Princeton High School’s very own Audrey Chiu ’26 competed at the World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships, which took place from March 13 to 14 in Gdańsk, Poland.
With her team, the Skyliners, Chiu won third place with 200.40 points, placing second and fourth in the short program and free skating segments, respectively, and finishing 4.46 points behind second place. This bronze medal finish marks the seventh junior world medal for the team.
What does a typical day of training look like for you? Is training every single day?
I train in New Jersey three days during the weekdays: Monday, Tuesday, [and] Thursday, and then I skate with my team in Connecticut and New York on Friday, Saturday, [and] Sunday.
What was your favorite part about competing at the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships?
When we got on the ice to warm up, they dimmed the lights and they turned on purple and pink lights, and it was really cool to be in that zone with your team. And I was most proud that my family was able to get to see me skate, because they live in Taiwan, and they’ve never seen me skate before, and some of them came over to Poland to watch.
How were you able to adapt to the pressure when competing on the international stage?
I felt more pressure during ... the practices that we had leading up to the competition, [than] when we competed. [Competing] was really fun, so it was not that nerve-wracking.
What’s something that you would tell yourself to keep you motivated?
When I was younger, I didn’t really need to be motivated, because [skating] was something I liked to do. If I ever felt like I didn’t want to go, I would just tell myself that when you’re on the ice, you know you’re gonna have fun because your friends are there, you’re there, and you’re doing something you like [doing].
What are three qualities that are important for skaters to have?
Being understanding and being aware of the people around you is very important. [Also], you have to be determined, because [skating well] takes a lot of effort, and [can] sometimes hurt a lot. You [also] have to be very self-motivated [and] you have to [know how] to time manage yourself. You can’t rely too much on other people to do stuff for you