Kaitlin Hawayek (born November 4, 1996) is an American

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 her skating partner,

Jean-Luc Baker Jean-Luc Baker (born October 7, 1993) is a British-American ice dancer. With his skating partner, Kaitlin Hawayek, he is the 2018 Four Continents champion, the 2018 NHK Trophy champion, and a four-time U.S. national bronze medalist (2019–22 ...

, she is the 2018 Four Continents champion, the

2018 NHK Trophy The 2018 NHK Trophy was the fourth event of six in the 2018–19 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Hiroshima Green Arena in Hiroshima on November 9–11. Medals were aw ...

champion, and a four-time U.S. national bronze medalist (2019–22). Earlier in their career, she and Baker became the 2014 World Junior champions, the 2013 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalists, and the 2014 U.S. national junior champions.

Personal life

Kaitlin Hawayek was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. She is the daughter of Jon and Kirstin Hawayek and has two brothers, Bradley and Nathan. Before moving to Detroit, she attended Nardin Academy High School. She is interested in

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

. Both of her brothers play ice hockey. She has been based in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec, Canada, since moving for training purposes in 2018.

Career

Early years

Hawayek was introduced to ice skating by her mother in 1999. She was initially a single skater and represented the Skating Club of Western New York in her early career, coached by Janice Smith and Jessica Lauria. After switching to ice dancing, she teamed up with Michael Bramante in June 2010. They won the novice bronze medal at the 2011 U.S. Championships. The following season, Hawayek/Bramante competed at two

ISU Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international figure skating competition, junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded ...

events and finished sixth on the junior level at the 2012 U.S. Championships. They parted ways at the end of the season.

2012–13 season: First season with Baker

Hawayek teamed up with

in June 2012. They were sent to two JGP events and won the silver medal in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Hawayek/Baker took the junior silver medal at the 2013 U.S. Championships and were assigned to the 2013 World Junior Championships in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

where they finished seventh.

2013–14 season: World Junior title

During the

2013–14 ISU Junior Grand Prix The 2013–14 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the 17th season of a series of junior international competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the junior-level complement to the 2013–14 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, in which ...

, Hawayek/Baker won the gold medal in their JGP events at the JGP Mexico and the JGP Poland. Their results qualified them to the JGP Final in

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, where they won the silver medal. They then won the gold medal at the 2014 World Junior Championships, setting a new Junior World record for the overall score with a total of 157.12 points.

2014–15 season: First Grand Prix medal

Hawayek/Baker began their season at an ISU Challenger Series event, the

2014 Nebelhorn Trophy The 2014 Nebelhorn Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2014–15 season. Part of the 2014–15 ISU Challenger Series, it was held on 24–27 September 2014 at the Eislaufzentrum Oberstdorf in Oberstdorf, Germany. ...

. They finished fourth after placing fourth in the short and third in the free dance. Their Grand Prix assignments were the

2014 Rostelecom Cup The 2014 Cup of Russia, Rostelecom Cup was the fourth event of six in the 2014–15 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Luzhniki Small Sports Arena in Moscow on Novembe ...

and 2014 NHK Trophy, winning the bronze medal at the latter.

2015–16 season

Baker sustained a concussion when Hawayek accidentally struck him with her arm in September 2015, just before the

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

weekend. He returned to limited training after two weeks and full training a week later. Hawayek/Baker finished fourth at the

2015 Skate America The 2015 Progressive Skate America was the first event of six in the 2015–16 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ...

. Due to food poisoning, Hawayek vomited eight times in four hours during the night before the short dance at the

2015 Cup of China The 2015 Cup of China was the third event of six in the 2015–16 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing on November 6–8. Medals were ...

. After competing in the first segment, the duo decided to withdraw. They placed fifth at the 2016 U.S. Championships.

2016–17 season

Hawayek/Baker won the silver medal at the

2016 CS Autumn Classic International The 2016 CS Autumn Classic International was held from September 28 – October 1, 2016 at the Sportsplexe Pierrefonds in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was part of the 2016–17 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' ...

. Competing on the

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

series, they finished sixth at the

2016 Skate Canada International The 2016 Skate Canada International was the second of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, Hershey Centre in Mississau ...

and fourth at the 2016 NHK Trophy.

2017–18 season: Four Continents title

Beginning the season at the 2017 CS U.S. Classic, Hawayek/Baker won the silver medal. Their

assignments were the

2018 Skate Canada International The 2018 Skate Canada International was the second event of the 2018–19 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec from October 26–28. Medals we ...

, where they placed fourth, and the

2018 Skate America The 2018 Skate America was the first event of six in the 2018–19 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington on October 19–21. ...

, where they placed fifth. Following the Grand Prix, they competed in a second Challenger event, the

2017 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb The 2017 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb was the 50th edition of the annual senior-level international figure skating competition held in Zagreb, Croatia. It was held at the Dom sportova in December 2017 as part of the 2017–18 ISU Challenger Series. M ...

, winning the bronze medal. Hawayek/Baker won the pewter medal at the 2018 U.S. Championships and were assigned to the 2018 Four Continents Championships as the top three teams were sent to the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

. They won the gold medal at Four Continents, finishing 9.33 points ahead of silver medalists

Carolane Soucisse Carolane Soucisse (born February 10, 1995) is an ice dancer who represents Republic of Ireland, Ireland and formerly Canada. With her skating partner, Shane Firus, she is a two-time Irish national champion (2023–24) and represented Ireland at ...

Shane Firus Shane Firus (born February 21, 1994) is an ice dancer who represents Ireland and formerly Canada. With his skating partner, Carolane Soucisse, he is a two-time Irish national champion (2023–24). Skating with Soucisse for Canada, he is the 2018 ...

. Baker remarked, "it was really awesome; it was a new experience for us. We’ve medaled at junior events and sporadically at senior events in Grand Prixs or senior Bs. It was a really cool experience, and we hope to do it more often in the future." Following the withdrawal of

Maia Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; ), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus. Family Maia is the daughter of A ...

and Alex Shibutani, they were named to the US team for the 2018 World Championships in

, where they placed tenth. On April 20, 2018, they announced that in the summer, they would begin training under

Marie-France Dubreuil Marie-France Dubreuil (born August 11, 1974) is a Canadian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With her husband Patrice Lauzon, she is a two-time (2006–2007) World silver medallist. Personal life Marie-France Dubreuil was born on Augu ...

and

Patrice Lauzon Patrice Lauzon (born November 26, 1975) is a Canadian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With his wife Marie-France Dubreuil, he is a two-time (2006–2007) World silver medalist. Personal life Patrice Lauzon was born in Montreal, Quebe ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada.

2018–19 season: Grand Prix gold, national bronze

Baker sustained a concussion during training in August 2018, and as a result, they withdrew from the

2018 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy was held in October 2018 in Espoo. It was part of the 2018–19 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of single skating, men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Entries ...

. At their first

assignment, the

, the withdrawal of

Gabriella Papadakis Gabriella Maria Papadakis (born 10 May 1995) is a retired French ice dancer. With former partner, Guillaume Cizeron, she is a 2022 Olympic champion, 2018 Olympic silver medalist, a five-time World champion (2015–2016, 2018–2019, 2022), a f ...

Guillaume Cizeron Guillaume Cizeron (born 12 November 1994) is a French ice dancer. With former partner, Gabriella Papadakis, he is the 2022 Olympic champion, the 2018 Olympic silver medalist, a five-time World champion (2015–2016, 2018–2019, 2022), a fiv ...

due to injury left several teams competing for the gold medal. Hawayek/Baker came second in the rhythm dance, behind

Tiffany Zahorski Tiffany Anastasia Zahorski (; born 16 August 1994) is a retired British-Russian ice dancer. Competing with Jonathan Guerreiro for Russia, she is the 2018 NHK Trophy silver medalist, the 2018 Skate America bronze medalist, and a three-time Russ ...

/ Jonathan Guerreiro, but narrowly placed first in the free dance, winning the title overall. Hawayek called it "just such a pleasure and honor to be here performing" and was especially pleased with their results, given they "had just three weeks of training fully recovered" prior. They placed only fourth at the

2018 Internationaux de France The 2018 Internationaux de France was the sixth event of six in the 2018–19 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Patinoire Polesud in Grenoble on November 23–25. Medals ...

, but their results qualified them for the

Grand Prix Final The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final – originally known as the Champions Series Final – is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). It is the culminating event of the Grand Prix Series. Meda ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, where they placed sixth. At the 2019 U.S. Championships, Hawayker/Baker won the bronze medal. Reflecting on their move to Montreal, Hawayek called it "a great training center that we’re happy to be a part of. It makes us feel able to skate more openly and freely, and I think we’ll continue that for the next few years." They were assigned to the 2019 Four Continents Championships, where they finished fifth, and the 2019 World Championships, where they placed ninth.

2019–20 season

Beginning the season at the

2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held in September 2019 in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was part of the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entries ...

, Hawayek/Baker placed fourth in the rhythm dance but took the silver medal overall after coming second in the free dance. For their first

assignment, they competed at

2019 Skate Canada International The 2019 Skate Canada International was the second event of the 2019–20 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia from October 25 ...

, where they were third after the rhythm dance. In the free dance, they dropped behind the British team

Fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...

/ Gibson. Competing at the

2019 Cup of China The 2019 SHISEIDO Cup of China was the fourth event of the 2019–20 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Chongqing Huaxi Culture and Sports Center in Chongqing, China fro ...

, Hawayek/Baker placed fifth in the rhythm dance after struggling on the Finnstep

pattern dance A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstraction, abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometry, geometric shapes and ...

. Several errors in the free dance kept them in fifth in that segment as well, and overall. Hawayek/Baker placed third in the rhythm dance at the 2020 U.S. Championships and praised the crowd reception of their ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...

'' program. Third in the free dance, they also won their second national bronze medal. At the 2020 Four Continents Championships in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, they placed seventh in the rhythm dance after a double fall out of their dance lift, which Hawayek described as "a fluke thing that happened." Fifth in the free dance, they rose to sixth place overall. They were assigned to compete at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, but these were canceled as a result of the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

2020–21 season

With the pandemic ongoing, Hawayek and Baker opted to return to live with Hawayek's parents in

for the early months and were able to do some on-ice training when the rink in Buffalo was reopened as an essential workers' daycare, communicating with their coaches over

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Zoom'' (2006 film), starring Tim Allen * ''Zoom'' (2015 film), a Canada-Brazil film by Pedro Morelli * ''Zoom'' (2016 Kannada film), a Kannada film * ''Zoom'' (2016 Sinhala film), a Sr ...

. After quarantine, they returned to Montreal in June and rejoined their coaches at the Ice Academy of Montreal in July. With the

assigned based mainly on training location, Hawayek/Baker nevertheless were assigned to the

2020 Skate America The 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America was the first event in the 2020–21 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 23–24. Meda ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

and crossed the border again to attend. They won the silver medal. Returning to the United States again for the 2021 U.S. Championships, also held in Las Vegas, Hawayek/Baker placed third in the rhythm dance. They were also third in the free dance, taking their third consecutive bronze medal. They were assigned to the American team for the 2021 World Championships in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. They placed eleventh in the rhythm dance and rose to ninth overall after the free dance. Hawayek/Baker were chosen as America's dance entry in the 2021 World Team Trophy and finished third in both segments, while Team USA won the silver medal.

2021–22 season: Beijing Olympics

For the Olympic season, the duo opted for a free program to

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

's Prelude in E minor and Nocturne in E minor, music that Hawayek said she had long dreamed of skating to, saying that "there is a lot of maturity and depth in this music. There is nostalgia, hopefulness, and happiness. I envisioned something that was not too heavy but also not too youthful." Hawayek sustained a concussion and received stitches to her head after a fall while practicing a lift in early July 2021. As a result, Hawayek/Baker withdrew from both the

2021 U.S. Classic The 2021 U.S. Classic, known as the 2021 GK U.S. Classic for sponsorship reasons, is the 37th edition of the U.S. Classic gymnastics tournament. The competition was held on May 21–22, 2021, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, India ...

and their first

assignment, the

2021 NHK Trophy The 2021 NHK Trophy was the fourth event in the 2021–22 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo on November 12–14. Medals were award ...

. They competed for the first time at the

2021 Rostelecom Cup The 2021 Rostelecom Cup was the sixth event in the 2021–22 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi on 26–28 November. Medals were awa ...

, finishing in fifth place. They also competed on the Challenger series at the

2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb The 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb was held on December 7–11, 2021 in Sisak, Croatia. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. T ...

, winning the gold medal. Hawayek/Baker entered the 2022 U.S. Championships seeking to make up ground on the previous year's pewter medalists,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

/ Parsons, who had enjoyed a strong fall season while Hawayek/Baker were absent and recovering. Both teams made twizzle errors in the rhythm dance, with Hawayek/Baker in fourth place, 1.46 points behind Green/Parsons. Delivering a strong free dance, they were third in that segment and took their fourth consecutive bronze medal. She said afterward that "this means so much to us. It has not been a straight journey to this for us whatsoever over the last four years, especially over the last six months." The following day, they were named to their first American Olympic team. Competing at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

in the dance event, Hawayek/Baker placed eleventh in the rhythm dance. For Hawayek, it was "an absolute joy to perform out there." They were tenth in the free dance, remaining in eleventh overall. Hawayek and Baker concluded the season at the 2022 World Championships, held in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, France. Russian skaters were banned from the event by the

International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international sport governing body, governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded ...

due to their country's invasion of Ukraine. The team placed ninth in the rhythm dance, eighth in the free dance, and eighth overall.

2022–23 season

Hawayek and Baker enlisted Italian choreographer

Massimo Scali Massimo Scali (born 11 December 1979) is an Italian former competitive Ice dancing, ice dancer. With partner Federica Faiella, he is the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships, 2010 World bronze medalist, a two-time (2009 European Figure Skating ...

to work on their rhythm dance for the new season, a program of

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986), known as Desi Arnaz, was a Cuban-American actor, musician, producer, and bandleader. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', in whi ...

's music inspired by Arnaz's dynamic with

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

. For the free dance, they chose music by Norwegian singer

Askjell Askjell Solstrand, also known mononymously as Askjell, is a Norwegian record producer and songwriter, currently based in Bergen, Norway. He has grown as an affiliate with acts, including Sigrid, Aurora and Iris. He has also released two extended ...

, citing his "very modern-day take on the essence of classical music." The team made their season debut at the

2022 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy was held on October 4–9, 2022, in Espoo, Finland. It was the fifth event of the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entries The In ...

, where they finished second behind Canadian training partners Fournier Beaudry/

Sørensen Sørensen () is a Danish- Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Søren" (given name equivalent of Severin). , it is the eighth most common surname in Denmark. Immigrants to English-speaking countries often changed the spelling to ''Sorense ...

. Hawayek/Baker then began the

at the

2022 Skate America The 2022 Skate America was the first event of the 2022–23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Tenley E. Albright Performance Center in Norwood, Massachusetts, from ...

, winning the silver medal and notably finishing first in the free dance due to technical errors by American gold medalists

Chock Chock or Chocks may refer to: Devices for preventing movement * Wheel chock, tool to prevent accidental movement * Chock (climbing), anchor * Chock, component of a sailing block Other uses * Chock (surname) * ''Chock'' (TV series), a Sw ...

Bates Bates may refer to: Places * Bates, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bates, Illinois. an unincorporated community in Sangamon County * Bates, Michigan, a community in Grand Traverse County * Bates, New York, a hamlet in the town of Elli ...

. They finished 0.73 points behind Chock/Bates overall. Hawayek was body shamed by an audience member after the free dance and went public to

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

this attitude toward female skaters. At their second assignment, the

2022 Grand Prix of Espoo The 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo was the sixth event of the 2022–23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Espoo Metro Areena in Espoo, Finland, from November 25-27. Medal ...

, Hawayek and Baker finished second in the rhythm dance, clearing the 80-point threshold for the first time with a score of 80.93. They finished second in the free dance as well, taking their second Grand Prix silver medal and qualifying to the

. Appearing at the Final in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, they were sixth of the six teams in the rhythm dance but rose to fifth place after Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen dropped following a fall in the free dance. Baker said they were "thrilled" with their performance but disappointed with their marks, vowing to "continue to build for our next events." On January 17, Hawayek/Baker announced that they were withdrawing from the 2023 U.S. Championships, saying that they had been dealing with "significant physical injuries that have led to challenges in our mental health and we feel it is in our best interest to prioritize this currently." They said that they would petition to be included on the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

team on the strength of their results that season and in years prior. Following the U.S. Championships, U.S. Figure Skating approved their petition, and they were announced as part of the World team on January 29. However, on February 24 it was announced that they had withdrawn to further prioritize "their healing and mental health." They were replaced by

Christina Carreira Christina Carreira (born April 3, 2000) is a Canadian ice dancer who competes for the United States. With her skating partner, Anthony Ponomarenko, she is a two-time Four Continents bronze medalist (2022, 2024), three-time ISU Grand Prix medalis ...

and

Anthony Ponomarenko Anthony Ponomarenko (born January 5, 2001) is an American ice dancer. With his skating partner, Christina Carreira, he is a two-time Four Continents bronze medalist (2022, 2024), the 2018 Rostelecom Cup bronze medalist, three-time ISU Grand Prix ...

2023–24 season

Hawayek and Baker were assigned to the

2023 Grand Prix de France The 2023 Grand Prix de France was the third event of the 2023–24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Angers IceParc in Angers from November 3–5. Medals were awarde ...

and

2023 NHK Trophy The 2023 NHK Trophy was the sixth event of the 2023–24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome in Osaka, Japan, from November 24–26. ...

. However, they withdrew from those events on October 23 and October 25 due to Baker suffering a concussion. On January 15, Hawayek announced that they had "made the tough decision to take a step back from competing for the remainder of the season and reevaluate our options for future seasons."

Programs

Ice dance with Jean-Luc Baker

Ice dance with Michael Bramante

Competitive highlights

Ice dance with Jean-Luc Baker

Ice dance with Michael Bramante

Detailed results

Ice dance with Jean-Luc Baker

Senior level

Junior level

References

External links

* *
Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker
at SkatingScores * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawayek, Kaitlin 1996 births American female ice dancers Living people Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York Dancers from New York (state) Dancers from Michigan People from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Sportspeople from Oakland County, Michigan World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists 21st-century American sportswomen Figure skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for the United States

Personal life

Career

Early years

2012–13 season: First season with Baker

2013–14 season: World Junior title

2014–15 season: First Grand Prix medal

2015–16 season

2016–17 season

2017–18 season: Four Continents title

2018–19 season: Grand Prix gold, national bronze

2019–20 season

2020–21 season

2021–22 season: Beijing Olympics

2022–23 season

2023–24 season

Programs

Ice dance with Jean-Luc Baker

Ice dance with Michael Bramante

Competitive highlights

Ice dance with Jean-Luc Baker

Ice dance with Michael Bramante

Detailed results

Ice dance with Jean-Luc Baker

Senior level

Junior level

See also

References

External links