Genuine figure skating friendships?

[emmaleemochizuki]

Here are some that come to my mind.

Yuzu and Javi!!!! Even Yuzu and Shoma too haha.

Gabby Papadakis and Madison Hubbell. They seem to get along very well.

Sasha and Anna, they are like divorced children living with different parents now, but they are just so cute together. I think I will add Aliona there too, they are all very competitive but they seem to get along fine. That moment after Russian Nationals when they were asked to make the same photo pose they did in previous year, they were both genuinely sad that Aliona wasn't there.

 

[lappo]

This are my thoughts on the topic, based on my own experience in a different but extremely competitive field (two years of which I spent living under the same roof of my competitors). I'm not really sure that a genuine friendship is possible when there are many people and only one spot on top of the podium (or very few, in my case). It is possible to have respect for your opponents and even friendly interactions with some of them but I wouldn't call that "friendship". I think most of the skaters have this kind of relationship, I really don't buy the narrative "we are all friends here" nor do I feel friendship between skaters is a requirement as a fan. However, it is probably easier to be friends when you are in different disciplines (Alina and Tiffany or Diana; Evgenia and Bobrova; Alyona and Daria P. for example).

 

[mrrice]

Maria Butyrskaya and Tatiana Malinina were good friends who hung out together during the 1999 Worlds. I was able to watch the practices and they spent time cheering for each other and (Because I was stalking Maria) They spent their free time together. I had never seen Maria laugh like that before and they really seemed to have a genuine friendship. I hope it's true.

 

[MGstyle]

I thought Keegan and Nam would be the first in this discussion

 

[Sai Bon]

Mai Mihara and Kaori Sakamoto

 

[ladyjane]

Joan Haanappel and Sjoukje Dijkstra (who won Olympic gold in 1964 en silver in 1960) were known to be good friends while competing, and are still - decades later - good friends.

 

[Supernovaimplosion]

I wonder if there's ever been a pairs skater or ice dancer whos dated a competitor. I swore I read about a case from a really long time ago but I might be making it up

 

[anonymoose_au]

I wonder if there's ever been a pairs skater or ice dancer whos dated a competitor. I swore I read about a case from a really long time ago but I might be making it up

Zachary Donohue and Olivia Smart are a couple, although they represent different countries... Still counts I think

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I wonder if there's ever been a pairs skater or ice dancer whos dated a competitor. I swore I read about a case from a really long time ago but I might be making it up

Many times. Madi Hubbell and Adrian Diaz anyone? When competing, Jeremy Barrett and Amanda Evora were engaged and competed against each other from same country.

 

[ladyjane]

Ahem...Charlie White and Tanith Belbin. Started dating while still competing against each other.

 

[quadquadcombo]

Let's not forget the bromance of Keegan Messing and Nam Nguyen

 

[TripleAxelQueens3]

I think Channel One Trophy showed us the friendship between Anna and Sasha and also Dima and Makar.

The Snow Leopard girls seem to be really good friends too. I remember Kseniia once posted a birthday post for Anastasia Kostyuk and tagged her as her best friend (it was so cute!)

Daria Pavliuchenko and Alyona also seem like good friends. I saw Daria also comforting Anna after Anna looked sad about her FS. I remember P/K trained with Eteri right? I guess it makes sense that Daria is friends with many of the Eteri girls.

 

[flanker]

I think Channel One Trophy showed us the friendship between Anna and Sasha and also Dima and Makar.

The Snow Leopard girls seem to be really good friends too. I remember Kseniia once posted a birthday post for Anastasia Kostyuk and tagged her as her best friend (it was so cute!)

Daria Pavliuchenko and Alyona also seem like good friends. I saw Daria also comforting Anna after Anna looked sad about her FS. I remember P/K trained with Eteri right? I guess it makes sense that Daria is friends with many of the Eteri girls.

Daniil even did some choreos for Daria/Denis so I guess they are on good terms.

 

[Supernovaimplosion]

Zachary Donohue and Olivia Smart are a couple, although they represent different countries... Still counts I think

Many times. Madi Hubbell and Adrian Diaz anyone? When competing, Jeremy Barrett and Amanda Evora were engaged and competed against each other from same country.

Ahem...Charlie White and Tanith Belbin. Started dating while still competing against each other.

Thanks for your quick responses, I didn't know I was so out of the loop

 

[karne]

Josh and Jason.

Competing against each other since they were 10, friends all that time, had people trying to push them the "Johnny and Evan" route around the time they were sixteen-seventeen, proved they were better than that, demonstrated very mature communication skills while on the Stars on Ice tour in 2014 and talked through the whole Jason-made-the-Olympic-team-when-everyone-thought-Josh-would-first, Jason admitting to crying as soon as he read Josh's retirement announcement (and the tear-jerking insta post that followed), then when Josh started coming back, Jason (and Max) checking in routinely with Josh to make sure he was going okay.

They were super happy to have their first Worlds together in 2015 and their dream was to go to the 2018 Games together.

 

[mrrice]

Josh and Jason.

Competing against each other since they were 10, friends all that time, had people trying to push them the "Johnny and Evan" route around the time they were sixteen-seventeen, proved they were better than that, demonstrated very mature communication skills while on the Stars on Ice tour in 2014 and talked through the whole Jason-made-the-Olympic-team-when-everyone-thought-Josh-would-first, Jason admitting to crying as soon as he read Josh's retirement announcement (and the tear-jerking insta post that followed), then when Josh started coming back, Jason (and Max) checking in routinely with Josh to make sure he was going okay.

They were super happy to have their first Worlds together in 2015 and their dream was to go to the 2018 Games together.

I love this post I really do.

 

[zanadude]

Shoma and Yuzuru?

 

[TallyT]

Watching Yuzu and Nam last year and reading Nam's twitter, I'd call it. Maybe not to the Yuzu and Javi level of legendary bromance but it's adorable.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened had Plushy been able to keep going into Yuzu's first big quad, they have always had the most unabashed mutual admiration society and Plushy even then was telling Yuzu "beat me!"

 

[Imagine]

Miki and Shizuka might be good friends. Miki seemed really happy for Shizuka when she won the OIympics. Almost seemed more excited than Shizuka herself lol.

 

[LadyB]

Fedor Klimov and Max Trankov are genuine great friends since their time in SPB. Fedor is the god uncle to Max's daughter and he and Max opened a wonderful pub in Moscow together, which sadly didn't survive the economic impact of Covid-19.

Fedor and Alexander Enbert, both from SPB, have a friendship that spans 25 years. They sometimes celebrate that together with choreographer Sergei Komolov, who is also part of that group and was their competitor as a teenager.