Ting Cui (/tsw/;[1] born September 6, 2002) is an American figure skater. She is the 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy silver medalist, the 2018 U.S. junior national bronze medalist, and the 2019 Junior Worlds bronze medalist.

Ting Cui
Born (2002-09-06) September 6, 2002 (age 22)
Baltimore, Maryland,
United States
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Figure skating career
Country United States
DisciplineWomen's singles
CoachTom Zakrajsek
Skating clubBaltimore Figure Skating Club
Began skating2009
Medal record
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Zagreb Singles

Personal life

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Ting Cui was born on September 6, 2002, in Baltimore, Maryland,[2] the eldest child of Lily and Larry Cui.[1] She graduated from Towson High School in 2020.[1] She enrolled at Middlebury College in 2022, where she currently in the process of obtaining a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Government.[3]

Career

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Early years

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Cui began learning to skate in 2009.[2] She received a pewter medal after finishing fourth in the intermediate category at the 2015 U.S. Championships. Two years later, she won silver in the novice ranks at the 2017 U.S. Championships.

2017–18 season

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Cui made her ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut in August, placing sixth in Brisbane, Australia. In January, she won the junior bronze medal at the 2018 U.S. Championships, having finished third behind Alysa Liu and Pooja Kalyan after placing eleventh in the short and second in the free. She placed seventh at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. She was coached by Vincent Restencourt in Aston, Pennsylvania, until the end of the season.[4] In June, she joined Tom Zakrajsek in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[1]

2018–19 season

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Cui began her season on the JGP series, placing fifth in Linz, Austria, and then seventh in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Making her senior international debut, she won silver at the 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy in November.

At the 2019 U.S. Championships, Cui debuted on the senior level domestically. She placed twelfth in the short program after falling twice and failing to execute a combination. She rallied in the free skate, where she placed third, rising to fifth place overall. Cui said afterward that it "felt amazing, and the audience was so different from juniors. I could feel the energy from the crowd, and I was just so happy, and people were on their feet too, which was really amazing." Cui was then assigned to the 2019 World Junior Championships alongside pewter medalist Hanna Harrell. Because both Harrell and gold medalist Alysa Liu were ineligible for senior international competition, Cui was also assigned to the 2019 Four Continents Championship.[5]

Competing at Four Continents, Cui placed seventh in the short program. Despite an edge call on her flip, she said it was "so much fun skating for the crowd, especially during my footwork, that was great. It’s my first Championship event, and I really want to enjoy every moment of it."[6] In the free program, she fell three times and finished in eleventh place overall.[7]

She won the bronze medal at the 2019 World Junior Championships after placing third in both segments, becoming the first American lady to medal at Junior Worlds since Gracie Gold in 2012.[8]

2019–20 season

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Cui suffered from a serious ankle injury over the summer but returned to compete at the 2019 U.S. Classic, where she finished fourth.[9] On October 9, 2019, Cui announced that she had reinjured her ankle in training and would consequently withdraw from her Grand Prix assignments for the year, the Internationaux de France and NHK Trophy.[10]

In January, Cui qualified for the 2020 U.S. Championships but withdrew in December 2019 to focus on recovering from her ankle injury.[11]

2020–21 season

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Cui switched coaches from Tom Zakrajsek to Natalia Linichuk in Newark, Delaware, during the offseason.[12] She did not compete at either 2020 Skate America or the 2021 U.S. Championships.

While appearing on Polina Edmunds's podcast, on an episode that was released in February 2021, Cui said she was training in Lake Placid, New York, with Paul Wylie and was still recovering from her injury. She said she was working on getting her triples consistent and looking to return and compete for the next season. Cui also said her coaching situation for the upcoming season would be dependent upon several factors, including where she decided to attend college.[13] Roland Burghart would eventually become her new coach.[14]

During the following season, Cui would only appear at small domestic events.[15]

2022–23 season

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Competing at the 2023 Eastern Sectional Championships in early November, Cui would win the silver medal, which allowed her to qualify for the U.S. Championships.[15]

Although assigned to compete at the 2023 Winter World University Games, she would withdraw following a nineteenth-place short program due to illness.[15][16] Shortly following the event, Cui would compete at the 2023 U.S. Championships, where she finished in twelfth place.[15]

2023–24 season

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Competing at the 2024 Eastern Sectional Championships, Cui won the bronze medal.[15]

2024–25 season

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Cui began the season by competing at the 2025 Eastern Sectional Championships, where she won the gold medal, thus qualifying for the U.S. Championships.[15]

Programs

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Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2024–2025
[17][18]
  • Star Wars
    • The Force Theme
      by Samuel Kim
    • Jyn Erso & Hope Suite
      by Michael Giacchino
    • Duel of the Fates (Epic Version)
      by Samuel Kim
2023–2024
[19]
2022–2023
2021–2022
[20]
2020–2021
2019–2020
[21]
2018–2019
[2]
2017–2018
[4]
2016–2017
[22]

Competitive highlights

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Competition placements at senior level [15]
Season 2018–19 2019–20 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Four Continents Championships 11th
U.S. Championships 5th 12th TBD
CS Tallinn Trophy 2nd
CS U.S. Classic 4th
Kings Cup WD
World University Games WD
Competition placements at junior level [15]
Season 2017–18 2018–19
World Junior Championships 7th 3rd
U.S. Championships 3rd
JGP Australia 6th
JGP Austria 5th
JGP Czech Republic 7th
Philadelphia Summer 1st

Detailed results

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ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [15]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 199.79 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy
Short program TSS 70.20 2018 JGP Czech Republic
TES 40.43 2018 JGP Czech Republic
PCS 30.96 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy
Free skating TSS 132.23 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy
TES 72.11 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy
PCS 61.84 2019 CS U.S. International Classic
ISU personal best scores in the +3/-3 GOE System [15]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 180.39 2018 World Junior Championships
Short program TSS 62.22 2018 World Junior Championships
TES 36.33 2018 World Junior Championships
PCS 25.89 2018 World Junior Championships
Free skating TSS 118.17 2018 World Junior Championships
TES 65.16 2018 World Junior Championships
PCS 54.01 2018 World Junior Championships
  • Small medals for the short program and free skating are only awarded at ISU Championships.

Senior level

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Results in the 2018–19 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2018   2018 CS Tallinn Trophy 2 67.56 2 132.23 2 199.79
Jan 19–27, 2019   2019 U.S. Championships 12 54.64 3 139.66 5 194.30
Feb 7–10, 2019   2019 Four Continents Championships 7 66.73 14 98.11 11 164.84
Results in the 2019–20 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 17–22, 2019   2019 CS U.S. International Classic 3 63.10 4 114.37 4 177.47
Results in the 2022–23 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Jan 13–15, 2022   2023 Winter World University Games 19 47.33 WD
Jan 23–29, 2023   2023 U.S. Championships 10 57.11 12 104.16 12 161.27
Results in the 2023–24 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 5–7, 2023   2023 Kings Cup International 3 55.72 WD

Junior level

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Cui at the 2019 World Junior Championships
Results in the 2017–18 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 3–6, 2017   2017 Philadelphia Summer International 1 54.01 1 97.78 1 151.79
Aug 23–26, 2017   2017 JGP Australia 5 55.34 7 95.61 6 150.95
Dec 29, 2017 – Jan 8, 2018   2018 U.S. Championships (Junior) 11 45.55 2 119.96 3 165.51
Mar 5–11, 2018   2018 World Junior Championships 7 62.22 7 118.17 7 180.39
Results in the 2018–19 season[15]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 29 – Sep 1, 2018   2018 JGP Austria 6 53.25 5 102.79 5 156.04
Sep 26–29, 2018   2018 JGP Czech Republic 2 70.20 7 102.54 7 172.74
Mar 4–10, 2019   2019 World Junior Championships 3 67.69 3 126.72 3 194.41

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Lee, Edward (January 14, 2019). "Pikesville resident Ting Cui, 16, ready to compete among top U.S. skaters". Baltimore Sun.
  2. ^ a b c "Ting Cui: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019.
  3. ^ "Ting Cui". LinkedIn. LinkedIn. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Ting Cui: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018.
  5. ^ Mammoser, Scott (January 26, 2019). "Alysa Liu swoops in for Ladies' U.S. title; makes history". Golden Skate.
  6. ^ Slater, Paula (February 7, 2019). "Bradie Tennell takes slight lead in Anaheim". Golden Skate.
  7. ^ Slater, Paula (February 9, 2019). "Kihira captures gold in Anaheim in debut at Four Continents". Golden Skate.
  8. ^ "Ting Cui Takes Home Bronze Medal at World Junior Championships". U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone. March 9, 2019.
  9. ^ Cui, Ting [@ting_a_ding] (September 25, 2019). "#USIntlClassic this past weekend💙 Happy to have been back on the ice competing after a bad ankle injury during off season. Onwards and upwards from here" – via Instagram.
  10. ^ FigureSkatersOnline [@fsonline] (9 October 2019). "Team USA's Ting Cui posted on Instagram that she has to withdraw from both her #GPFigure assignments (#IFP19 and #NHKTrophy) due to re-injuring her right ankle while doing off-ice jumps" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Cui, Ting [@ting_a_ding] (December 22, 2019). "Hi everyone, I have decided to withdraw from Nationals this year to focus on my recovery and rehabilitation from my second right ankle injury this year" – via Instagram.
  12. ^ "2020–21 Figure Skating Roster: Ting Cui". U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone. U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  13. ^ "Bleav in Figure Skating: Ting Cui". February 9, 2021.
  14. ^ Cui, Ting. "so grateful to still be skating in college and I can't even describe how it feels to have qualified for nationals for the first time in a long time after a long journey💙". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "USA–Ting Cui". SkatingScores.
  16. ^ Cui, Ting. "This has been one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make… after a very long conversation with my doctor and my coach I decided to withdraw from the long program because of issues with my heart". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Ting Cui - Senior Women Short Program - 2025 Eastern Sectional Singles Final". YouTube. U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Ting Cui - Senior Women Free Skate - 2025 Eastern Sectional Singles". YouTube. U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  19. ^ ""Can't Help Falling in Love". 🖤♠️ Ting Cui @ting_a_ding performs Tommee Profitt's dark cover of Elvis Presley at Patriot FSC's 2nd annual Ice Show earlier this month. Thank you @PatriotFSC for having me back this year". Instagram. On Ice Perspectives. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  20. ^ Cui, Ting [@ting_a_ding] (July 22, 2020). "a little peek of my new SP🖤" – via Instagram.
  21. ^ "Ting Cui: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020.
  22. ^ "Ting Cui". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018.
    "Earlier versions". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018.
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