Danielle O'Brien
| Danielle O'Brien | |
|---|---|
 O'Brien/Merriman in 2011. | |
| Personal information | |
| Country represented | Australia |
| Born | 7 February 1990 Sydney |
| Height | 150 cm (4 ft 11 in)[1] |
| Partner | Gregory Merriman |
| Former coach | Monica MacDonald, Pasquale Camerlengo, Anjelika Krylova, Elizabeth Swallow, Natalia Deller, Andrei Filippov, Maria Filippov, Victor Kraatz, Maikki Kraatz |
| Former choreographer | Monica McDonald, Pasquale Camerlengo, Anjelika Krylova |
| Skating club | Sydney FSC |
| Began skating | 1997 |
| Retired | April 11, 2014 |
| ISU personal best scores | |
| Combined total | 128.53 2014 Winter Olympics |
| Short dance | 52.68 2014 Winter Olympics |
| Free dance | 77.28 2014 Four Continents |
Danielle O'Brien (born 7 February 1990) is an Australian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Gregory Merriman, she is a six-time Australian senior national champion and three-time junior national champion. They have competed at the World Championships and Four Continents Championships since 2008, and have competed at three World Junior Championships. They became the first Australian ice dancers to reach the free dance at a World Championships.
Career[]
Danielle O'Brien teamed up with Gregory Merriman, who also skated at the Canterbury Olympic Ice Rink,[2] in April 1998.[3] They were coached by Australian ice dancing champion Monica MacDonald in Sydney, Australia. In the 2009–10 season, they trained with former World champion Victor Kraatz and Maikki Kraatz. O'Brien/Merriman withdrew from the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, the final qualifying opportunity for the 2010 Winter Olympics, due to Merriman's diagnosis of pericarditis, a viral infection in the sac surrounding the heart.[4][5]
In the 2010–11 season, O'Brien/Merriman began training part-time in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan under coaches Anjelika Krylova, two-time World champion, and Pasquale Camerlengo. They relocated to Detroit to train there full-time in late 2011.[5] Although Merriman's heel of his boot separated during the preliminary round at the 2012 World Championships, they placed eighth out of 23 couples and qualified for the short dance, where they placed 20th and qualified for the free. O'Brien/Merriman became the first Australian team to qualify for the free dance at a World Championships. They finished 20th overall.
In 2012–13, O'Brien/Merriman finished 7th at the US International Classic, 4th at the 2012 Ondrej Nepela Memorial, 8th at the 2012 NRW Trophy and 4th at the 2012 Ice Challenge. In January 2013, they became the first Australian ice dancers to medal at an International event when they took bronze at the Toruń Cup in Poland. In February, O'Brien/Merriman competed at the 2013 Four Continents Championships where they finished with a personal best placement of eighth. They did not qualify for the 2013 World Championships due to new TES requirements.[6]
The 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy was the last chance to qualify for the Olympics; O'Brien/Merriman finished sixth and earned a place for Australia in the Olympic ice dancing event. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, they advanced to the free dance and finished 20th. They retired from competition on April 21, 2014.[7]
Programs[]
(with Merriman)
| Season | Short dance | Free dance |
|---|---|---|
| 2013–2014 [8] |
|
|
| 2012–2013 [9] |
|
|
| 2011–2012 [10] |
|
|
| 2010–2011 [11] |
|
|
| Original dance | ||
| 2009–2010 [12] |
Australian aboriginal music:
|
|
| 2008–2009 [13] |
|
|
| 2007–2008 [14] |
Australian Aboriginal music:
|
Mamma Mia musical by ABBA:
|
| 2006–2007 [15] |
|
|
| 2005–2006 [16] |
|
|
| 2004–2005 [17] |
|
White Stones by Secret Garden, Rolf Lovland:
|
| 2003–2004 [3] |
White Stones by Secret Garden, Rolf Lovland:
|
Results[]
(with Merriman)
| Results[18] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International | ||||||||||
| Event | 04–05 | 05–06 | 06–07 | 07–08 | 08–09 | 09–10 | 10–11 | 11–12 | 12–13 | 13–14 |
| Olympics | 20th | |||||||||
| Worlds | 27th | 25th | 25th | 27th | 20th | 24th | ||||
| Four Continents | 10th | 10th | 10th | 9th | 9th | 8th | 7th | |||
| Ice Challenge | 4th | |||||||||
| Nebelhorn | WD | 15th | 6th | |||||||
| NRW Trophy | 8th | |||||||||
| Ondrej Nepela | 10th | 4th | ||||||||
| Skate Down Under | 1st | |||||||||
| Toruń Cup | 3rd | |||||||||
| U.S. Classic | 7th | |||||||||
| Volvo Cup | 12th | |||||||||
| International: Junior | ||||||||||
| Junior Worlds | 26th | 23rd | 20th | |||||||
| JGP China | 10th | |||||||||
| JGP Japan | 11th | |||||||||
| JGP Taiwan | 10th | |||||||||
| National | ||||||||||
| Australian Champ. | 1st J. | 1st J. | 1st J. | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| JGP = Junior Grand Prix; WD = Withdrew | ||||||||||
References[]
- ^ "Danielle O'Brien". sochi2014.olympics.com.au. Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
- ^ Georgakopoulos, Chris (4 February 2014). "Ice dancing duo Greg Merriman and Danielle O'Brien primed for Sochi Winter Olympic Games". Canterbury-Bankstown Express. DailyTelegraph.com.au.
- ^ a b Mittan, Barry (8 August 2005). "Australian Dancers Win First Gold". Skate Today.
- ^ Moore, Emmeline (16 February 2014). "Australian ice dancers live dream after heart scare". Agence France-Presse. Google.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014.
- ^ a b Miller, Nick (9 February 2014). "Greg Merriman, Danielle O'Brien prepare for Olympic debut". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Noonan, Belinda (12 March 2013). "Disappointment for Aussie ice dancers has its benefits". Burwood Scene. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013.
- ^ "Dani and Greg hang up the skates". Olympics.com.au. 11 April 2014.
- ^ "Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014.
- ^ "Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013.
- ^ "Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012.
- ^ "Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010.
- ^ "Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 May 2009.
- ^ "Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008.
- ^ "Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 April 2007.
- ^ "Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 7 May 2006.
- ^ "Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 5 February 2005.
- ^ "Competition Results: Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014.
External links[]
Media related to Danielle O'Brien at Wikimedia Commons
- Australian female ice dancers
- 1990 births
- Living people
- Sportswomen from New South Wales
- Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics
- Olympic figure skaters of Australia
- Figure skaters from Sydney