Jerod Swallow is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 ice dancer

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 his partner and wife Elizabeth Punsalan

Elizabeth Punsalan

Elizabeth Punsalan or Swallow is an American ice dancer. With her partner and husband Jerod Swallow, she is a five-time U.S. national champion, two-time Skate America champion, and competed twice in the Winter Olympics.- Career :Early in her career, Punsalan competed with Christopher Rettstatt,...

, he is a five-time U.S. national champion

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...

, two-time 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...

 champion, and competed twice in the Winter Olympics.

Career

Early in his career, Swallow competed in both pair skating

Pair skating

Pair skating is a figure skating discipline. International Skating Union regulations describe pair teams as consisting of "one lady and one man." The sport is distinguished from ice dancing and single skating by elements unique to pair skating, including overhead lifts, twist lifts, death spirals,...

 and ice dancing, with Shelly Propson and Jodie Balogh respectively. He teamed up with Elizabeth Punsalan in mid-1989. They were initially coached by Sandy Hess in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...

. They placed 7th at 1989 Skate America

1989 Skate America

The 1989 Skate America was the Skate America competition of the 1989–1990 figure skating season. The event was organized by the United States Figure Skating Association...

 and 5th at the 1990 U.S. Championships

1989 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. Skaters competed...

. The following season, they won their first U.S. national title

1991 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 1992 World Figure Skating Championships. Skaters...

. They were one of the favorites for the 1992 Olympic team but at the 1992 U.S. Championships

1992 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 1992 Winter Olympics and World Figure Skating...

, Swallow fell during the free dance and they finished in third. Swallow was ready to leave competition for show skating but Punsalan persuaded him to continue.

In 1992, Punsalan and Swallow began working with 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...

 for choreography in Detroit. By the 1993-1994 season, he had become their head coach. The couple developed a rivalry with Renee Roca

Renee Roca

Renée Roca is an American ice dancer and choreographer. She is a three-time U.S. national champion with different partners. Competing with partner Donald Adair, she is the 1986 U.S. national champion. She later teamed up with Russian skater Gorsha Sur, with whom she is the 1993 and 1995 U.S...

 and Gorsha Sur

Gorsha Sur

Georgi 'Gorsha' Sur is a former ice dancer who represented the United States and the Soviet Union. With Svetlana Liapina for the Soviet Union, he is a two-time World Junior medalist. With Renée Roca for the U.S., he is a two-time U.S...

, who had earlier choreographed a program for them and trained alongside them. The U.S. had a single berth to the ice dancing event at the 1994 Winter Olympics

Figure skating at the 1994 Winter Olympics

Referee:* Britta LindgrenAssistant Referee:* Gerhardt BubníkJudges: Wendy Utley Jan Olesinski Jarmila Portová Alfred Korytek Yang Jiasheng Margaret Ann Wier Noriko Shirota Audrey Williams Jan Hoffmann Monique Petis -Pairs:...

. Punsalan and Swallow were involved in a letter-writing campaign to Congress to prevent Sur from receiving expedited citizenship, which would allow him to compete at the 1994 Olympics. At the U.S. Championships

1994 United States Figure Skating Championships

The 1994 United States Figure Skating Championships was the United States Figure Skating Championships of the 2009-2010 figure skating season. They were the national championship to determine the national champions of the United States. They were held in Detroit Michigan. In addition to determining...

 in January 1994, Punsalan and Swallow placed first in the original dance, ahead of their injured rivals in second. Roca and Sur withdrew before the free dance and Punsalan and Swallow went on to win their second national title and were named to the Olympic team. On February 4, tragedy struck when Punsalan's father was stabbed to death. Her brother was charged but found not mentally fit to stand trial. Punsalan and Swallow competed at the 1994 Olympics

Figure skating at the 1994 Winter Olympics

Referee:* Britta LindgrenAssistant Referee:* Gerhardt BubníkJudges: Wendy Utley Jan Olesinski Jarmila Portová Alfred Korytek Yang Jiasheng Margaret Ann Wier Noriko Shirota Audrey Williams Jan Hoffmann Monique Petis -Pairs:...

 only two weeks later, finishing 15th.

Punsalan and Swallow won silver at the 1995 U.S. Championships

1995 United States Figure Skating Championships

The 1995 United States Figure Skating Championships was the United States Figure Skating Championships of the 1994-1995 figure skating season. They were the national championship to determine the national champions of the United States. They were held in Providence, Rhode Island.Skaters competed in...

 behind Gorsha and Sur but finished ahead of them the following year to take their third national title

1996 United States Figure Skating Championships

The 1996 United States Figure Skating Championships were the United States Figure Skating Championships of the 1995-1996 figure skating season. They were a national championship to determine the national champions of the United States....

. Punsalan and Swallow won another two national titles at the 1997

1997 United States Figure Skating Championships

The 1997 United States Figure Skating Championships were the United States Figure Skating Championships of the 1996-1997 figure skating season. They were a national championship to determine the national champions of the United States....

 and 1998 U.S. Championships

1998 United States Figure Skating Championships

The 1998 United States Figure Skating Championships were the United States Figure Skating Championships of the 1997-1998 figure skating season. They were a national championship to determine the national champions of the United States....

. They placed 7th at the 1998 Winter Olympics

Figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics

-Medal table:-Medalists:-Men:The favourites and top two after the short program were Ilia Kulik and Elvis Stojko, who would skate first and last, respectively. Medal contenders Alexei Yagudin, Todd Eldredge and Philippe Candeloro went in between...

 and 6th at the 1998 World Championships

1998 World Figure Skating Championships

The 1998 World Figure Skating Championships were the World Figure Skating Championships of the 1997-1998 season. Elite senior-level figure skaters from ISU Member Nations competed for the title of World Champion...

.

Punsalan and Swallow ended their eligible career in 1998 and continued to skate in shows for a number of years. Swallow is managing director at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...

.

Ice dance

(with Punsalan)

Event	1989–90	1990–91	1991–92	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98
Winter Olympic Games Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...					15th				7th
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...		11th			12th		7th	6th	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...	5th	1st	3rd	3rd	1st	2nd	1st	1st	1st
Grand Prix Final Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final is an international, senior-level figure skating competition. It is the culmination of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Skaters compete in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing....									6th
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...	7th		4th	3rd		1st		4th	1st
Skate Canada International Skate Canada International The Skate Canada International is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is the second competition of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: Ladies' singles, Men's...									2nd
Trophée Eric Bompard Trophée Eric Bompard The Trophée Eric Bompard is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. The Trophée Eric Bompard was formerly known as the Trophée Lalique...					2nd	2nd		2nd
Cup of Russia Cup of Russia The Cup of Russia is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. It was held as the Rostelecom Cup in 2009 after...								3rd
NHK Trophy NHK Trophy The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing....		6th		5th

(with Balogh)

Event	1983–84	1988–89
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...	5th J.	6th

Pairs

(with Propson)

Event	1983–84
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...	6th J.