy6th5th
GP Skate America4th2nd
GP Skate Canada6th
GP Sparkassen4th
GP Trophée Lalique3rd
International: Junior[20]
Junior Worlds1st
JGP Final2nd
JGP Japan1st
JGP Netherlands4th
National[7]
U.S. Champ.3rd N3rd J7th4th5th5th3rd4th
Levels: N = Novice, J = Junior. WD = Withdrew
  • ^1 At the 2002 World Championships, Kirk was 15th in the short program before withdrawing.

References

  1. 1 2 "Jennifer KIRK: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 3, 2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. 1 2 3 "Jennifer Kirk: Online Interview". goldenskate.com. November 10, 2003. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  3. ↑ Mittan, Barry (January 9, 2003). "Jennifer Kirk: Gymnastics Background Strengthens Kirk's Skating". GoldenSkate. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  4. ↑ Zoom. Season 1. Episode 4. 7 January 1999. PBS.
  5. ↑ "The Good Sport". Arthur. Season 6. Episode 9A. PBS. WQED (TV).
  6. ↑ Kirk, Jennifer (June 27, 2009). "Preventing Pain in Figure Skating". True/Slant. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "Jennifer Kirk". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ↑ Brannen, Sarah S.; Meekins, Drew (October 30, 2008). "The Inside Edge with Sarah and Drew". IceNetwork.com. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  9. ↑ Hersh, Philip. "Kirk stepping out on her own". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  10. 1 2 "2004 U.S. Bronze Medalist Jennifer Kirk Announces Retirement From Competitive Figure Skating". U.S. Figure Skating. September 7, 2005. Archived from the original on November 10, 2005.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ↑ The Skating Lesson's about page
  12. ↑ Kirk, Jennifer (July 5, 2009). "Skating's not-so-secret Shame". True/Slant. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  13. ↑ Kirk, Jennifer (July 8, 2009). "The Aftermath". True/Slant. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  14. ↑ Coker, Lesleyann (January 20, 2010). "Jenny Kirk on Figure Skating's Eating Disorder Epidemic (Part I)". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  15. ↑ Coker, Lesleyann (January 21, 2010). "Jenny Kirk on Figure Skating's Eating Disorder Epidemic (Part II)". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Jennifer KIRK: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 16, 2004.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ↑ "Jennifer KIRK: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 18, 2003.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. ↑ "Jennifer KIRK: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 11, 2002.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. ↑ "Jennifer KIRK: 2000/2001". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 19, 2001.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. 1 2 "Jennifer KIRK". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.

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