Jamie Silverstein (born December 23, 1983) is an American former competitive

ice dancer Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

. With

Justin Pekarek Justin Pekarek (born August 26, 1981) is an American former competitive ice dancer. With Jamie Silverstein, he is the 2000 Four Continents bronze medalist and 1999 World Junior champion. Personal life Pekarek was born on August 26, 1981, in ...

, she is the 2000 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 1999 World Junior champion, and 2000 U.S. silver medalist. With

Ryan O'Meara Ryan O'Meara (born January 5, 1984, Houston, Texas) is an American ice dancer. With partner Jamie Silverstein, he is a 2006 Olympian. Following his retirement from competitive skating, he began working full-time as a coach and an interior design ...

, she is the 2006 U.S. bronze medalist and competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Early life

Silverstein was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

. She grew up in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. After her parents divorced when she was 11, she moved with her mother to

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Skating career

Early in her career, Silverstein competed with

. They won the 1999 World Junior and U.S. Junior titles. The next season, they moved up to the senior level. They won gold at the 1999 Nebelhorn Trophy, silver at the 2000 U.S. Championships, and bronze at the 2000 Four Continents. They announced their split on January 10, 2001. Silverstein later revealed that she had battled eating disorders,

anorexia Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...

and

bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eaten ...

, during her career. Silverstein trained briefly with

Brandon Forsyth Brandon Forsyth (born November 8, 1979) is an American former competitive ice dancer. With Emilie Nussear, he is the 2000 World Junior silver medalist. They were coached by Bob Young in Simsbury, Connecticut. In the summer of 2000, Forsyth team ...

but never competed with him. She left competitive skating for a period and attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...

. She was off the ice completely for two years, stepping onto the ice again in late 2004. Silverstein decided to make a return to competition. In April 2005, she began training with

. They won the bronze medal at the 2006 U.S. Championships and qualified for the 2006 Winter Olympics. They were coached by Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva in

Canton, Michigan Canton, officially the Charter Township of Canton, is a charter township of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population of 98,659. Canton Township is Michigan's second most-populated townsh ...

. On May 3, 2006, Silverstein and O'Meara announced that they would take time off from competitive skating, with Silverstein planning to return to school.

Later life and career

In 2008, Silverstein graduated from Cornell University with a degree as a College Scholar, choosing to specialize in catharsis and emotional psychology. Her thesis work involved a performance piece whose subject was Ekman's six basic emotions. Now she works as a yoga instructor and is an advocate in eating disorder recovery. She also maintains
blog
In 2012, Silverstein opened a yoga studio, ''The Grinning Yogi'', in Seattle.

Programs

With O'Meara

With Pekarek

Competitive highlights

''GP:

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

; JGP: Junior Series / Junior Grand Prix''

With O'Meara

With Pekarek

References

External links

Official website"The Tribe goes to Torino: Sketches of Jewish Olympic-Bound Athletes", 2/16/06
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverstein, Jamie 1983 births Living people American female ice dancers Cornell University alumni Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Jewish American sportspeople Olympic figure skaters of the United States People from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women

Early life

Skating career

Later life and career

Programs

With O'Meara

With Pekarek

Competitive highlights

With O'Meara

With Pekarek

See also

References

External links