Themistocles Nicholas "Themi" Leftheris (born December 20, 1982) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

pair skater Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

. With partner

Naomi Nari Nam Naomi Nari Nam (born July 6, 1985) is an American former competitive figure skater who competed in both single skating and pair skating. As a single skater, she was the 1999 U.S. national silver medalist. As a pair skater, she was the 2006 Skate ...

, he is the

2006 Skate America The 2006 Skate America was the first event of six in the 2006–07 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut on October 26–29 ...

bronze medalist and 2007 U.S. national bronze medalist. With partner

Ji Min-ji Ji Min-ji (; born March 4, 1999) is a South Korean figure skater who currently competes in ladies' singles and pair skating. With partner Themistocles Leftheris, she is a two-time (2016, 2017) South Korean national champion and competed in t ...

, he is a two-time (2016, 2017) South Korean national champion.

Personal life

Leftheris was born on December 20, 1982, in

Tarpon Springs Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal point and underwent beautification in 2010. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 25,117 at the 2020 census. As of ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He studied communications at

Long Beach City College Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California, United States. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus (LAC) in Lakewood Village and the Trades, Technology, an ...

Career

Early career

Leftheris started skating at age 12 and began pair skating at 15. His first skating partner was Sarah Jo Damron-Brown. With Jacqueline Jimenez, he became the 2001 U.S. novice silver medalist. They won a silver medal at the first event of the

2001–02 ISU Junior Grand Prix The 2001–02 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the fifth season of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, a series of international junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the junior-level complement to the Grand Prix of Figur ...

. They did not get a second event because the USFSA did not send skaters to any of the events following the

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

attacks. Leftheris competed with Nicole Hartunian in the 2003–04 season. With partner Julian Burns, he placed 13th at the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Partnership with Nam

Leftheris had a tryout with

in April 2005, two weeks after she decided to switch to

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating ...

. After winning both Regionals and Pacific Coast Sectionals, the pair placed 5th at the 2006 U.S. Championships. In the 2006–07 season, Nam and Leftheris won the bronze medal at their Grand Prix assignment,

. They won the bronze medal at the 2007 U.S. Championships behind

Rena Inoue is a Japanese-born American retired pair skater. With partner John Baldwin, she is the 2004 and 2006 U.S. National Champion. Inoue previously competed for Japan as both a single skater and pair skater. Inoue and Baldwin are the first skaters ...

/ John Baldwin and Brooke Castile /

Benjamin Okolski Benjamin Okolski (born November 12, 1984) is an American former pair skater. With Brooke Castile, he is the 2008 Four Continents bronze medalist, 2007 Nebelhorn Trophy champion, and 2007 U.S. national champion. Early life and education Ben ...

. They ranked 6th at the 2007 Four Continents Championships. On August 24, 2007, Nam underwent surgery to remove a bone spur and to repair torn cartilage in her right hip. She was on crutches for eight weeks and returned to the ice on October 19. As a result, Nam/Leftheris withdrew from their Grand Prix assignments,

2007 Skate America The 2007 Skate America was the first event of six in the 2007–08 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania on October 25–28. M ...

and

2007 Cup of China The 2007 Cup of China was the third event of six in the 2007–08 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the International Sports Center in Harbin on November 7–11. Medals ...

. They placed 7th at the 2008 U.S. Championships. Nam announced her retirement from competitive skating on October 10, 2008, citing her recurrent hip injury. Nam/Leftheris were coached by

Peter Oppegard Peter Allen Oppegard (born August 23, 1959) is an American retired pair skater and coach. With his partner Jill Watson, he is the 1988 Olympic bronze medalist and a three-time U.S. national champion. In May 2022, Oppegard was suspended for ...

and

Karen Kwan-Oppegard Karen Wingyan Kwan (born 1 June 1978) is an American retired figure skater and choreographer. She is the older sister of Michelle Kwan. Early life and skating career Karen Kwan was born in Torrance, California. The Kwan sisters began figure ...

at the EastWest Ice Palace in

Artesia, California Artesia ( Spanish for " artesian aquifer") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California. Artesia was incorporated on May 29, 1959, and is one of Los Angeles County's Gateway Cities. The city has a 2020 census population of 16,395. A ...

Later career

Leftheris began competing with new partner Angelyn Nguyen in 2009. They won the bronze medal at the 2010 Pacific Coast Sectional Championships to qualify for the 2010 U.S. Championships. They withdrew from the U.S. Championships before the event began. With Lindsay Davis, he finished 8th at the 2011 U.S. Championships. In 2015, Leftheris teamed up with Ji Min-ji to compete for South Korea. The pair won the 2016 South Korean national title.

Programs

With Ji

With Nam

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 ...

; CS: Challenger Series; 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 ...

With Ji Min-ji for South Korea

With Nguyen and Davis for the United States

With Nam for the United States

With Damron-Brown, Jimenez, Hartunian, and Burns for the United States

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leftheris, Themistocles American male pair skaters American people of Greek descent South Korean male pair skaters Living people 1982 births Sportspeople from Tarpon Springs, Florida 21st-century South Korean sportsmen