U.S. Olympic ice dancers Caitlin Hawaiek and Jean-Luc Baker, as well as national pairs silver medalists Emily Chan and Spencer Howe, have withdrawn from upcoming Grand Prix competitions.
Hawaiiek and Baker, who placed 11th at last year’s Olympics, missed next month’s Grand Prix competitions in France and Japan after Baker suffered a concussion in a fall. Baker previously suffered concussions in 2015 and 2018.
“To be transparent, this year has been full of ups and downs as a team,” a post on social media read. “My recovery is progressing well, but if there’s anything I’ve learned over my career so far, it’s that a concussion is not an injury that should rush the return process. We are postponing our return to competition due to the current circumstances. Our passion for competition remains strong, but we have had to be more patient than expected this past year. My goal is to enter the tournament in the best possible condition both physically and mentally.”
The two last competed in the Grand Prix Final last December, where they finished fifth.
They missed last season’s national and world championships due to physical and mental health reasons. Hawaiiek posted in February that he was dealing with the effects of a concussion sustained during the 2021-22 Olympic season.
Hawake and Baker won bronze medals at every U.S. championship in the last Olympic cycle, emerging as the nation’s No. 2 couple after Olympic bronze medalists Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donahue retired last year.
Zhang and Howe, the top returning U.S. pair this season, withdrew from their Grand Prix season debut in China next month. They have yet to enter the Grand Prix to be held in Japan in November.
They have not announced the reason for their withdrawal.
Chan and Howe rose from fourth place at the U.S. Championships in January 2022 to fifth place at the World Championships in March 2023.
They entered this season as the top pair in the United States after national champions Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier said last season would likely be their last and did not sign for the fall event.
If Chan and Howe miss one Grand Prix event, they will not qualify for December’s Grand Prix Final, which will feature the world’s top six players in each discipline from the six-event Grand Prix series. The final field will consist of the skaters with the top two finishes in the Grand Prix series.
Two-time U.S. Olympian Jason Brown will also compete in a lower-level tournament in Poland next month, making his first full appearance this season. Brown missed the Grand Prix Series for the second consecutive fall, but is expected to compete at the U.S. Championships in January.