Mariah Bell.Photo: Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Mariah Bellis one step closer to representing Team USA at the2022 Winter Olympics.
On Thursday evening, the 25-year-oldfigure skaterparticipated in theU.S. Figure Skating Championships, where she secured an early lead after placing first in the women’s short program.
Bell landed a triple flip-triple toe loop and won with a score of 75.55, theAssociated Pressreported. Her score put her one point ahead of competitorKaren Chenand more than four ahead ofAlysa Liu.
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“I really worked on, the last couple seasons, trying to stay in the moment throughout the program,” Bell said after her feat, perUSA Today. “Obviously as things are going well, there’s like an excitement that’s building.”
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“But a couple years ago, I fell on my footwork because I was getting a little ahead of myself,” she added. “So I was trying to kind of keep myself mellow today.”
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Also during this week’s 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc scored high in the pairs competition.
The duo earned 79.39 points for their short program set to “The White Crow.” Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson came in second with 77.48 points, while Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov placed third with 68.11.
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“We’re grateful to be doing something that we love,” LeDuc said after competing, perNBC Sports. “We’re really pleased with our effort today, we feel like we did what we do in practice. Just looking forward to a great effort in the free skate.”
The duo will compete next in the pairs' free skate on Saturday, before Team USA is announced on Sunday.
To learn more about all the Olympic hopefuls, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, beginning February 3 on NBC.
source: people.com
