Katy Taylor

Katy Lynn Taylor (born October 22, 1989) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2006 Four Continents Champion and 2004 Junior World bronze medalist. She was an alternate to the 2006 Winter Olympic team after finishing fourth at the 2006 United States Figure Skating Championships.

This article is about the American figure skater. For the Irish boxer, see Katie Taylor.
Katy Taylor
Personal information
Full nameKaty Lynn Taylor
Country represented United States
Born (1989-10-22) October 22, 1989
Houston, Texas
Height165.9 cm (5.44 ft)
CoachJana Conter
Mark Poole
ChoreographerLea Ann Miller
Peter Tchernyshev
Skating clubTexas Gulf Coast FSC
Retired2010
ISU personal best scores
Combined total164.05
2006 Four Continents
Short program57.26
2006 Four Continents
Free skate106.79
2006 Four Continents

Personal life

Taylor was born in Houston, Texas, to Keith and Tammy Taylor.[1] Her father owns and operates a wholesale floral business.[2] She has one older brother, Brennan.[1] As a child, she participated in a number of activities, including gymnastics, T-ball, soccer, ballet, and tennis.[3] When she was four years old, Taylor told her parents she wanted to be a "pretty famous ice skater."[4]

She attended Mayde Creek Junior High School and Mayde Creek High School.[5] While in school, Taylor was a member of the National Honor Society and the student council and won the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. Taylor was also a member of the 2007 State Farm/U.S. Figure Skating Scholastic Honors Team. She graduated from high school in 2008.[4] She was considering attending the University of Texas at Austin or another college in Texas, but decided to stay in her hometown and attend the University of Houston.[6]

Skating career

Early career

Taylor began skating one week before her sixth birthday.[1] When she was eight, she began taking individual lessons with coach Jana Conter.[5] She landed her first triple, a triple loop, when she was 10.[3]

In 2001, Taylor competed on the juvenile level at the U.S. Junior National Championships, which are the national championships for skaters at the juvenile and intermediate level. She finished third. The next year Taylor competed on the intermediate level and finished tenth.[4] In the 2002–2003 season, she moved up to the novice level and qualified for the 2003 U.S. Figure Skating Championships by finishing second at Southwestern Regionals and second at the Midwestern Sectional Figure Skating Championships.[4] At the National Championships, Taylor finished second behind gold medalist Kimmie Meissner.[7] Taylor was then named to the team for the Triglav Trophy, where she won the silver medal on the novice level.[8]

2003–2004 and 2004–2005 seasons
Taylor (far right) won the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix event in Chemnitz, Germany, in 2004

During the 2003–2004 season, Taylor moved up to the junior level. She won a silver medal at her first Junior Grand Prix event in Bratislava, Slovakia.[9] In her next Junior Grand Prix event in Japan, she finished fourth.[4] On the national level, Taylor qualified for the 2004 United States Figure Skating Championships by winning the Midwestern Sectional Championships on the junior level.[4] At the National Championships, she finished second to Meissner once again, although she did win the short program.[6] (Chron-Barron2004; Interview) After the event, Taylor was named to the team for the 2004 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. She won the bronze medal, finishing behind Japan’s Miki Ando and Kimmie Meissner.[8]

During the 2004–2005 season, Taylor competed on the Junior Grand Prix once again. She finished third at the events in Budapest, Hungary, and Chemnitz, Germany, but did not qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final. (Houston Chron 2004) She moved up to the senior level nationally and qualified for the 2005 United States Figure Skating Championships after finishing first at Midwestern Sectionals.[4] At the National Championships, she finished sixth in the short program after hitting all her elements.[10] She ended the competition in ninth place after popping a triple Lutz and falling on a triple Salchow.[11]

2005–2006 season

In the fall of 2005, Taylor competed on the Junior Grand Prix again. She finished fourth at the event in Slovakia and second at the event in Bulgaria.[4] Taylor originally was named as an alternate to the Junior Grand Prix Final but later received a last-minute call to the competition in Ostrava, Czech Republic. (Chron 2006) She received the call after competing and winning the Sectionals competition in Denver, Colorado, all while suffering from a cold and sinus infection. Taylor, her coach, and her mother spent 26 hours traveling from Houston to Ostrava and arrived at 7:30 p.m. the day before the event. She placed fourth at the competition, only 3.5 points away from the bronze medal.[12]

In January 2006, Taylor competed at the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She placed seventh in the short program after singling the second part of her triple Lutz-double toe combination.[13] In the long program, she skated to the Forrest Gump Suite and had the third highest technical score (54.21).[14] She ended the competition in fourth place after finishing third in the long program. Her final score was 152.54.[15] After the competition, she was named to the Junior World team.[14] U.S. Figure Skating also named her as the second alternate to the 2006 Olympic team.[16] Taylor later dropped out of Junior Worlds after she had skate problems.[17]

After the National Championships, Taylor competed at the Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado, her first senior international event. She won the gold medal after finishing second in both the short program and the long program.[18] During the short program competition, Taylor had to deal with a power outage in the arena that caused a 15-minute delay in the event. She still earned a personal best in the short program.[19] In the long program, Taylor landed five triple jumps, including a triple Lutz at the end of the program. Her only major error was popping a triple loop.[18] Katy still remains the youngest Four Continents Champion winning the competition when she was 16 years and 98 days old.

2006–2007 season

As the 2006–2007 season began, Taylor stated that her goals for the year were to qualify for the Grand Prix Final, make the world team, place well at the National Championships and receive a standing ovation.[2][4][17] She began the season by winning the bronze medal at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany, in September.[17] She then competed on the Senior Grand Prix for the first time at Skate America in Hartford, Connecticut and Skate Canada International in Victoria, British Columbia.[20] Before Skate America, Taylor broke in a new pair of skates, which caused her a lot of pain.[17] In the short program, she place eleventh with 34.66 points after falling on her triple flip.[21] She remained in eleventh, and last, place after the long program.[22] A week later, Taylor finished last in the field of 12 at Skate Canada.[23] Taylor believed that her poor results on the Grand Prix series were the result of training, equipment, and personal problems.[23]

After the Grand Prix series, Taylor changed her short program from "Happy Feet" to "Legends of the Fall" so that she would be more comfortable on the ice and more able to tell a story.[23] In December she performed her new short program at the 2006 Marshalls U.S. Figure Skating Challenge in Boston, Massachusetts, an American Idol-style competition in which fans voted for their favorite skating performance. After falling on her triple flip, Taylor did not make it to the final round of the competition.[24]

Taylor's next competition was the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Washington. Before the competition began, she said that she had resolved the personal and boot problems that had bothered her during the Grand Prix events.[23]

2007–2008 season

Taylor did not compete in the 2007–2008 season, citing an injury, and has not returned to competition since.

Programs
Season Short program Long program Exhibition
2006–2007[25] Legends of the Fall
by James Horner
"Happy Feet"
arranged by John Altman, from Shall We Dance?		 "Themes and Variations"
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
2005–2006 "Rhapsody in Blue"
by George Gershwin		 Forrest Gump Suite
by Alan Silvestri		 "Perfect Day"
by Hoku Ho
2004–2005 "Rhapsody in Blue"
by George Gershwin		 "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini"
by Sergei Rachmaninoff		 "I Hope You Dance"
by Lee Ann Womack
"Soak Up the Sun"
by Sheryl Crow
2003–2004 Irish medley
by Leahy Lakefield		 American medley "I Hope You Dance"
by Lee Ann Womack

Competitive highlights
Taylor (far right) with the other 2006 National medalists.

GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International
Event 02–03 03–04 04–05 05–06 06–07
Four Continents Champ.1st
GP Skate America11th
GP Skate Canada12th
Nebelhorn Trophy3rd
International: Junior or novice
World Junior Champ.3rd
JGP Final4th
JGP Bulgaria2nd
JGP Germany3rd
JGP Hungary3rd
JGP Japan4th
JGP Slovakia2nd4th
Triglav Trophy2nd N
National
U.S. Championships2nd N2nd J9th4th8th
Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior

References
  1. Katy Taylor Online. Archived 2008-10-25 at the Wayback Machine Accessed on May 7, 2009.
  2. Leamy, Elizabeth. "Standing O: Taylor Hopes to Bring Crowds to Their Feet in 2006–2007." Skating: Official Publication of U.S. Figure Skating. October 2006.
  3. Mittan, Barry (September 5, 2004). "Taylor Takes Bronze in Budapest". Golden Skate. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  4. "Athlete Bio: Katy Taylor". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on November 14, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  5. Bretting, Sandra. "Katy Teen Pursues Her Dream/Parents Support Daughter's Quest for Olympic Gold." Houston Chronicle. June 24, 2004. Accessed on May 7, 2009.
  6. "Interview with Katy Taylor". Golden Skate. June 17, 2007. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  7. Barron, David. "Final Skate Lifts Taylor into Second." Houston Chronicle. January 14, 2003. Accessed on May 7, 2009.
  8. Zanca, Sal. "Meissner and Taylor Still Inseparable at the Top." U.S. Figure Skating. March 6, 2004. Accessed on May 7, 2009.
  9. "Katy Taylor's Unforgettable First Junior Grand Prix." September 29, 2003. Accessed on May 7, 2009.
  10. "Kwan Dazzles Again." ESPN.com. January 14, 2005. Accessed on May 8, 2009.
  11. Barron, David. "Kwan Ices Ninth U.S. Title/Cohen Plays Bridesmaid Again, Botching 2 Jumps." Houston Chronicle. January 16, 2005. Accessed on May 8, 2009.
  12. Barron, David. "Taylor Follows Olympic Dream/Mayde Creek Sophomore Getting Ready for Nationals." Houston Chronicle. January 10, 2006. Accessed on May 12, 2009.
  13. Barron, David. "Even Flu Can't Slow Cohen/Favorite Shakes Illness to Take Lead into Long Program." Houston Chronicle. January 13, 2006. Accessed on May 12, 2009.
  14. Wojdyla, Michelle. "No Longer the Bridesmaid, Sasha Cohen Claims Gold in St. Louis." Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine U.S. Figure Skating. January 14, 2006. Accessed on May 12, 2009.
  15. "2006 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Championship Ladies Results." Archived 2007-08-11 at Archive.today U.S. Figure Skating. Accessed on May 12, 2009.
  16. "Sasha Cohen, Kimmie Meissner, Michelle Kwan Nominated to 2006 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team." Archived 2008-02-08 at the Wayback Machine U.S. Figure Skating. Accessed on May 12, 2009.
  17. Barron, David. "New Footwear a Test for Taylor/Local Standout Hopes for the Best with New Skates." Houston Chronicle. October 26, 2009. Accessed on May 15, 2009.
  18. "Sixteen-year-old Taylor Wins Women's Title." USA Today. January 30, 2006. Accessed on May 15, 2009.
  19. Armour, Nancy. "American Skaters Shine at Four Continents." USA Today. January 27, 2006. Accessed on May 15, 2009.
  20. Barron, David. "Taylor Eyes Two Fall Events/Skater Prepares for Showcases in Canada, Connecticut." Houston Chronicle. July 2, 2006. Accessed on May 15, 2009.
  21. Clarke, Liz. "In Short, Meissner Pleased: World Champion Stands in Third Place at Skate America." Washington Post. October 28, 2006. Accessed on May 16, 2009.
  22. Clarke, Liz. "Meissner's Strong Finish Leads to Silver: Japan's Ando Dazzles, Takes the Gold at Skate America." Washington Post. October 28, 2006. Accessed on May 16, 2009.
  23. Barron, David. "A Disturbing Start to the Season Won't Slow Katy Taylor at Nationals/A Clean Slate Begins with a Clean Skate." Houston Chronicle. January 25, 2007. Accessed on May 15, 2009.
  24. "Sasha Cohen Wins Marshalls Challenge in Boston." U.S. Figure Skating. December 10, 2006. Accessed on May 16, 2009
  25. "Interview with Katy Taylor". Golden Skate. June 17, 2007.
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