Sue Zhang, 10, who has skated at the Andrew Stergiopoulos Ice Rink since 2011, has qualified for the United States Figure Skating National championship competition.
Over the weekend of Nov. 18, Zhang competitively skated at the 2018 Sectionals hosted by the USFSA in Boxborough, Mass., where she took home the bronze medal.
Zhang began skating at 4 years old, developing her own spins and jumps. Practicing at the Andrew Stergiopoulos Ice Rink, she skated most weekday mornings at the Park District’s freestyle sessions.
Zhang currently works with Coach Crystal Kiang, who taught her choreography and more advanced spins, which she quickly mastered. At 8 years old, she competed at the Preliminary level, winning first place at the 2015 Darien Open. Soon after she moved up to Pre-Juvenile, mastering her double-double jumps. A year later, she started to compete in Juvenile while working on her double-lutz as well as her double-axel.
In 2017, Zhang started to actively compete in Juvenile, attending a different competition every other month. She continued to bring up her scores while polishing her programs, winning the 2017 Empire State Winter Games in Lake Placid (Juvenile category). She won a bronze medal at the 2017 Morris Open and a silver medal at the 2017 Middle Atlantic Open. She also won the gold medal in the qualifying round in 2018 North Atlantic regional championships and came out second place in the final round out of 110 competitors.
Zhang will attend the 2018 USFS National championships on Dec. 29, representing the Great Neck Figure Skating Club, which she looks forward to. Follow her on Instagram at Sue.zhang.skater.
