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Evan BatesAmerican figure skater
Date of Birth: 23.02.1989
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Evan Bates
Evan Bates is an American figure skater who competes in pairs with Emily Samuelson. The duo won silver medals at the 2009 U.S. Championships, bronze medals at the 2009 Four Continents Championships, and the long-awaited gold at the 2008 World Junior Championships.
Early Life and Education
Evan Bates was born on February 23, 1989, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, where he still resides and trains. He graduated from Huron High School and is currently studying at the University of Michigan, Class of 2011. His sister runs marathons, his brother plays dodgeball, and his father is the captain of a ski team.
Figure Skating Career
Bates started skating at the age of four. He trained as a single skater and passed the Junior Level test of the U.S. Figure Skating Association, successfully landing a double axel jump. After Yuri Chesnichenko and Yaroslava Nechaeva, a married couple who had moved to the United States, began coaching him, Bates briefly skated with Ariel Chudnofsky and competed with her at the U.S. Junior Championships. In 2000, his former coach, Gary Clark, paired him with Emily Samuelson.
In the 2000-2001 season, competing at the juvenile level, the new duo won a pewter medal, fourth place, at their first regional championship. This victory earned Evan and Emily a spot at the U.S. Junior Championships, where they won bronze medals. Moving up to the intermediate level in the 2001-2002 season, the skaters earned silver medals at the regional championship, followed by the 2001-2002 U.S. Junior Championships gold medals.
In the 2007-2008 season, Bates started with the International Skating Union's Junior Grand Prix series. Despite a minor knee injury in Lake Placid, he and his partner won all three programs of the first stage, earning gold medals. In the second stage, they won the compulsory and original dance, but placed second in the free dance, once again becoming gold medalists. These achievements qualified the skaters for the 2007 Junior Grand Prix Final, where Bates and Samuelson won silver medals.
In the 2008-2009 season, they moved up to the senior international level. Their first international competition was the Nebelhorn Trophy in 2008. After placing second in the compulsory dance and winning the original and free dances, Bates and Samuelson became the leaders of the tournament. Making their Grand Prix series debut at Skate America, the pair finished fifth in the compulsory dance, fourth in the original dance, and third in the free dance, ultimately placing fourth overall. At the second Grand Prix event, NHK Trophy, they placed third in the compulsory dance, fourth in the original dance and free dance, winning bronze medals.
At the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the pair earned second-place finishes in all three programs, winning silver medals. This marked their sixth consecutive medal at the U.S. Championships. Bates and Samuelson competed at the 2009 Four Continents Championships, where they placed fourth in the compulsory dance and third in the original and free dances, winning bronze medals. At the 2009 World Championships, they placed 13th in the compulsory dance, 11th in the original dance, and 9th in the free dance, ultimately finishing in 11th place overall.
In 2010, the pair was selected to represent the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
