Every competition has its unique challenges, even for veteran skaters like Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue. Hubbell and Donohue entered the 2020 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships as two-time defending U.S. champions. However, they experienced an unusual technical problem in their free dance in Greensboro and had to settle for silver behind friends and training mates Madison Chock and Evan Bates. They were disappointed not to defend their title, but will look to deliver better performances at the upcoming ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2020 in Seoul.
Hubbell and Donohue's problems in the free dance in Greensboro started right away, as they came out of their first element--a dance spin--to find themselves facing the wrong direction, away from the judges. It took several more elements before they could re-orient themselves and get back to facing in the planned direction.
"Many things went through my head," Hubbell said. "Certainly, one of the first was: 'How does this happen?' It seems like a mistake that isn't made by someone who skated for so many years. There's a little bit of fight-or-flight feeling. Embarrassment. Like maybe I could just run away," she commented ruefully.
But their competitive drive kicked in quickly. "Those thoughts pop up for a millisecond," said Hubbell. "And then are taken over with: 'All right, let's do this, let's figure it out.' Then it was staying in the moment and performing the best we could, even if it was in the opposite direction. And trying to plan ahead--how we could turn around, and where, and the best way to communicate that to each other."
Hubbell and Donohue said that it was the first time either of them had experienced that type of mistake in competition. "The first and the last, hopefully," Donohue declared.
"It was a hard performance, mentally," Hubbell reflected. "It didn't feel like that euphoric performance that sometimes you're able to have, where things just align and you're enjoying it. But we're proud of ourselves for how we handled it and staying focused enough to hold onto a silver medal, and still give a strong performance for everyone watching."
This year, their path to the U.S. Championships wasn't quite as smooth as last season, when they were undefeated in the fall. Early-season feedback from the judges about their programs suggested that some fine-tuning and readjustment was in order--particularly for their free dance, set to the soundtrack from the film
A Star Is Born.
"The international judges were much bigger fans of the 'Shallow' piece than of the initial rock-and-roll," Hubbell said, referring to the song "Alibi" at the beginning of their program. "We didn't want to get rid of the rock-and-roll, but we've found a way to modify the first part of the program to make it feel energetic and jam-packed, but not as drawn out. I think that was a big improvement. Just having a little bit more attack and less duration of that first music."
Donohue said that the duo had anticipated there might be some resistance to their Southern-rock style program this season. However, they wanted to try it because the music spoke to them personally.
"I don't think any skaters pick programs going: 'Okay, what is every single judge on the panel going to like?'" Donohue mused. "We have to do it for us. There are things [i.e., music] that other teams have used that we've been like, 'They're going to build a program out of
that?' And then you see their passion for the program. And you're like, 'Okay, now that's something I can watch and be entertained by.' It has nothing to do with my own personal taste. It has to do with the performance that the athlete has given."
Hubbell and Donohue feel that they've been able to absorb the feedback and apply it to the program, while still retaining their original conception of the free dance.
"We wanted to hit our strengths, which can be storytelling, connection, and a lot of power," Hubbell noted. "And also just keep working on the connection in the second part. The overall impression of the program, I think, has changed quite a bit. We've found a really cool balance, and we're excited about the direction it's heading. We had great feedback from our federation and the judges that they're loving all the work that we've put into the program."
Another thing they planned to work on was lifts. At the U.S. Championships, two of their lifts were called Level 3. Both lifts had earned Level 4 marks in earlier competitions. Hubbell and Donohue view the calls as a useful alert from the judges to take a closer look at those lifts before heading to Four Continents in Seoul.
Their last experience at Four Continents is much on their minds, as they look toward Seoul. Last season, the couple was leading after the rhythm dance at Four Continents, but unexpectedly fell to fourth after the free dance when a stationary lift was called as basic level. They would like to avoid any similar experiences in Seoul.
"We went into Four Continents last year in a much different position, having won everything all season, and we still got a big, big shock at Four Continents," Hubbell recalled.
"We're making sure that we cross our T's and dot our I's," Donohue said of their preparation for this year's event. "And just strengthening our mental game."
Although it's been a challenging season in some respects, they believe that their skating is on the right path heading toward Four Continents and Worlds.
"We feel like the momentum of our programs is building," Hubbell said. "We were really happy that the response [in Greensboro], especially on the free dance, was so much improved, even given the less-than-practiced performance. That was really motivating. It can be tiring to finish a U.S. Championships and, in five days, go to your next championships. But in this case, it feels like great timing. Like we're able to jump back in and get another chance to redeem ourselves."
Fans can watch Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue and all of Team USA at the Four Continents Championships live and on-demand with the Figure Skating Pass on NBC Sports Gold.
