Amanda Evora (born November 17, 1984) is an American former competitive pair skater. She competed with Mark Ladwig. They are two-time (2010, 2011) U.S. silver medalists, 2012 U.S. bronze medalists and two-time (2007, 2009) U.S. pewter medalists.

Amanda Evora
Evora & Ladwig in 2009.
Full nameAmanda Evora Will
Born (1984-11-17) November 17, 1984 (age 40)
New York City, U.S.
Height5 ft 0 in (152 cm)
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
Skating clubSouthwest Florida FSC
Began skating1990
RetiredApril 10, 2012

Personal life

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Evora was born in New York City. Her family moved to Houston in 1995. Before that, they had lived in Bahrain, Dallas, Texas, and Virginia.[5] She is Filipino American.[5][6] Her father is a chemical engineer.[5] Evora graduated from the State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota[7] and earned a degree in business administration from the University of South Florida.[8] Amanda married Dustin Will on December 28, 2019.

Career

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Evora began skating after she discovered her sister's ice skates and, since they fit, decided to give them a try. When she was 18, she left her family's home in Texas to further her skating career.

Early in her pairs career, Evora skated with Michael Adler. They won the bronze medal at the 2002 Eastern Sectional Championships on the junior level[9] and placed 8th on the junior level at the 2002 United States Figure Skating Championships.[10]

Evora and Ladwig teamed up in 2002. The 2005/2006 season was their first on the Grand Prix. They placed 9th at the 2005 Skate America and 8th at the 2005 Skate Canada International. They were the bronze medalists at the 2007 Nebelhorn Trophy and finished as high as fourth in GP events.

2009–10 was a breakthrough season for Evora and Ladwig. They finished 2nd at the US National Championships, their best finish yet at the event, which led to their selection for the US Olympic team. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, they beat their previous personal best by a sizable margin, and finished tenth, making them the top US pair at the Olympics.[11] They later competed at 2010 Worlds for the first time in their career, and finished in ninth place.

Evora served on the 2008–09 Athletes Advisory Committee.[12]

During 2010–2011 season, the pair was assigned to compete at 2010 Cup of China where they finished fifth (151.66 pts) and later earned their first Grand Prix medal, a bronze, at 2010 Cup of Russia, with a season's best of 110.27 and total score of 162.85.

Evora and Ladwig were noted for their longevity as a pair, which is rare in U.S. pair skating.[13] Their partnership ended when Evora retired from competitive skating on April 10, 2012.[14]

In June 2012, Evora was invited by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to attend a luncheon in honor of Benigno S. Aquino III, the President of the Philippines.[15]

In January 2016, Evora returned to the U.S. Nationals as part of the coaching team for Tarah Kayne and Daniel O'Shea[16][17] who won the gold medal in the pairs competition.[18]

In 2013, Evora teamed up with Scott Thornton in the Canadian TV show "Battle of the Blades." The duo then went on to win the competition. As of September 2019, Evora has returned to the show and partnered up with Colton Orr.

Programs

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(with Ladwig)

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2011–2012
[19]
2010–2011
2009–2010
2008–2009
2007–2008
[19]
2006–2007
2005–2006
2004–2005
2003–2004
  • Smokie Joe's Cafe

Competitive highlights

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With Ladwig

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Results[20]
International
Event 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12
Olympics 10th
Worlds 9th 11th
Four Continents 5th 6th 6th
GP Bompard 4th
GP Cup of China 4th 7th 5th 4th
GP Cup of Russia 3rd
GP Skate America 9th 4th 5th
GP Skate Canada 8th 7th
Nebelhorn 5th 3rd
Golden Spin 1st
National
U.S. Champ. 12th 10th 5th 7th 4th 5th 4th 2nd 2nd 3rd

With Adler

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Event 2001–2002
U.S. Championships 8th J.

References

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  1. ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2011/2012 : Pairs". International Skating Union. March 30, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  2. ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2010/2011 : Pairs". International Skating Union. May 6, 2011. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  3. ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2009/2010 : Pairs". International Skating Union. March 24, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  4. ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2008/2009 : Pairs". International Skating Union. April 18, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Barron, David (February 11, 2010). "Sugar Land skater took long journey to games". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.
  6. ^ "FILIPINO-AMERICAN IN 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS". Inside Sports. January 21, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  7. ^ "Meet U.S. Olympic figure skaters: Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig". thebradentontimes.com. June 18, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  8. ^ "Amanda Evora". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010.
  9. ^ "2002 Eastern Sectional Championships Junior Pairs Final Standings". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  10. ^ "2002 South Atlantic Regional Championships Junior Pairs Final Standings". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  11. ^ "Figure skating gold goes to Chinese pair". Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  12. ^ "U.S. Figure Skating Athletes Advisory Committee 2008–09 Permanent Committee" (PDF). U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  13. ^ Rosewater, Amy (May 18, 2011). "Evora, Ladwig commit to skate next season". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  14. ^ "2010 Olympians Evora, Ladwig end partnership". U.S. Figure Skating. Ice Network. April 10, 2012. Archived from the original on January 14, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  15. ^ Brannen, Sarah S.; Meekins, Drew (June 12, 2012). "The Inside Edge: Evora's extraordinary lunch". Icenetwork. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  16. ^ http://web.icenetwork.com/skaters/team/kayne_oshea Archived July 1, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2016/01/23/162679902 Archived January 25, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 12, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ a b Rutherford, Lynn (January 18, 2012). "Popular Evora and Ladwig have golden chance". IceNetwork. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  20. ^ "Competition Results: Amanda EVORA / Mark LADWIG". International Skating Union.
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