Polina Edmunds facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Polina Edmunds
at the 2014 U.S. Championships at the TD Garden in Boston.
Personal information
Country represented	United States
Born	(1998-05-18) May 18, 1998 (age 27) Santa Clara, California
Home town	San Jose, California
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Coach	David Glynn Nina Edmunds
Former coach	Frank Carroll
Choreographer	Rudy Galindo
Former choreographer	Marina Klimova
Skating club	Peninsula SC
Training locations	San Jose, California
Began skating	2000
Retired	July 15, 2020
World standing	132 (As of 18 February  2018 (2018 -02-18)[update])
Season's bests	72 (2017–18)
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	187.50 2014 Worlds
Short program	65.29 2015 Rostelecom Cup
Free skate	126.91 2014 Worlds
Medal record Representing  United States Figure skating: Ladies' singles Four Continents Championships Gold 2015 Seoul Ladies' singles U.S. Championships Silver 2014 Boston Ladies' singles Silver 2016 St.Paul Ladies' singles

Polina Edmunds Bast (born May 18, 1998) is a retired American figure skater. She is famous for winning the Four Continents Championship in 2015. Polina also won the U.S. Classic in 2014. She earned two silver medals at the U.S. National Championships in 2014 and 2016. Polina represented the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. She finished in 9th place at the Olympics.

Polina started skating very young, by the age of two. She began taking lessons when she was four years old. Earlier in her career, she won two big junior events. She also won the U.S. National Junior title in 2013.

About Polina's Life

Polina Edmunds was born on May 18, 1998, in Santa Clara, California. Her mother, Nina, was also a figure skater and is now a coach. Nina is from Tver, Russia, and learned coaching from a famous coach, Alexei Mishin. Polina's father, John Edmunds, works for a computer software company.

Polina has two brothers. James is two years older, and Daniel is four years younger. Both of her brothers play hockey. Famous Olympic ice dancers, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, are Daniel's godparents. When Polina was eight, in 2007, she started taking ballet and jazz dance lessons. She went to Archbishop Mitty High School and finished in May 2016. Later, she studied communication at Santa Clara University starting in September 2016.

Polina married Ian Bast on September 14, 2024.

Polina's Skating Journey

Polina first stepped on the ice when she was only 20 months old. By age four, she was taking lessons in both skating and ballet. She looked up to famous skaters like Carolina Kostner, Sasha Cohen, and Michelle Kwan. Polina trained at the Sharks Ice Rink in San Jose. Her coaches were David Glynn and her mother, Nina Edmunds. They had coached her since she was four.

Early Skating Years

Polina competed at the junior level in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She placed seventh in 2011 and sixth in 2012. In the 2012–2013 season, she won the U.S. national junior title. This was a big achievement for her.

2013–2014 Season: The Sochi Olympics

Edmunds performing her short program at the 2014 Olympics.

In 2013, Polina also started getting coaching from Frank Carroll. She competed in her first ISU Junior Grand Prix events. She won gold medals in both Mexico City and Belarus. At the Junior Grand Prix Final in Japan, she finished fourth overall.

Polina competed at the senior level for the first time at the 2014 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She won the silver medal, coming in second to Gracie Gold. Because of her strong performance, Polina was chosen for the U.S. team for the Olympics and World Championships. She made her senior international debut at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. She finished ninth overall. A month later, Polina competed at the 2014 World Championships in Japan. She finished eighth overall there.

2014–2015 Season: Four Continents Champion

Polina started her 2014–2015 season by winning gold at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. This was an ISU Challenger Series event. She then competed in two major Grand Prix events. She finished fourth in China and eighth in Japan.

At the 2015 U.S. Championships, Polina placed fourth. However, because the bronze medalist was too young for the World Championships, Polina was chosen for both the Four Continents and World teams.

Edmunds at the 2015 Four Continents.

Polina won the gold medal at the 2015 Four Continents. This was a huge win for her! At the 2015 World Championships, she finished eighth overall.

2015–2016 Season

Polina competed at 2015 Skate Canada International and 2015 Rostelecom Cup. She finished sixth in Canada and fourth in Russia. She then won the silver medal at the 2016 U.S. Championships. She had to withdraw from the 2016 Four Continents Championships. This was because her old skates were worn out, and she needed time to get used to new ones.

In February 2016, Polina found out she had a bone bruise in her right foot. This injury happened because she started jumping too soon in her new skates. Because of this, she also had to withdraw from the 2016 World Championships. She tried to return to skating, but the problem came back. She decided to rest and train off the ice.

2016–2020: Dealing with Injuries

Edmunds during her short program at the 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy

Polina started skating again in August 2016. However, she had to stop training in November because her bone bruise returned. She was worried about a serious fracture. She withdrew from her Grand Prix competitions and the U.S. Championships in January 2017. Polina returned to the ice in March 2017.

Polina qualified for the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in her hometown of San Jose, California. She skated well in her short program. However, during practice for the free program, she felt a sharp pain in her foot. She withdrew from the competition, fearing her old injury had returned.

Polina did not compete during the 2018–2019 season. This was due to a deep bone bruise on her right foot. She explained that it needed a lot of time off the ice to heal properly. Polina also missed qualifying for the 2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Retirement from Competition

On July 15, 2020, Polina Edmunds announced that she was leaving competitive skating. She said she was proud of her achievements. She was looking forward to new opportunities in skating and her career. She mentioned that if the COVID-19 pandemic had not happened, she would have been training fully for the season.

Skating Programs

Edmunds performing a Kerrigan spiral during her free skate at the 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy

Edmunds performing her short program at the 2015 Skate Canada International

Competitive Results

Polina Edmunds competed in many events throughout her career. Here are some of her main results:

See also

In Spanish: Polina Edmunds para niños