Matthew Savoie (figure skater)
Matt Savoie | |
---|---|
Born | September 12, 1980 |
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
Figure skating career | |
Country | United States |
Began skating | 1989 |
Retired | 2006 |
Matthew Savoie (born September 12, 1980, in Peoria, Illinois), is an American former competitive figure skater. He is a three-time U.S. bronze medalist, the 2006 Four Continents bronze medalist, and competed at the 2006 Olympics.
Skating career
Matthew Savoie first gained prominence when he won the gold medal on the junior level at the 1997 U.S. Championships. He went on to place in the top five at every U.S. Nationals between 1999 and 2006, winning bronze medals in 2001, 2004, and 2006 and pewter medals (fourth place) in 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2005.[1]
Savoie won bronze medals at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, the Grand Prix Final, and the World Junior Championships. He represented the United States three times at the World Championships.[2]
Savoie was the first alternate to the 2002 Olympic team. In 2004, he underwent knee surgery due to parallel tendonitis.[3] By winning the bronze at the 2006 U.S. Championships, Savoie earned a chance to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics.[4] He finished seventh overall.
Savoie was raised in Peoria, Illinois, and trained there with coach Linda Branan throughout his career.[5] He also worked with coach Gene Heffron, choreographer Tom Dickson, and modern dance teacher Kathy Johnson.[5][6]
In July 2006, Savoie was appointed as the athlete representative to the Single & Pair Skating Technical Committee of the International Skating Union.[7] He completed a four-year term.
Personal life and post-competitive career
Savoie graduated from Peoria High School (Peoria, Illinois) in 1998.[5] He graduated summa cum laude from Bradley University in 2002, with a major in political science[1] and a minor in biology. He went on to earn his master's degree in urban planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005 and received the AICP Outstanding Graduate Student Award for 2005.[1] He was admitted to the law school at Cornell University in 2005, but obtained a deferral for a year to focus on making the Olympic team. He joined the program in September 2006,[6] where he also served as secretary of the LAMBDA (LGBT) Law Students Association.[8] Savoie graduated in 2009, and began work as an associate in the law firm of Choate Hall & Stewart. Then, in 2014, the U.S. Figure Skating Association Championships were conducted in Boston, and Savoie attended for the first time since his Olympic year. There, he reconnected with coaches and old friends. Within months, he was turning in his notice at the law office and accepting a position on the coaching staff of the prestigious Skating Club of Boston. This year, one of his skaters, Curran Oi, competed in the men’s national championships. [9]
Savoie married attorney Brian Boyle on October 7, 2012 in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.[10]
Programs
Season | Short program | Free skating |
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2005–2006 [2] |
|
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2004–2005 [11] |
|
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2003–2004 [12] |
|
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2002–2003 [13] |
Cirque du Soleil:
|
|
2001–2002 [14] |
Cirque du Soleil:
|
|
2000–2001 [15] |
|
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Competitive highlights
Results[1][2][13][15] | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
International | ||||||||||||
Event | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–00 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 |
Olympics | 7th | |||||||||||
Worlds | 12th | 16th | 11th | |||||||||
Four Continents | 4th | 5th | 5th | 3rd | ||||||||
Grand Prix Final | 3rd | |||||||||||
GP Cup of China | 8th | 7th | ||||||||||
GP Cup of Russia | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |||||||||
GP NHK Trophy | 9th | |||||||||||
GP Skate Canada | 3rd | 5th | ||||||||||
GP Skate America | 5th | 6th | 3rd | |||||||||
GP Sparkassen | 3rd | |||||||||||
Bofrost | 3rd | |||||||||||
International: Junior | ||||||||||||
Junior Worlds | 4th | 3rd | ||||||||||
JGP Final | 3rd | 6th | ||||||||||
JGP China | 4th | |||||||||||
JGP France | 2nd | 3rd | ||||||||||
JGP Germany | 1st | |||||||||||
Gardena | 1st J. | |||||||||||
National | ||||||||||||
U.S. Champ. | 8th N. | 4th N. | 1st J. | 11th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 3rd | 4th | 3rd |
Midwest. Sect. | 3rd N. | 4th N. | 3rd J. | 3rd | 2nd | |||||||
UGL Regionals | 3rd N. | 1st N. | 1st J. | 1st | ||||||||
Levels: N. = Novice; J. = Junior GP = Grand Prix; JGP = Junior Grand Prix UGL = Upper Great Lakes |
References
- ^ a b c d "Matt Savoie". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c "Matthew SAVOIE: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 2, 2006.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Savoie, Matt". U.S. Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on April 10, 2008.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Wessler, Kirk (January 15, 2006). "An Olympian". Peoria Journal Star. Archived from the original on March 26, 2006.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Wessler, Kirk (March 16, 2003). "Proud of his home ice". Peoria Journal Star. Archived from the original on December 20, 2004.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b Wessler, Kirk (February 12, 2006). "Deconstructing Savoie". Peoria Journal Star. Archived from the original on March 26, 2006.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Matt Savoie Appointed Athlete Representative to ISU Technical Committee". U.S. Figure Skating. July 21, 2006.
- ^ "2006-2007: LAMBDA Law Students Association". Cornell University Student Activities Office.
- ^ Wessler, Kirk (March 2, 2016). "Olympic skater Matt Savoie to be enshrined in Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame". Peoria Journal Star.
- ^ Elfman, Lois (October 18, 2012). "Law of attraction: Wedding bells ring for Savoie". Icenetwork.
- ^ "Matthew SAVOIE: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 16, 2005.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Matthew SAVOIE: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 5, 2004.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Matthew SAVOIE: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 8, 2003.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Matthew SAVOIE: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Matthew SAVOIE: 2000/2001". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 15, 2001.
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External links
- 1980 births
- American male single skaters
- Bradley University alumni
- Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Living people
- Olympic figure skaters of the United States
- Sportspeople from Peoria, Illinois
- Gay sportsmen
- LGBT figure skaters
- LGBT sportspeople from the United States
- University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign alumni
- Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists
- World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists