Larkyn Austman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Larkyn Austman
Austman at 2017 Skate Canada International
Personal information
Country represented	Canada
Born	(1998-02-22) February 22, 1998 (age 27) New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Home town	Coquitlam, British Columbia
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Former coach	Zdeněk Pazdírek, Liz Putnam, Heather Austman, Eileen Murphy, Kevin Bursey
Former choreographer	Mark Pillay
Skating club	Coquitlam SC
Training locations	Coquitlam, B.C.
Began skating	2000
Retired	May 10, 2019
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	165.21 2019 Four Continents Championships
Short program	54.99 2019 Four Continents Championships
Free skate	110.22 2019 Four Continents Championships

Larkyn Austman (born February 22, 1998) is a Canadian figure skater who used to compete professionally. She won a bronze medal at the International Challenge Cup in 2017. She also earned a bronze medal at the Canadian national championships in 2018.

When she was a junior skater, Larkyn won the Canadian junior national championship in 2013. She also took home a silver medal at the Canadian junior national championships in 2012. Larkyn placed 25th at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

About Larkyn Austman

Larkyn Austman was born on February 22, 1998. Her hometown is New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Both of her parents, Heather and Leonard, were also figure skaters. Her older brother, Connor, played ice hockey. Larkyn's mother, Heather Anderson, won a national skating title in 1974.

Larkyn went to Hillcrest Middle School. She later graduated from Dr. Charles Best Secondary School in Coquitlam in June 2016. She became a vegan in June 2015.

Larkyn's Skating Career

Starting Out

Larkyn Austman began learning to skate in 2000. She was a "flower retriever" at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. This means she helped pick up flowers thrown onto the ice after performances.

She won a silver medal at the 2012 Canadian Championships. She was competing at the novice level then. The next year, she won a gold medal as a junior at the 2013 Canadian Championships.

2013–2014 Season

In 2013, Larkyn had problems with her skating boots. This caused her to get tendinitis in both of her Achilles tendons. Tendinitis is when a tendon, which connects muscle to bone, becomes swollen and painful. Because of this, she missed part of the 2013–2014 season.

In October, she competed in her first ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) event. She finished eighth in Tallinn, Estonia. In January, she competed as a senior for the first time. She placed tenth at the 2014 Canadian Championships.

In March, Larkyn competed at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. She placed eighteenth in the short program. This allowed her to move on to the free skate, where she finished sixteenth overall. Her coaches were Heather Austman and Eileen Murphy.

2014–2016 Seasons

In 2014, Larkyn trained for three months in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She worked with coach Christy Krall. In August, she placed tenth at her Junior Grand Prix event in France. She stopped skating in December but started thinking about it again in March 2015.

Larkyn then rejoined the Coquitlam Skating Club. She started training again at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex. She finished sixth at the 2016 Canadian Championships.

2016–2017 Season

Larkyn was coached by Zdeněk Pazdírek in Coquitlam. She made her first senior international appearance in September. This was at the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International, a Challenger Series competition. She placed 12th there.

She finished fifth in the short program and fourth in the free skate at the 2017 Canadian Championships. This put her in fourth place overall and helped her join the national team. In February 2017, she won her first international medal. It was a bronze at the International Challenge Cup in The Hague, Netherlands.

2017–2018 Season

Larkyn trained in British Columbia and also in Edmonton during the summer. She spent five weeks training in Colorado Springs, Colorado during the winter. She raised money from supporters to help pay for her training. She also received financial help from Horatio Kemeny.

In January, Larkyn won the bronze medal at the 2018 Canadian Championships. The next day, she was chosen to be on Canada's teams for the 2018 Olympics and 2018 World Championships. In February, she competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. She placed twenty-fifth in the short program. This meant she just missed making it to the final round. She had the same result at the 2018 World Championships in Milan, Italy.

2018–2019 Season

Larkyn sprained her left foot in September 2018. This injury made her withdraw from the 2018 Skate Canada International competition.

At the 2019 Canadian Championships, Larkyn returned to compete. She placed second in the short program with a clean skate. She said that this good result showed her that withdrawing from the Grand Prix was the right choice. She felt it would have made her physical health and confidence worse. She did not do as well in the free skate, dropping to fourth place overall.

Larkyn was chosen to compete at the 2019 Four Continents Championships. This was because the silver medalist, Aurora Cotop, did not have the necessary technical scores. Larkyn finished tenth at Four Continents. She set new personal best scores there. However, she missed the technical score needed for the World Championships by just 0.01 points.

On May 10, Larkyn announced that she was retiring from competitive skating. She shared this news on Instagram.

Skating Programs

Competitive Highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

See also

In Spanish: Larkyn Austman para niños