Alexander Gamelin (born February 22, 1993) is an American-born South Koreanice dancer.[1] He competed from the 2004–05 through the 2014–15 season with his twin sister, Danielle Gamelin.[2] The two won the gold medal in senior dance at the 2015 U.S. Eastern Sectionals[3] and placed seventh at the 2015 U.S. Championships.[4] After his sister's retirement from competitive figure skating in April 2015, he teamed up with Yura Min to represent Republic of Korea.[5] Min was born in the United States and maintains dual citizenship from the United States and the Republic of Korea. They are the 2017 and 2018 South Korean National Ice Dance Champions. Representing the Republic of Korea, Alexander and Yura competed in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics where they finished in 18th place. The ice dance partnership between Alexander Gamelin and Yura Min ended in June 2018.
Personal life
Alexander Gamelin and his twin sister, Danielle, were born on February 22, 1993, in Boston, Massachusetts.[1] In 1998, along with his family, he moved to Merrick, New York, where he attended public elementary and middle school.[6] In 2010, he relocated to Newark, Delaware, where he attended the American School, an accredited distance learning high school, from which he graduated in 2013[7] with high honors.[8]
In 2003, the Gamelins started taking private ice dance lessons from the husband-and-wife coaching team of Alexander Esman and Marina Koulbitskaya.[15] The Gamelins started competing as a juvenile dance team in 2005. In the 2006–07 season, the Gamelins won the gold medal in juvenile dance at the 2007 North Atlantic Regional Ice Dance Championships[16] and finished 9th at the 2007 U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships. While Esman remained the principle coach throughout the duo's juvenile, intermediate and novice dance career, Evgeny Platov choreographed their programs and provided additional coaching.[17] The Gamelins won the gold medal in juvenile dance at both the 2008 North Atlantic Regionals and the 2008 U.S. Eastern Sectionals and the bronze medal at the 2008 U.S. Junior Championships.[18]
The following season, skating on the intermediate level, the Gamelins won the silver medal at the 2009 Eastern Sectionals and gold at the 2009 U.S. Junior Championships.[19][20] Shortly after that, the New York State Senate together with the New York State Assembly passed a resolution honoring both for inspiring young people in the State of New York through their work ethic and commitment to excellence.[21] During this and the previous season, the Gamelin twins incorporated a unique choreographic feature into their programs, an inverted eagle, which became known as the "Gamelin Eagle" and the team's signature move.[22]
Early in the 2011–12 season, the Gamelins finished 9th at the 2012 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Latvia,[33] 4th at the 2012 Eastern Sectionals[34] and in 12th at the 2012 U.S. Championships.[35] Ahead of their first senior season, 2012–13, the Gamelins relocated to Silver Spring, Maryland to train at the Wheaton Skating Academy with Alexei Kiliakov and Elena Novak. They finished 4th at Eastern Sectionals[36] and 11th at the U.S. Championships.[37] Remaining with Kiliakov for their second season as seniors, the Gamelins won the bronze medal at the 2014 Eastern Sectionals[38] and finished 12th at the 2014 U.S. Championships.[39]
In May 2014, the Gamelins relocated to Novi, Michigan to train with a coaching team led by Igor Shpilband.[9] Under the coaching team of Shpilband, Fabian Bourzat, Greg Zuerlein, and Adrienne Lenda,[12] they won the gold medal in senior dance at the 2015 Eastern Sectionals[3] and moved up five places from the previous season to finish in 7th place in Championship Dance at the 2015 U.S. Championships.[4] In April 2015, the Gamelins ended their 15-year on-ice partnership.[40]
Starting their second competitive season together with an early event, the 2016 Lake Placid Ice Dance International, Min and Gamelin placed third in the short dance and second in the free dance,[46] winning the bronze medal overall.[43] The team finished in the top six for all three ISU Challenger Series competitions skated, the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, the Nebelhorn Trophy, and the CS Tallinn Trophy,[47] and made their ISU Grand Prix debut at Skate America finishing in 10th place.[47] They advanced to Free Dance and placed 20th at 2017 World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki. On the domestic front, Min and Gamelin earned the gold medal in senior dance at both the 2017 KSU President Cup Ranking Competition and the 2017 South Korean Figure Skating Championships.
2017–2018 season
Min/Gamelin decided to skate to Arirang for their free dance.[11][48] In September, they competed at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, the final qualifying opportunity for the 2018 Winter Olympics. They finished fourth, earning a spot for South Korea in the Olympic ice dance event.
2018-2019 season
On July 18, 2018, Gamelin announced his partnership with Min had ended.[49]
^Scott Brinton (Oct 9, 2008). "Long Road to the Gamees". Vol. 11, no. 41. The Merrick Herald News. pp. 1, 3. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024.
^Fuschillo, Charles J. Jr. (24 February 2009). "Resolution J384". NY State Senate. New York State Senate. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
^Rutherford, Lynn. "A Special Night". U.S. Figure Skating (December 2010): 42–43. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
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