Gracie Gold will be the oldest and one of the most experienced competitors at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. However, it is unlikely she will see the podium. Gold was once the top skater for U.S. women, but newer fans of the sport might not know her name.
Gold was born in Massachusetts but raised in Springfield, Missouri. She started skating in 2003 after attending a friend’s birthday party at a local ice rink. Gold began to train competitively and started off her career in pairs skating. She skated with Sean Hickey before moving to the women’s singles competition.
Gold won her first national title on the junior circuit in 2012 and placed second at the World Junior Championships the same year. She moved onto the senior circuit the next season to a lot of success. She earned the silver medal at Nationals, which earned her a spot on the team for Worlds.
The next season was the Olympic cycle. At the National Championships, Gold had a stellar performance to take a spot in Sochi. She earned a score of 211.69 to win the national title. Her score was almost 20 points higher than that of Polina Edmunds who took the silver medal. At the Olympics, Gold earned a bronze medal in the team event and barely finished off the podium, taking fourth in the individual competition.
Gold’s success continued following the 2014 Olympics. She qualified for the Grand Prix Final in 2015, won another national title in 2016, and landed just off the podium during the 2015 and 2016 World Championships. Gold looked primed to make it back to the Olympics in 2018.
However, after her fourth-place finish at the 2016 World Championships, she started struggling with her mental health, which affected her performance on the ice. The 2016-17 season was rife with hardship for Gold. The rough season culminated in a sixth-place finish at Nationals. It was Gold’s first time finishing off the national podium since she moved to the senior circuit. She also was not selected for the 2017 Worlds team.
Since then, Gold has not been able to return to old form or match her previous success. However, she has said that her goals are different now. She took off the 2017-18 season to focus on her mental health. At the time, Gold was getting treatment for anxiety, depression, and an eating disorder. She also withdrew from the National Championships in 2019 to focus on getting ready for the next season.
In the 2019-2020 season, Gold did not automatically qualify for a spot at Nationals and had to land on the podium in regional and sectional competitions. She took bronze at both of those events she competed in and earned a spot to compete in the national competition. Gold earned a score of 161.75 at Nationals and placed twelfth. Gold then took thirteenth at the 2021 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
In August 2021, she competed in her first international competition since 2016. Gold was one of the 9 Americans that competed at the Cranberry Cup this season. She earned a score of 138.69 and took thirteenth. The 2022 National Championships are taking place this weekend and Gold will try to improve upon her performances at the last two nationals. She might not be the flashiest skater out there this weekend, but knowing her history, her performances are still worth a watch.