Cedar Rapids native Timothy LeDuc and his partner Ashley Cain won the U.S. Figure Skating National Championship over the weekend! To say it was a longshot six weeks ago would be an understatement. More on that later.
LeDuc and Cain began skating together in 2016. At the time, Timothy was performing on a cruise ship, having retired from professional skating in 2014. Coming back was definitely the right move. The pair finished 3rd at the 2017 championships and fourth last year. This was their year despite a frightening end to 2018.
It was December 7, 2018. Timothy and Ashley were skating in the Golden Spin of Zagreb in Croatia when a terrible fall left Ashley with a concussion. The fall occurs at approximately the 3:40 mark of the video below. Though Ashley is clearly dazed, they ended up finishing the program. Ashley was then taken to a hospital for treatment.
Ashley would be in concussion protocol for two weeks before returning to the ice in late December. Slowly the two added more and more to the program they would skate to win the U.S. National Championship Saturday. Congratulations to you both!