Figure skating

A truly historic event might have happened at the World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier. American Timothy Leduc had every chance of becoming the first non-binary athlete to win a medal at such a high-level competition.

However, the performance that was supposed to write his name into history ended up turning into a nightmare.

fatal fall

In the couples competition, the absence of the strongest skaters from Russia and China had a negative impact on the overall level of the tournament, but at the same time it had a positive effect on the medal chances of athletes from the USA. Americans Alexa Knierim and Brandon Fraser managed to use the circumstances to the maximum advantage for themselves – they won a landslide victory following the results of two rentals.

Compatriots of the new champions Ashley Kane-Gribble and Timothy Leduc following the short program also had every chance of a medal, and they might even aim for gold. But fortune was not so favorable to this couple. Yielding to Knierim and Fraser by regarding a point following the first entry on the ice, the iron contenders for the medal eventually failed the free program, withdrawing from the tournament.

The silver medalists of the 2018 Four Continents Championships did not look good in the second part of the competition. Ashley fell on the ice twice with serious consequences for the final score. The third mistake was already in danger of turning into health problems for the American.

Kane-Gribble landed extremely badly at the exit of a parallel jump, hitting her face on the ice. The fatal fall was the reason for the early completion of the couple’s performance. Leduc tried to persuade his partner to return to the competitive process, but the girl needed urgent medical care, not motivational speeches.

No historical triumph

There is no particular fault of Timothy Leduc in the fall of the partner – she herself fell, unsuccessfully performing the jump. However, the non-standard self-perception of the American still gave rise to hints – a real man would not allow this. The judgment, of course, is erroneous – only Ashley herself had the opportunity to save herself from injury in this situation, the cisgender nature of her partner might not help her here.

However, in the presence of an ordinary male partner, the situation for an American woman would be limited to sympathy and a wish for health. But the sports union of the skater with Leduc led to excessive interest from the press. The thing is that a native of Texas does not consider himself a man, although a bearded athlete also does not want to have a relationship with women. It is for this reason that attention to the couple is increased all over the world.

True, the expectation that a woman paired with a man who in a different era might be sent to a psychiatrist will achieve a historic triumph at the World Figure Skating Championships did not materialize. Americans really got into the summaries of many sports and news publications, but for a different reason. A nightmare injury to a partner and withdrawal from the competition is probably not the result that Timothy Leduc was counting on at the end of the World Championship.

More recently, he went down in history as the first non-binary athlete at the Winter Olympics, and now the World Cup has turned into a real nightmare for him.