Mira Leung
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Mira Leung (born March 28, 1989) is a Canadian former competitive
figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...
. She is the 2004
Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union () and held in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition debuted in 1969 and is na ...
bronze medallist and a three-time
Canadian national The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...
silver medallist (2006–2008). Leung placed 12th at the
2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...
and 5th at the 2008 Four Continents. She now works for Google as a software engineering manager.


Personal life

Mira Leung was born on March 28, 1989, in
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 ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, to Jennifer and Raymond Leung, a computer programmer. She attended Trafalgar Elementary School in Vancouver and enrolled in the French immersion program. She began playing the piano at age three and studied it through grade 10. She graduated from high school in 2008.


Career

Mira Leung started skating at age three and began taking lessons two years later. As a young child, she skated at the Kitsilano Figure Skating Club, coached by Christine Goodall. She was eight when she first landed a triple salchow and triple
toe loop Toes are the digits of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plantigrade''; ...
. Joanne McLeod became her coach in 2001 or 2002. Leung debuted in the
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 ...
series in 2002. Deciding to skip the national novice and junior levels, Leung competed on the senior level at the 2003 Canadian Championships. In the 2004–05 season, Leung made her senior Grand Prix debut, replacing the injured Annie Bellemare at the 2004 Skate Canada International. She won her first national medal, bronze, at the 2005 Canadian Championships. After winning the silver medal behind
Joannie Rochette Joannie Rochette (born January 13, 1986) is a Canadian physician and retired competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic bronze medallist, the 2009 World silver medallist, the 2008 and 2009 Four Continents silver medallist, the 2004 Gr ...
at the 2006 Canadian Championships, Leung was named in Canada's team to the 2006 Winter Olympics and 2006 World Championships. She finished 12th at the Olympics in Turin and then 13th at Worlds. Due to a training dispute, McLeod quit as her coach at the end of the season. Leung found a new coach in Christine McBeth at Minoru Arenas in
Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough, New Westminster, Queensborough), between the two estuarine dis ...
. On November 9, 2006, Leung announced that she and McLeod had agreed to resume working together, having been advised to reunite by Canadian skating officials at the 2006 Skate Canada International. Leung won another national silver medal and was sent to the 2007 World Championships. On the day of the Worlds short program, Leung felt pain in her left heel and Canada's team doctor told her she had Achilles tendinitis. She decided to compete and finished 24th at the event. In the 2007–08 season, Leung was 5th at both of her Grand Prix events,
Skate America Skate America is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The first Skate America was in held in 1979 in Lake Placid, New York, as a test event fo ...
and Trophee Eric Bompard. She changed her short program in late December 2007, a few weeks before the 2008 Canadian Championships in mid-January. After winning her third silver medal, Leung received assignments to the 2008 Four Continents, where she placed 5th, and the 2008 World Championships, where she came in 14th. After McLeod decided to end their collaboration in early October 2008, Leung began working with Jennifer Jiang. She finished 6th at the 2009 Canadian Championships. In 2009, Leung began training at Vancouver's Sunset Skating Club with Sonja Hlynka. She withdrew from the 2010 Canadian Championships after placing 15th of 18 women in the short program. In March 2010, Leung and fellow figure skater,
Joannie Rochette Joannie Rochette (born January 13, 1986) is a Canadian physician and retired competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic bronze medallist, the 2009 World silver medallist, the 2008 and 2009 Four Continents silver medallist, the 2004 Gr ...
, walked down the runway at
The Heart Truth The Heart Truth is a campaign meant to raise awareness of the risk of heart disease in women. The campaign is sponsored in the United States by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, an organization of the United States Department of Heal ...
fashion show in Toronto.


Programs


Competitive highlights

''GP:
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 ...
; JGP:
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 junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leung, Mira 1989 births Living people Canadian female single skaters Canadian sportspeople of Chinese descent Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Figure skaters from Vancouver Olympic figure skaters for Canada 21st-century Canadian sportswomen