Eliot Halverson


Eliot Jon Halverson is an American figure skater. He is 2007 US Junior National Champion.

Personal life

Halverson was born in Bogotá, Colombia and was adopted from Colombia at age five months. He lived and trained in Saint Paul, Minnesota from his move to the United States until 2008, when he began training in Ann Arbor. Halverson's parents are divorced and he lives with his mother. He has been homeschooled from a young age.
Because the 2008 United States Figure Skating Championships were held in his hometown of St. Paul, Halverson became a poster-boy for the 2008 Nationals.

Career

Eliot Halverson began skating at age six on a frozen pond behind his house. When the World Figure Skating Championships came to Minneapolis in 1998, Halverson skipped school for a week to watch them. This encouraged him to take private lessons and become a more serious skater. He landed his first triple at age eleven. Although he is coached primarily by Ted Engelking, Halverson has also worked with Alexei Mishin and Kathy Casey.
Unlike most male skaters, Halverson can perform a Biellmann spin.
Halverson is the 2003 U.S. Juvenile bronze medalist, 2004 Intermediate champion, and 2005 Novice pewter medalist. His fourth-place finish at the 2005 United States Figure Skating Championships earned him a trip to the 2005 Triglav Trophy at the novice level, which he won. Halverson stayed novice for the 2005-2006 Olympic season and won the novice title at the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. In his novice free skate, he landed six triple jumps, including two triple-double combinations.
In the 2006-2007 season, Halverson made his junior debut. He won two bronze medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit and was second alternate to the 2006/2007 Junior Grand Prix Final. He went on to the 2007 Nationals and won the junior title. Halverson is the first men's skater since Evan Lysacek to win back-to-back novice and junior national titles and is one of only nine men to do it since 1932. His placement at nationals earned him a trip to the 2007 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where he placed 10th. Until Junior Worlds, Halverson had never placed off the podium in a major event in his career.
Halverson began the 2007-2008 season at the Junior Grand Prix Harghita Cup. After placing 6th in the short program, he attempted his first triple axel jump in competition in the free skate. Although he fell on the landing, he rotated it successfully and was given credit for the jump officially. He placed 5th in the long program, placing 5th overall. At his second event, the Pokal der Blauen Schwerter in Germany, he placed 7th overall, after placing 4th in the long program and being credited with his first triple axel of his career.
Halverson made his senior debut at the 2008 Midwestern Sectional Championships, where he won the pewter medal. At the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, his second senior-level competition, he was the youngest senior man to compete. He placed 13th overall and was named first alternate for the 2008 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.
Halverson changed coaches from Ted Engelking to Doug Haw following the 2007/2008 season. He also changed his club affiliation from the St. Paul FSC to the Ann Arbor FSC following his move to Ann Arbor, Michigan. This changed the region he competed out of from Upper Great Lakes to Eastern Great Lakes.
He began the 2008/2009 season at the 2008–2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Courchevel, France, where he placed 8th. At the Eastern Great Lakes Regional Championships in October, he won the silver medal behind Parker Pennington and qualified for Sectionals.
Halverson's 2009/2010 season began at the 2009–2010 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Belarus, Russia, where he placed 5th. He went on to place second at the Eastern Great Lakes Regional Championships in October, qualifying for Midwestern Sectionals, where he placed 5th to finish his season.
Due to ongoing medical issues related to a pinched nerve in his lower back, Halverson did not compete in the 2010/2011 season. However, he had planned to return to competition for the 2011/2012 season, barring any continued medical issues.

Awards

Due to his success at the junior level, April 21, 2007 was declared to be "Eliot Halverson Day" in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Programs

SeasonShort ProgramFree SkatingExhibition
2009-2010Layali Al Shara
Final of First Routine		Libertango
by Ástor Piazzolla
Il Postino
2008-2009The Chairman's Waltz
by John Williams		Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor
by Sergei Rachmaninov
2007-2008Libertango
by Ástor Piazzolla
performed by Bond		2046 Main Theme
by Shigeru Umebayashi
Nostradamus
by Tonči Huljić
performed by Maksim Mrvica
2006-2007Hana's Eyes
by Maksim Mrvica, performed by Tonči Huljić		Tales from the Crypt;
The Nightmare Before Christmas;
Beetlejuice
by Danny Elfman
The Grifters
by Bernstein		Tales from the Crypt;
The Nightmare Before Christmas;
Beetlejuice
by Danny Elfman
The Grifters
by Bernstein
2005-2006Bullfighter medleyHungarian/Russian folk medley

Competitive highlights

Event2002-20032004-20052005-20062006-20072007-20082008-20092009-2010
World Junior Championships10th
U.S. Championships4th N.1st N.1st J.13th13th
Junior Grand Prix, Belarus5th
Junior Grand Prix, France8th
Junior Grand Prix, Germany7th
Junior Grand Prix, Romania5th
Junior Grand Prix, Netherlands3rd
Junior Grand Prix, Hungary3rd
Triglav Trophy1st N.
NACS Waterloo2nd N.
Junior nationals3rd Ju.
Midwestern Sectionals3rd N.2nd N.1st J.4th2nd5th
Eastern Great Lakes Regionals2nd2nd
Upper Great Lakes Regionals1st N.1st N.1st J.