Timothy LeDuc
Timothy LeDuc is an American pair skater. With his skating partner, Ashley Cain, he is the 2019 U.S. Champion, 2018 Four Continents silver medalist, 2016 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist, and 2017 U.S. national bronze medalist.
Personal life
Timothy LeDuc was born May 4, 1990 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He became interested in figure skating after watching the 2002 Olympics, and started taking figure skating lessons through the Learn to Skate program. LeDuc is the first openly queer skater to win the Pairs Title at the US National Championships.Career
Single skating
LeDuc began learning to skate when he was 12 years old and started private lessons two years later. He placed 7th in the novice men's category at the 2008 U.S. Championships.Early partnerships
Competing in novice pairs, LeDuc placed tenth with Lauren Gifford at the 2010 U.S. Championships.With Cassie Andrews, he won the junior bronze medal at the 2011 U.S. Championships and finished ninth at the 2011 World Junior Championships in Gangneung, South Korea. Moving up to the senior level the following season, they placed eleventh at the 2012 U.S. Championships.
LeDuc teamed up with DeeDee Leng in June 2012. After placing ninth at the 2013 U.S. Championships, they were assigned to the International Challenge Cup, where they finished fifth. The following season, the pair placed sixth at the 2013 International Cup of Nice and seventh at the 2014 U.S. Championships. After their partnership ended in 2014, LeDuc skated with his sister for two years in Willy Bietak ice shows on Royal Caribbean cruise ships. After completing his contract in March 2016, he decided to return to competition.
Partnership with Cain
Following a suggestion from U.S. Figure Skating's Mitch Moyer, LeDuc tried out with Ashley Cain in May 2016. On May 23, 2016, they confirmed their intention to compete together. The pair is coached by her father, Peter Cain, in Euless, Texas.2016–17 season
Cain/LeDuc received three Challenger Series assignments in the 2016-2017 season. After placing fourth at the 2016 Nebelhorn Trophy and 2016 Finlandia Trophy, they were awarded the bronze medal at the 2016 Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they upgraded their twist from a double to a triple. Cain stated, "We just started rotating it days before we left for that competition." At the 2017 US Figure Skating Championships, they placed third. They placed ninth at the 2017 Four Continents Championships.2017–18 season
Cain/LeDuc started the 2017-2018 season with a fourth place finish at the 2017 Lombardia Trophy in mid-September. They placed seventh at the 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy in late September. At their first Grand Prix event, the 2017 Cup of China, they placed sixth. They placed third at the 2018 US Figure Skating Championships. They placed second at the 2018 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and earned their first medal at a senior ISU Championship.2018–19 season
At 2018 US International Figure Skating Classic, Cain/LeDuc placed first overall with a score of 173.05. At the 2018 Ondrej Nepela Trophy, they placed first overall with a score of 181.56. At their first Grand Prix event of the season, 2018 Skate America, they placed third overall with a score of 175.05. At 2018 Rostelecom Cup, Cain/LeDuc placed sixth with a score of 170.29.Following the Grand Prix, Cain/LeDuc competed in a third Challenger event, the Golden Spin of Zagreb. Second after the short program, the two placed fifth in the free skate following two falls. The second fall involved Cain being dropped on her head in the process of exiting a lift, seemingly being knocked unconscious briefly, before getting up and completing the program. She was subsequently taken to hospital. There was considerable controversy amongst commentators that the referee had not halted the performance. Cain was subsequently diagnosed with a concussion.
At the 2019 U.S. Championships, Cain/LeDuc won their first US pairs title after placing second in the short program and first in the free skate. Speaking afterward, LeDuc credited Cain's recovery, saying it "was like building a castle, one brick at a time. It’s been so inspiring for me to watch her push through this and give me strength. We are always trying to progress as a team, and this season, we took it very seriously and we wanted to step it up." As national champions, Cain/LeDuc were assigned to compete at the 2019 Four Continents Championships in early February and as America's sole pairs team at the 2019 World Championships in Saitama, Japan.
Cain/LeDuc finished fourth at the Four Continents Championships, the highest placement for an American team, after finishing fourth in both segments. Cain had struggled in the practice sessions beforehand and felt dehydrated, but recovered and said she was satisfied with how they had performed.
At the World Championships, their first, Cain/Le Duc placed ninth. Le Duc described the season as a "rollercoaster", given the issues with injuries, while Cain expressed pleasure at having earned a second pairs spot for the United States at the following year's World Championships. Cain/Le Duc concluded their season as part of the gold medal-winning Team USA at the 2019 World Team Trophy.
2019–20 season
Cain-Gribble/LeDuc began the season at the 2019 CS U.S. Classic, where they won gold, defeating reigning World silver medalists Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov. They were considered one of the favourites for the gold medal at their first Grand Prix assignment of the year, the 2019 Skate America. They placed third in the short program after Cain-Gribble fell on their throw triple Lutz. In the free skate, they had a second throw Lutz fall, as well as a popped side-by-side jump attempt and an aborted lift, which dropped them to fifth place overall. At their second Grand Prix, the 2019 Internationaux de France, Cain-Gribble again fell on their throw Lutz in the short program, putting them fourth after that segment. They finally landed the throw Lutz in the free skate, but remained in fourth place overall after Cain-Gribble fell on their side-by-side triple Salchow attempt.Competing at the 2020 U.S. Championships, Cain-Gribble/LeDuc were fourth in the short program after she two-footed the landing of their throw Lutz and an error resulted in their death spiral element being completely invalidated. Struggling with the quality of elements in the free skate, they remained in fourth place overall, winning the pewter medal. LeDuc remarked "it just wasn't in the cards for us today.