Adam Rippon Biography

Adam Richard Rippon (born November 11, 1989) is an American figure skater. He won the 2010 Four Continents Championships and the 2016 U.S. National Championships. Earlier in his career, he won the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Championships, the 2007-08 Junior Grand Prix Final, and the 2008 U.S junior national title. Rippon was selected to represent the United States at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Rippon won a bronze medal as part of the figure skating team event, thus becoming the first openly gay U.S. male athlete to win a medal in a Winter Olympics.

Early life

Adam Rippon was born on November 11, 1989, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the son of Kelly and Rick Rippon. The oldest of six children, he was born with severe hearing loss but underwent surgery at Yale University just before his first birthday, allowing him to hear almost perfectly.

Career

Early career

Rippon started to skate when he was ten years old; his mother skated and brought him along to the rink. He was coached by Yelena Sergeeva from 2000 to 2007.

In the 2004-05 season, Rippon won the silver medal at the Novice level at the 2005 U.S. Championships. After Nationals he was assigned a spring international assignment, Triglav Trophy in Slovenia 2005, and competed in the Junior division, finishing first and winning the gold medal. In the 2005-06 season, he debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. He competed at the 2005-06 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Croatia and placed 6th. At the 2006 U.S. Championships, he finished 11th at the junior level. In the 2006-07 season, Rippon did not compete on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. He placed 6th on the junior level at the 2007 U.S. Championships. Following the event, he left Sergeeva and began working with Nikolai Morozov in February 2007 at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey.

2007-08 season

In the 2007-08 season, Rippon competed on the 2007-08 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. At his first event, the Harghita Cup in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania, he won the gold medal. He then won the silver medal at the Sofia Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria. These two medals qualified him for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. At that event, Rippon won the gold medal, and became the first man to break 200 points at a Junior level competition.

He went on to the 2008 U.S. Championships, where he won the Junior title. The Professional Skaters Association recognized Rippon as having the best men's free skate at the National Championships and was awarded the EDI Award. He earned a trip to the 2008 Junior Worlds, where he won the gold medal after finishing first in both segments.

2008-09 season

Rippon moved up to the senior level in the 2008-09 season. In the Grand Prix season he was assigned to compete at the 2008 Skate America where he placed eighth and the 2008 Cup of Russia where he placed third in the short program and fifth overall. In late November 2008, Rippon left Morozov. In December 2008, he moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to begin training with Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club. Rippon officially announced his coaching change on January 2, 2009.

At the 2009 U.S. Championships, his senior-level national debut, he placed seventh. He was named to the team for the 2009 Junior World Championships. At Junior Worlds, in his two programs, he landed a total of three 3A jumps, one in combination with a 2T. He won the competition, scoring 222.00 points and becoming the first single skater to win two World Junior titles.

2009-10 season

Rippon sprained his ankle during the summer and missed some training time. For the 2009-10 season, Rippon was assigned to two Grand Prix events. At the 2009 Trophe Eric Bompard, he placed third in both segments of the competition and was awarded the bronze medal. At the 2009 NHK Trophy, he finished 6th after placing 8th in the short and 5th in the free.

At the 2010 U.S. Championships, Rippon finished 5th overall after ranking 4th in both segments. He had a fall on his step sequence in the short program. Following the event, he was named as a second alternate for the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 World Championships, and assigned to the 2010 Four Continents Championships. At Four Continents, he placed 7th in the short program and first in the free skate, winning the gold medal. He was included in the U.S. team to Worlds after other skaters withdrew; he placed 7th in the short program, 5th in the free skate, and 6th overall.

2010-11 season

Rippon began his season at the Japan Open, where he finished ahead of Daisuke Takahashi and Evgeni Plushenko. His assigned Grand Prix events for the 2010-11 ISU Grand Prix season were the 2010 Skate Canada International and the 2010 Skate America. In Canada, Rippon had a collision with Patrick Chan during the morning practice before the short program but stated, "That was definitely the most exciting collision, maybe not the most dangerous." He won the bronze medal after placing third in the short and second in the free skate. At the 2010 Skate America, Rippon placed third in the short program, 7th in the free skate, and 4th overall.

At the 2011 U.S. Championships, Rippon finished 5th and was assigned to the 2011 Four Continents Championships, where he had the same result.

On June 16, 2011, Rippon announced he was leaving Canada and returning to train in the US at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, home of his DSC-based choreographer Pasquale Camerlengo and began training under the charge of Jason Dungjen.

2011-12 season

In the 2011-12 season, Rippon was assigned to 2011 Skate Canada and 2011 Trophe Eric Bompard as his Grand Prix events. He opened the season with a 4th-place finish at Skate Canada. This competition marked Rippon's first attempt at including a quad jump in his free program. At Trophe Bompard, he was 4th in the short program, 3rd in the long, and finished 4th overall. Rippon won the silver medal at the 2012 U.S. Championships. He finished 4th at Four Continents and 13th at Worlds.

2012-13 season

In September 2012, Rippon announced a coaching change, moving to train with Rafael Arutyunyan in Lake Arrowhead, California. At the 2012 Cup of China, Rippon collided with China's Song Nan - who sustained a concussion and withdrew - a minute into the final warm up before the free skate. Rippon said, "I kind of turned around to go into a jump and I think when Nan Song and I saw each other we both tried to avoid each other, but we went in the same way and we went head first into each other." Rippon finished 4th at the event and 8th at the 2012 NHK Trophy. At the 2013 U.S. Championships, he landed three triple Axels and finished 5th. He was assigned to the 2013 Four Continents but withdrew after sustaining an ankle injury on February 2, 2013.

2013-14 season

In October 2013, Rippon competed at the 2013 Skate America. He included a quad lutz in both his short and long programs. He set personal bests in both segments, capturing the silver medal and finishing as the top American over Max Aaron and Jason Brown. In November he competed for the NHK Trophy and posted a new ISU personal best in the short program 82.25. He landed a quad toe-loop in both segments and finished fourth overall.

2014-15 season

In October 2014, Rippon competed at the 2014 CS Finlandia Trophy finishing first in the free program and second overall. At the end of October he finished 7th in the free skate and 10th overall at the 2014 Skate Canada International. In November he finished 5th at the 2014 Trophee Eric Bompard after placing third in the free skate. It was a season plagued with equipment issues. Rippon adjusted his blade brand and mount, took on a new trainer to work with his team and met with renewed consistency at U.S. Championships, landing effortless triple axels and once again including a quad lutz in his short and long programs. He went on to win the free-skate portion of the competition and finished second overall with the silver medal. He was assigned to both the Four Continents team and the Worlds team.

2015-16 season

Rippon won gold at the 2016 U.S. Championships. He placed sixth at the 2016 World Championships in Boston with a lively program to a medley of Beatles tunes. The audience gave him a standing ovation.

2016-17 season

After taking bronze at the 2016 CS U.S. Classic, Rippon won bronze at both of his Grand Prix competitions - the 2016 Skate America and 2016 Trophe de France. As a result, he qualified for the first time to the Grand Prix Final. He would finish 6th at the event in Marseille, France.

During an off-ice warmup on January 6, 2017, Rippon sprained his left ankle and fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot, resulting in his withdrawal from the 2017 U.S. Championships.

2017-18 season

Starting his season strong with a bronze medal at 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy, Rippon then went on to win silver medals in both of his Grand Prix assignments, 2017 NHK Trophy and 2017 Skate America. His placements at these events qualified him for his second Grand Prix Final. During his free skate at Skate America, Rippon fell on his shoulder while executing a quad lutz, but he was able to continue with his performance without stopping. At the 2018 U.S. Championships, Rippon placed 4th. On January 7, 2018, he was one of three men selected to represent USA in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Rippon won a bronze medal in the figure skating team event as part of the U.S. team, which made him the United States"? first openly gay athlete to win a medal at any Winter Olympics.

Signature moves

Rippon's signature move is a 3Lz that he executes with both arms above his head, colloquially dubbed the "Rippon Lutz". He is capable of performing the 3Lz-2T-2Lo combination with one hand over his head in all three jumps (colloquially the "'Tano Lutz" after Brian Boitano, who invented the move).

Personal life

On October 2, 2015, Rippon publicly came out as gay.

In February 2018, Rippon raised concerns about Vice President Mike Pence being chosen to lead the US delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony because of Pence's history of support for anti-gay legislation and policies.

In March 2018, Rippon appeared at the 90th Academy Awards wearing a harness designed by Moschino.

Programs

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2017-2018	Advice of Tomorrow "Let Me Think About It" (Eddie Thoneick Remix) "Diamonds"	"Arrival of the Birds/Exodus" "O (Fly On) "	Let Me Think About It Remedy Diamonds
2016-2017	"Let Me Think About It"	"Arrival of the Birds/Exodus" "O (Fly On)" "Bloodstream"	"Getaway" "Diamonds" "My Funny Valentine"
2015-2016	"Who Wants to Live Forever"	The Beatles medley: "Because (The World is Round)" "Get Back" "Blackbird" replaced "Yesterday" "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"	The Beatles medley "O (Fly On) " "Whole Lotta Love"
2014-2015	"Nyah" "Tuxedo Junction"	Piano Concerto No. 1	"All Alone" "After Tonight"
2013-2014	Suite from Carmen for Strings and Drums	Prlude l'aprs-midi d'un faune	"A Song for You"
2012-2013	Nessun dorma	The Incredibles "Life's Incredible Again" "Saving Metroville"	"After Tonight"
2011-2012	"Korobushko"	Air Toccata & Fugue	Piano Concerto No. 2
2010-2011	Romeo and Juliet	Piano Concerto No. 2	"I'm Yours" "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso
2009-2010	"Jonathan Livingston Seagull"	Concerto for Violin and Orchestra	"Are You Gonna Be My Girl" "I'm Yours"
2008-2009	Toccata and Fugue in D minor	"Send in the Clowns" I, Pagliacci	"I'm Yours" "Desperado" "Make You Feel My Love"
2007-2008	Toccata and Fugue in D minor	Moonlight Sonata	I Pagliacci "I'll Still be Diggin' On James Brown"
2006-2007	Masquerade Waltz	The Nutcracker	"Because We Believe"
2005-2006	"Just for You"	Croatian Rhapsody Wonderland Whisper from the Mirror
2004-2005	Rondo Capriccioso	Don Quixote
2003-2004	Winter (modern version)	Hungarian Rhapsody
2002-2003		Fantaisie Impromptu Op.66

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

2009-10 to present

International
Event	09-10	10-11	11-12	12-13	13-14	14-15	15-16	16-17	17-18
Olympics									10th
Worlds	6th		13th			8th	6th		WD
Four Continents	1st	5th	4th	WD	8th	10th
Final								6th	5th
Cup of China				4th
NHK Trophy	6th			8th	4th				2nd
Rostelecom							4th
Skate America		4th			2nd			3rd	2nd
Skate Canada		3rd	4th			10th	4th
Trophe	3rd		4th			5th		3rd
Finlandia						2nd	2nd		3rd
Golden Spin							2nd
U.S. Classic								3rd
National
U.S. Champ.	5th	5th	2nd	5th	8th	2nd	1st	WD	4th
Team events
Olympics									3rd T 3rd P
Team Challenge Cup							1st T 3rd P
Japan Open		2nd T 1st P						3rd T 5th P
World Team Trophy			2nd T 7th P
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew T = Team result; P = Personal result. Medals awarded for team result only.

2002-03 to 2008-09

International
Event		03-04	04-05	05-06	06-07	07-08	08-09
Rostelecom							5th
Skate America							8th
International: Junior
Junior Worlds						1st	1st
Final						1st
Bulgaria						2nd
Croatia				6th
Romania						1st
Triglav Trophy			1st J
National
U.S. Champ.			2nd N	11th J	6th J	1st J	7th
U.S. Jr. Champ.	7th V	6th I
Eastern Sect.			1st N	3rd J	1st J
	4th V	4th I	4th N	1st J	1st J
WD = Withdrew Levels: V = Juvenile; I = Intermediate; N = Novice; J = Junior

Detailed results

2009-10 to present

At team events, medals awarded for team results only. ISU personal bests highlighted in bold.

2017-18 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
February 16-17, 2018	2018 Winter Olympics	7 87.95	10 171.41	10 259.36
February 9-12, 2018	2018 Winter Olympics (Team event)	-	3 172.98	3
Dec. 29 - Jan. 8, 2018	2018 U.S. Championships	2 96.52	4 171.82	4 268.34
December 7-10, 2017	2017-18 Grand Prix Final	6 86.19	5 168.14	5 254.33
November 24-26, 2017	2017 Skate America	2 89.04	1 177.41	2 266.45
November 10-12, 2017	2017 NHK Trophy	4 84.95	2 177.04	2 261.99
October 6-8, 2017	2017 CS Finlandia Trophy	3 83.69	2 166.19	3 249.88
2016-17 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
December 8-11, 2016	2016-17 Grand Prix Final	6 83.93	6 149.17	6 233.10
November 11-13, 2016	2016 Trophe de France	4 85.25	2 182.28	3 267.53
October 21-23, 2016	2016 Skate America	2 87.32	3 174.11	3 261.43
September 14-18, 2016	2016 CS U.S. Classic	1 87.86	3 160.38	3 248.24
2015-16 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 28 - April 3, 2016	2016 World Championships	7 85.72	4 178.72	6 264.44
January 16-24, 2016	2016 U.S. Championships	3 88.01	1 182.74	1 270.75
December 3-5, 2015	2015 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	3 72.23	2 165.64	2 237.87
November 20-22, 2015	2015 GP Cup of Russia	6 78.77	2 169.86	4 248.63
Oct. 30 - Nov. 1, 2015	2015 GP Skate Canada	3 80.36	5 159.33	4 239.69
October 9-11, 2015	2015 CS Finlandia Trophy	3 69.29	1 154.89	2 224.18
2014-15 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 23-29, 2015	2015 World Championships	11 75.14	8 154.57	8 229.71
February 9-15, 2015	2015 Four Continents Championships	12 68.37	10 143.93	10 212.30
January 17-25, 2015	2015 U.S. Championships	5 84.71	1 187.77	2 272.48
November 21-23, 2014	2014 GP Trophe Bompard	7 76.98	3 148.44	5 225.42
Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, 2014	2014 GP Skate Canada	11 62.83	7 139.09	10 201.92
October 9-12, 2014	2014 CS Finlandia Trophy	3 68.53	1 152.22	2 220.75
2013-14 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
January 20-26, 2014	2014 Four Continents Championships	8 72.90	8 140.30	8 213.20
January 5-12, 2014	2014 U.S. Championships	6 77.58	7 144.61	8 222.19
November 8-10, 2013	2013 GP NHK Trophy	4 82.25	4 151.46	4 233.71
October 18-20, 2013	2013 GP Skate America	3 80.26	3 160.98	2 241.24
2012-13 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
January 17-29, 2013	2013 U.S. Championships	6 76.65	6 153.22	5 229.87
November 23-25, 2012	2012 GP NHK Trophy	8 67.89	8 142.58	8 210.47
November 2-4, 2012	2012 GP Cup of China	4 71.81	4 133.67	4 205.48
2011-12 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
April 19-22, 2012	2012 ISU World Team Trophy	7 74.93	6 147.80	2T/7P 222.73
March 26 - April 1, 2012	2012 World Championships	10 73.55	16 143.08	13 216.63
February 7-12, 2012	2012 Four Continents Championships	7 74.92	3 146.63	4 221.55
January 22-29, 2012	2012 U.S. Championships	2 82.94	2 157.93	2 240.87
November 18-20, 2011	2011 Trophe Eric Bompard	4 72.96	3 144.93	4 217.89
October 27-30, 2011	2011 Skate Canada International	4 72.89	4 145.08	4 217.97
2010-11 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
February 15-20, 2011	2011 Four Continents Championships	4 72.71	5 137.30	5 210.01
January 22-30, 2011	2011 U.S. Championships	9 66.26	3 153.78	5 220.04
November 11-14, 2010	2010 GP Skate America	3 73.94	7 129.18	4 203.12
October 28-31, 2010	2010 GP Skate Canada	3 77.53	2 155.51	3 233.04
October 2, 2010	Japan Open (individual)	-	1 166.63	-
2009-10 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 22-28, 2010	2010 World Championships	7 80.11	5 151.36	6 231.47
January 25-31, 2010	2010 Four Continents Championships	7 69.56	1 156.22	1 225.78
January 14-24, 2010	2010 U.S. Championships	4 72.91	4 152.16	5 225.07
November 5-8, 2009	2009 GP NHK Trophy	8 67.15	5 130.46	6 197.61
October 15-18, 2009	2009 GP Trophe Eric Bompard	3 75.82	3 144.14	3 219.96

2004-05 to 2008-09 (Junior)

2008-09 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
Feb. 23 - March 1, 2009	2009 World Junior Championships	Junior	1 74.30	1 147.70	1 222.00
January 18-25, 2009	2009 U.S. Championships	Senior	12 62.22	6 131.54	7 193.76
November 21-23, 2008	2008 GP Cup of Russia	Senior	3 71.62	5 136.31	5 207.93
October 23-26, 2008	2008 GP Skate America	Senior	8 59.60	7 115.22	8 174.82
2007-08 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
Feb. 25 - March 2, 2008	2008 World Junior Championships	Junior	1 69.35	1 130.55	1 199.90
January 20-27, 2008	2008 U.S. Championships	Junior	1 71.33	1 142.43	1 213.76
December 6-9, 2007	2007-08 Junior Grand Prix Final	Junior	1 68.43	1 134.77	1 203.20
October 3-6, 2007	2007 Junior Grand Prix, Bulgaria	Junior	1 64.41	2 123.26	2 187.67
September 6-9, 2007	2007 Junior Grand Prix, Romania	Junior	1 64.61	1 121.33	1 185.94
2006-07 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
January 21-28, 2007	2007 U.S. Championships	Junior	7 52.82	7 105.68	6 158.50
November 16-18, 2006	2007 Eastern Sectionals	Junior	1 60.81	1 116.88	1 177.69
October 16-21, 2006	2007 South Atlantic Regionals	Junior	1 50.85	1 88.59	139.44
2005-06 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
January 7-15, 2006	2006 U.S. Championships	Junior	8 49.54	12 84.65	11 134.19
October 6-9, 2005	2005 Junior Grand Prix, Croatia	Junior	6 48.85	5 97.72	6 146.57
November 16-19, 2005	2006 Eastern Sectionals	Junior	3 52.39	2 98.89	3 151.28
October 26-29, 2005	2006 South Atlantic Regionals	Junior	1	1	1
2004-05 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
April 13-17, 2005	2005 Triglav Trophy	Junior	4	1	1
January 9-16, 2005	2005 U.S. Championships	Novice	1	2	2
November 18-20, 2004	2005 Eastern Sectionals	Novice	1	1	1
October 5-9, 2004	2005 South Atlantic Regionals	Novice	2	4	4

• SP = Short program; FS = Free skating