REXBURG — There aren’t many things that could make an aunt prouder than her niece becoming an Olympian. For Rexburg resident Marilyn Brannon, that’s exactly what has happened. B r a n n o n ’ s niece, Polina E d m u n d s , earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team as a figure skater for this month’s Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
“She’s in Munich today. She’ll be in Europe for a week training and then she’ll to Sochi and skate on the 19th and 20th of February. We hope everyone will cheer them on,” Brannon said in a recent interview.
E d m u n d s , who is just 15 years old, has skated all over the world. At one point, she even skated in Sun Valley. She has skated several times in Salt Lake City. She most recently skated in Boston, Mass., for the Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which were held in January.
Edmunds was the Junior Ladies Gold medalist at Nationals in 2013. But this January was her first attempt to skate in competition of Senior Ladies at the National Championships in Boston. She took second place in both the short and long programs, taking the silver medal at nationals. This earned her a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team, making it the first time someone this young has earned a spot since Tara Lipinski.
Brannon, the proud aunt, said she was able to watch Edmunds perform in Boston, thanks to the internet.
“She went to Boston and was the 21st girl to skate. We watched the whole darn show. She did really great,” Brannon said.
While Edmunds is quite young, she was seemingly destined to skate. She was born into a skating family.
Her dad, John Edmunds, married a Russian gal, Nina Edmunds, who is a skating coach for young women. While John was already a United States citizen, Nina immigrated to the U.S. in 1995. Nina continues to coach today in San Jose, Calif., to help pay for Polina’s ice time.
Edmunds has also been blessed with knowledgeable coaches. She has skated under the tutelage of David Glynn since she was four years old. Marina Klimova, Edmunds’ choreographer, is a three time Olympic medalist for the former Soviet Union. She has been working with her since she was 10 or 11 years old.
“They work at a rink in San Jose, California,” Brannon explained.
Another one of Edmunds’ coaches, Frank Carroll, coached former skating stars Evan Lysacek and Michelle Kwan and helped them win Olympic medals. In short, Edmunds has some of the best help available.
However, it hasn’t been all rosy for Edmunds, according to Brannon.
“Polina failed to make the podium at Nationals four years ago, and had to make a decision about whether to take it seriously. She has taken it seriously since, spending four to five hours on the ice daily, studying ballet, while attending school and keeping up very good grades. This last year she has been skating all over the world, including Italy, Mexico and Belarus, where she took the gold. Polina beat three very good Russian skaters in the long program in Japan, demonstrating very good technical skill,” Brannon said.
According to Brannon, Edmunds arrived in Munich to start her Olympic trip. She was in Europe for a week of training and then movedon to Sochi. Edmunds will perform on Feb. 19 and 20.
In speaking to Brannon, one might think she is more excited than Edmunds herself for the competition to begin.
“Polina (is) an Olympian representing her father’s native country of the United States, in her mother’s native country of Russia. How cool is that? Polina and her family have all worked so hard, sacrificed, and been blessed with so much along this journey. As an aunt, I am just so thrilled to see Polina do so well. I am totally excited for her to have this great Olympic experience at such a young age,” Brannon said.
Despite her young age, big things are expected of Polina Edmunds. Most of the world will be watching, and you can be sure one proud aunt in Rexburg will be, as well.