Alissa Czisny - Career

Career

Czisny began skating at age 1½ when she and her sister Amber accompanied their mother to the ice skating rink because they didn't want to stay at home with the babysitter. In 1998, she began working with coach Julianne Berlin. Early in Czisny's career, Theresa McKendry was her main choreographer and her sister Amber Czisny assisted.

Czisny finished 4th in her Grand Prix debut at 2004 Skate America, to which she was invited after Michelle Kwan withdrew. She first gained international attention in 2005 when she won the gold medal at the 2005 Skate Canada International and silver at the 2005 Skate America. She qualified for the 2005–2006 Grand Prix Final and placed sixth. She went on to the 2006 U.S. Championships in St. Louis, where she finished seventh overall.

Czisny began the 2006–07 season at the 2006 Skate Canada International where she placed fourth. She also competed at the 2006 Cup of Russia in November. At the 2007 U.S. Championships she was in fifth after the short program, but went on to win the free skate to win the bronze medal and the final U.S. spot to the 2007 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. At the World Championships, she finished 15th.

Czisny finished third at the 2008 Skate Canada International in the 2008–09 Grand Prix series behind Joannie Rochette and Fumie Suguri. At the 2009 U.S. Championships, she won the short program by over five points. She finished third in the long program but won the gold medal due to her lead from the short. Czisny won her first national title, ahead of Rachael Flatt and Caroline Zhang. She earned her second trip to the Four Continents and the World Championships, in which she finished ninth and eleventh, respectively.

In the 2009–10 Grand Prix season, Czisny placed fourth at the 2009 Rostelecom Cup and won the silver medal at the 2009 Skate Canada International. Her short program score of 63.52 was the fourth highest of this ISU Grand Prix season, only surpassed by Yu-Na Kim (two scores) and Joannie Rochette. Czisny placed tenth at the 2010 U.S. Championships; as a result, she did not make the Olympic team and financial support to help cover her mid-five-figure training expenses was cut. She also found out her sister had cancer (in remission as of 2011). Czisny considered retiring but her mentors Brian Boitano and Linda Leaver encouraged her to continue.

In February 2010, she left coach Julianne Berlin, who had coached her for twelve years. In May, she said she would remain at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, with new coaches Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen. She reworked her jump technique with the help of her new coaches, who also helped her with her mental approach. She noted, "I finally realized that my results in skating didn't define who I am as a person."

Czisny began the 2010–11 season by winning the 2010 Skate Canada International, her first gold medal on the Grand Prix series since winning 2005 Skate Canada. She also won Midwestern Sectionals, qualifying her to compete at US Nationals in 2011. She won bronze at her second Grand Prix event, 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, which combined with her Skate Canada result qualified her for the Grand Prix Final.

At the 2010–2011 Grand Prix Final, Czisny won the short program with 63.76 points and placed third in the long program with a new personal best of 116.99 points. She won her first Grand Prix Final title with a new personal best combined total of 180.75 points. At the 2011 U.S. Championships, Czisny placed second in the short program with 62.50, and then placed first in the free skate with 128.74, giving her a combined total of 191.24 to win the gold. She thus won her second national gold medal, finishing 7.86 points ahead of the defending champion Rachael Flatt. It was the first time since Michelle Kwan's ninth win in 2005 that a ladies' single skater won more than one U.S. national title. She placed fifth at the 2011 World Championships, her best ever result at the event. During the off-season, she skated in a number of shows.

In the 2011–2012 season, Czisny was assigned to 2011 Skate America and 2011 Trophée Eric Bompard as her Grand Prix events. She won the gold medal at Skate America and bronze at Trophee Bompard. She was first in the free program at Bompard with 121.90 points, setting a new personal best international free skate score. Czisny qualified for the Grand Prix Final. She sustained a calf injury during a practice session on December 8, explaining "it was the way I picked on a flip jump." After team doctors determined that she would not make the injury worse, Czisny went on to compete and finished 5th at the event. She won the silver medal at the 2012 U.S. Championships. Czisny won the bronze medal at the 2012 Challenge Cup. After the event, she decided not to include the double axel-triple toe combination in her program at Worlds. Czisny fell twice in the short program at the 2012 Worlds and five times in the free skate. She placed 22nd overall. Czisny was invited to the World Team Trophy but her coach Jason Dungjen declined and Gracie Gold was selected instead. In May 2012, an MRI revealed that Czisny had a torn labrum in her left hip. Czisny said she would not have competed at Worlds if she had known she was injured. After undergoing surgery on June 6, 2012 in Nashville, she began physical therapy the next day and after a month no longer needed crutches.

For the 2012–2013 season, Czisny received an assignment to the NHK Trophy but withdrew in order to continue her recovery from surgery.