Carolyn Zhang—The Little Powerhouse is Back
Placing an impressive 4th place at Nationals in her first year on the senior circuit in 2008, Caroline Zhang is the 2009 U.S. bronze medalist, and has been busy since then as she was placed on the teams to the 2009 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships where she placed 4th and the 2009 World Junior Figure Skating Championships where she won the silver.
She is now preparing to come to Spokane once again with hopes of heading to Vancouver on the Olympic team.
Born in Boston, May 20, 1993, Caroline and her family moved to Brea, California when Caroline was very young. Her parents are from Wuhan, China, and her older sister was born in China so Caroline is bilingual in English and Mandarin.
Her Chinese given name is Yuan-Yuan which literally means round-round, which is the name she is known by in China and referred to in the Chinese media.
Caroline is also proficient at the piano, was concert master in her middle school's orchestra on violin, and was a ballet dancer before switching to figure skating. However she began skating at the age of five after watching it on television.
When she was 12 years old, she moved up to the Junior level in the 2005-2006 season, placing 8th that year at the National Championships. This qualified her for the Junior Grand Prix Final as well as the 2007 United States Figure Skating Championships without having to qualify through her regional or sectional championships.
Competing on the Junior level, Zhang won the silver medal behind Mirai Nagasu, also winning her a place on the U.S. team to the 2007 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where she beat Nagasu to win the title.
Zhang, Nagasu, and Ashley Wagner completed the first ever sweep by the United States of the World Junior ladies podium.
Zhang was placed on the U.S. team for the 2008 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where she won the silver medal behind Rachael Flatt. With Mirai Nagasu taking the bronze, this was the second ever U.S. sweep of the World Juniors ladies podium.
She trains at the East West Ice Palace in Artesia, which is the rink owned by the Kwan family. She was coached by Li Mingzhu from 2005 through 2009, until she announced a change in June of 2009 to Charlene Wong. However, it was short-lived as she returned to being coached by Li just two months later.
Below, Caroline and Mirai are interviewed at the 2007 U.S. Nationals in Spokane after taking the silver and the gold, respectively.