Jamie Silverstein
Encyclopedia
Jamie Silverstein is an American former ice dancer
. With Justin Pekarek
, she is the 1999 World Junior champion
and U.S. silver medalist
. With Ryan O'Meara
, she is the 2006 U.S. bronze medalist
and competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics
.
, near Pittsburgh. After her parents divorced when she was 11, she moved with her mother to Michigan
.
Early in her career, Silverstein competed with Justin Pekarek
. They won the 1999 World Junior
and U.S. Junior
titles. The next season, they moved up to the senior level. They won gold at the 1999 Nebelhorn Trophy
, silver at the 2000 U.S. Championships
, and bronze at the 2000 Four Continents
. They announced their split on December 19, 2000. Silverstein later revealed that she had battled eating disorders, anorexia
and bulimia
, during her career.
Silverstein trained briefly with Brandon Forsyth
but never competed with him. She left competitive skating for a period and attended Cornell University
. She was off the ice completely for two years, stepping onto the ice again in late 2004. Silverstein decided to make a return to competition. In April 2005, she began training with Ryan O'Meara
. They won the bronze medal at the 2006 U.S. Championships and qualified for the 2006 Winter Olympics
. They were coached by Igor Shpilband
and Marina Zueva in Canton, Michigan.
On May 3, 2006, Silverstein and O'Meara announced they would be taking time off from competitive skating. She planned to return to school and complete her degree. In 2008, she graduated from Cornell University with a degree as a College Scholar, choosing to specialize in catharsis and emotional psychology. Her thesis work involved a performance piece whose subject was Ekman's 6 basic emotions. Now she works as a successful yoga instructor and is a vocal advocate in eating disorder recovery. She also maintains a blog.
(with Pekarek)
Ice dancing
Ice dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976....
. With Justin Pekarek
Justin Pekarek
Justin Pekarek is an American former competitive ice dancer. He had the most success in his eligible career with Jamie Silverstein. They won the 1999 World Junior and U.S. Junior titles. The next season, they moved up to the senior level. They won gold at the 1999 Nebelhorn Trophy, silver at the...
, she is the 1999 World Junior champion
World Junior Figure Skating Championships
The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion...
and U.S. silver medalist
United States Figure Skating Championships
The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...
. With Ryan O'Meara
Ryan O'Meara
Ryan O'Meara is an American ice dancer. With partner Jamie Silverstein, he is a 2006 Olympian. Following his retirement from competitive skating, he began working full time as a coach and an interior designer.-Biography:...
, she is the 2006 U.S. bronze medalist
United States Figure Skating Championships
The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...
and competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
.
Biography
Silverstein grew up in Mt. Lebanon, PennsylvaniaMt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Mt. Lebanon is a home rule municipality, formerly a township, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 33,137 at the 2010 census....
, near Pittsburgh. After her parents divorced when she was 11, she moved with her mother to Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
Early in her career, Silverstein competed with Justin Pekarek
Justin Pekarek
Justin Pekarek is an American former competitive ice dancer. He had the most success in his eligible career with Jamie Silverstein. They won the 1999 World Junior and U.S. Junior titles. The next season, they moved up to the senior level. They won gold at the 1999 Nebelhorn Trophy, silver at the...
. They won the 1999 World Junior
1999 World Junior Figure Skating Championships
The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual event sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion. The 1999 competition took place between November 21 and November 29, 1998 in Zagreb, Croatia...
and U.S. Junior
1999 United States Figure Skating Championships
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition organzied by the United States Figure Skating Association. In addition to determining the national champions, the event was used to determine the U.S. teams for the World Figure Skating Championships and the Four...
titles. The next season, they moved up to the senior level. They won gold at the 1999 Nebelhorn Trophy
1999 Nebelhorn Trophy
The 1999 Nebelhorn Trophy was the Nebelhorn Trophy of the 1999–2000 Olympic year figure skating season. The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany...
, silver at the 2000 U.S. Championships
2000 United States Figure Skating Championships
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition organzied by the United States Figure Skating Association. In addition to determining the national champions, the event was used to determine the U.S. teams for the 2000 World Figure Skating Championships, 2000 World...
, and bronze at the 2000 Four Continents
2000 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition. The four continents of the event's name refer to the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australia...
. They announced their split on December 19, 2000. Silverstein later revealed that she had battled eating disorders, anorexia
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
and bulimia
Bulimia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging or consuming a large amount of food in a short amount of time, followed by an attempt to rid oneself of the food consumed, usually by purging and/or by laxative, diuretics or excessive exercise. Bulimia nervosa is...
, during her career.
Silverstein trained briefly with Brandon Forsyth
Brandon Forsyth
Brandon Forsyth is an American ice dancer. During his career, he skated with Lydia Manon, Emilie Nussear, and Jessica Joseph, with whom he captured a bronze medal at the 2001 U.S. Figure Skating Championships...
but never competed with him. She left competitive skating for a period and attended Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. She was off the ice completely for two years, stepping onto the ice again in late 2004. Silverstein decided to make a return to competition. In April 2005, she began training with Ryan O'Meara
Ryan O'Meara
Ryan O'Meara is an American ice dancer. With partner Jamie Silverstein, he is a 2006 Olympian. Following his retirement from competitive skating, he began working full time as a coach and an interior designer.-Biography:...
. They won the bronze medal at the 2006 U.S. Championships and qualified for the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
. They were coached by Igor Shpilband
Igor Shpilband
-Personal life:Shpilband was born in Moscow. In January 1990, he and other skaters were part of a U.S. tour headlined by Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean when one of them, Gorsha Sur, decided to defect and Shpilband, Veronika Pershina and Elena Krikanova decided to join him. He got a coaching...
and Marina Zueva in Canton, Michigan.
On May 3, 2006, Silverstein and O'Meara announced they would be taking time off from competitive skating. She planned to return to school and complete her degree. In 2008, she graduated from Cornell University with a degree as a College Scholar, choosing to specialize in catharsis and emotional psychology. Her thesis work involved a performance piece whose subject was Ekman's 6 basic emotions. Now she works as a successful yoga instructor and is a vocal advocate in eating disorder recovery. She also maintains a blog.
Competitive highlights
(with O'Meara)| Event | 2005–06 |
|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games | 16th |
| Four Continents Championships Four Continents Figure Skating Championships The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition. The International Skating Union established it in 1999 to provide skaters representing non-European countries with a similar competition to the much older European Figure Skating Championships and a chance... |
6th |
| U.S. Championships United States Figure Skating Championships The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters... |
3rd |
| Skate America Skate America Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is organized by the United States Figure Skating Association. The location changes yearly... |
5th |
| Pacific Coast Sectionals | 1st |
(with Pekarek)
| Event | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion... |
12th | ||||
| Four Continents Championships Four Continents Figure Skating Championships The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition. The International Skating Union established it in 1999 to provide skaters representing non-European countries with a similar competition to the much older European Figure Skating Championships and a chance... |
3rd | ||||
| World Junior Championships World Junior Figure Skating Championships The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion... |
10th | 1st | |||
| U.S. Championships | 1st N. | 3rd J. | 2nd J. | 1st J. | 2nd |
| Skate America Skate America Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is organized by the United States Figure Skating Association. The location changes yearly... |
5th | ||||
| Sparkassen Cup on Ice Bofrost Cup on Ice The Bofrost Cup on Ice was a figure skating competition held in Germany between 1986 and 2004. It was part of the Grand Prix series until 2003, when it was replaced by Cup of China. Following being booted out of the Grand Prix series, a new form of competition was introduced to the Bofrost Cup... |
4th | ||||
| Nebelhorn Trophy Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain.... |
1st | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix Final ISU Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating is a series of international invitational junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Junior figure skaters compete in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing... |
6th | 1st | |||
| Junior Grand Prix, France 1998-1999 ISU Junior Grand Prix The 1998–1999 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the second 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 Figure Skating, which was for senior-level skaters... |
2nd | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Germany ISU Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating is a series of international invitational junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Junior figure skaters compete in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing... |
3rd | 1st | |||
| Junior Grand Prix, Bulgaria | 2nd |
- N = Novice level; J = Junior level