Bridget Namiotka

Bridget Namiotka (January 3, 1990[1] – July 25, 2022)[2] was an American pair skater who won gold on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series and placed fourth at two World Junior Championships.

Bridget Namiotka
Born(1990-01-03)January 3, 1990
West Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJuly 25, 2022(2022-07-25) (aged 32)
Height1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Figure skating career
CountryUSA
CoachJeff Digregorio
Ron Ludington
Jeremy Allen
Skating clubUniversity of Delaware FSC

Life and career

Bridget Namiotka, the daughter of Steve and Maureen Namiotka,[2] was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania.[1] She began learning to skate in 1997.[1] She skated two seasons with Daniel Haskins, competing in juvenile and novice pairs, and then teamed up with Alex Merritt, with whom she placed fifth in novice pairs at the 2003 U.S. Championships.[3]

Namiotka and John Coughlin began their partnership in late 2004.[3] They made their international debut in September 2005, placing fourth at a 2005–06 ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) event in Montreal, Canada. The following month, the pair won gold at their second JGP assignment, in Zagreb, Croatia. This earned them qualification to the JGP Final, where they placed fifth. After taking silver in junior pairs at the 2006 U.S. Championships, they were named in the U.S. team to the 2006 World Junior Championships. Ranked sixth in the short and second in the free skate, they finished fourth overall in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

During the 2006–07 ISU Junior Grand Prix season, Namiotka/Coughlin won silver in Norway and bronze in the Czech Republic. They qualified to their second JGP Final, where they finished sixth. Appearing in the senior ranks, the pair placed ninth at the 2007 U.S. Championships. They were fourth at the 2007 World Junior Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, which would be their final competition together. They announced the end of their partnership on July 3, 2007.[4]

Namiotka competed while managing pancreatitis.[3] After her death in July 2022, her parents stated: "Bridget succumbed to her long struggles with addiction after several very difficult years of dealing with the trauma of sexual abuse."[2]

Programs

(with Coughlin)

Season Short program Free skating
2006–2007
[5][1]
2005–2006
[5][6]
  • Time to Say Good Bye
  • Disco Firebird

Competitive highlights

With Haskins
National[3]
Event 2000–01 2001–02
U.S. Junior Championships10th V
Eastern Sectionals7th N
Levels: V = Juvenile; N = Novice

With Merritt
National[3]
Event 2002–03
U.S. Championships5th N
N = Novice level

With Coughlin
International[7]
Event 2005–06 2006–07
World Junior Champ.4th4th
JGP Final5th6th
JGP Canada4th
JGP Croatia1st
JGP Czech Republic3rd
JGP Norway2nd
National[5]
U.S. Championships2nd J.9th
J. = Junior level

Accusations against John Coughlin

When Namiotka was between the ages of 14 and 17, her skating partner was John Coughlin, who was four years her senior. Coughlin died by suicide in January 2019, while under investigation for sexual abuse, and suspended, by the United States Center for SafeSport.[8][9]

In May 2019, Namiotka identified herself on Facebook as a victim of Coughlin, becoming the first skater to go public. In the same posting, Namiotka said that Coughlin had "hurt a lot of people" and "had hurt at least 10 girls".[8][9]

References
  2. "Former figure skater Bridget Namiotka dead at 32 after coming forward as victim of sexual abuse". USA Today. October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  3. Mittan, Barry (December 26, 2005). "Namiotka and Coughlin Make First Junior Grand Prix Final". SkateToday. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012.
  4. "Pairs Team Namiotka and Coughlin Announce End of Partnership". U.S. Figure Skating. July 3, 2007. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  5. "U.S. Figure Skating Bio for Bridget Namiotka & John Coughlin". Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 14, 2006. Retrieved January 27, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Figure Skating and Ice Dance". Archived from the original on September 16, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  8. Murphy, Dan (May 21, 2019). "Ex-skater says deceased partner abused her". ESPN.
  9. Eustachewich, Lia (May 21, 2019). "John Coughlin sexually abused me before he killed himself: Bridget Namiotka". New York Post.
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