Daniel Eaton (figure skater)

Daniel Eaton
Alexandra Aldridge and Eaton in 2012
Born March 26, 1992
Titusville, Florida
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Figure skating career
Country South Korea
Partner Yura Min
Coach Pasquale Camerlengo, Anjelika Krylova, Natalia Deller
Skating club Ann Arbor FSC
Began skating 1997
Medal record
Representing United States
Figure skating: Ice dancing
Four Continents Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Taipei Ice dancing
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Milan Ice dancing
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Minsk Ice dancing
Junior Grand Prix Final
Bronze medal – third place 2012–13 Sochi Ice dancing

Daniel Eaton (born March 26, 1992) is an American ice dancer who now represents the Republic of Korea with his partner Yura Min, with whom he is the 2020 Korean National Champion. With former partner Alexandra Aldridge, he is the 2014 Four Continents bronze medalist, a two-time (2012, 2013) World Junior bronze medalist, the 2012 JGP Final bronze medalist, a two-time U.S. national junior champion and the 2010 U.S. national novice champion.

Early years

Eaton competed on the novice level with Sameena Sheikh at the 2009 U.S. Championships. She retired after the event due to injury.

Partnership with Aldridge

Eaton teamed up with Alexandra Aldridge in May 2009. In their first season together, they won the U.S. novice title. The following season, they debuted on the Junior Grand Prix series, placing 6th and 4th in France and England, respectively. They finished 5th on the junior level at the 2011 U.S. Championships.

During the 2011–12 season, Aldridge/Eaton won bronze in Latvia and silver in Austria on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. They won the junior title at the 2012 U.S. Championships. They competed at the 2012 World Junior Championships and won the bronze medal ahead of Anna Yanovskaya / Sergei Mozgov.

In 2012–13, Aldridge/Eaton won gold medals at their JGP events in Lake Placid, USA and Slovenia. Their results qualified them for the 2012–13 JGP Final in Sochi, Russia, where they won the bronze medal. They won another bronze medal at the 2013 World Junior Championships.

Aldridge/Eaton placed sixth in their senior international debut at the 2013 Ondrej Nepela Trophy and then fifth in their sole GP event, the 2013 Cup of China. They finished 5th at the 2014 U.S. Championships and were assigned to the 2014 Four Continents where they won the bronze medal. Aldridge/Eaton joined the U.S. team to the 2014 World Championships as a result of the withdrawal of Meryl Davis / Charlie White and injury to Madison Hubbell (first alternate with Zachary Donohue). They trained at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, coached by Anjelika Krylova, until the end of the season.

Aldridge/Eaton made a coaching change in July 2014, joining Marina Zueva, Massimo Scali, Johnny Johns, and Oleg Epstein at Canton, Michigan's Arctic Edge. After winning gold at the U.S. Classic, they competed at two Grand Prix events, placing sixth at the 2014 Skate Canada International and seventh at the 2014 Rostelecom Cup. They finished sixth at the 2015 U.S. Championships. They announced the end of their partnership on January 30, 2015.

In August 2017, Aldridge/Eaton resumed training together at the Detroit Skating Club, coached by Krylova and Camerlengo.

Partnership with Thomas

In mid-March 2015, Eaton and Danielle Thomas announced they had formed a partnership, based in Canton, Michigan.

Partnership with Min

On September 22, 2018, Eaton announced a new partnership with South Korean ice dancer Yura Min. Min/Eaton began their partnership competing in several minor competitions, and two Challengers, placing ninth at both the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and the 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb. After winning the South Korean national title, they placed eighth at the 2020 Four Continents Championships. They were assigned to make their World Championship debut, but the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in that event's cancellation.

Due to Eaton suffering from back problems, Min and Eaton did not compete during the 2020–21 season.

Min/Eaton initially planned to skate their rhythm dance to a medley of Queen songs, but after receiving critiques from judges at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International as to whether it suited the street dance theme, they changed it to a Macklemore theme. They two competed at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, seeking to qualify a place for South Korea at the 2022 Winter Olympics, but came seventh at the event and were named only the second reserve.

Programs

With Yura Min

Season Rhythm dance Free dance
2021–2022
2019–2020

With Thomas

Season Short dance Free dance
2015–2016
  • Cinderella
    by Rodgers and Hammerstein
  • Czardas
    by Zoltan Maga
    performed by Sonia Lee

With Aldridge

Aldridge/Eaton, bronze medalists at the 2012 World Junior Championships
Season Short dance Free dance Exhibition
2017–2018
2014–2015
2013–2014
  • Quickstep: Man with the Hex
  • Foxtrot: The Business of Love
    (from The Mask)
  • Swing: Hey Pachuco
    (from The Mask)
  • Secret Love
    by Nicos
  • Dhoom Taana (Om Shanti Om)
  • Anarkli Disco (Houseful 2)
    Songs of 2012 Bollywood
2012–2013
  • Pennsylvania 6-5000
    by Brian Setzer
  • Down Home Blues
    by Gene Harris
  • Fiddler on the Roof
    by Isaac Stern
2011–2012
2010–2011
Original dance
2009–2010

Competitive highlights

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

With Yura Min for South Korea

International
Event 19–20 20–21 21–22
Worlds C WD
Four Continents 8th
CS Lombardia Trophy WD
CS Nebelhorn Trophy 9th 7th
CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy 9th
Bosphorous Cup 5th
Lake Placid IDI 7th 6th
Mezzaluna Cup 4th
Santa Claus Cup 4th
U.S. Classic 4th
National
South Korean Champ. 1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Event cancelled

With Aldridge for the United States

Aldridge/Eaton perform their short dance at the 2012–13 JGP Final
International
Event 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 17–18
Worlds 17th
Four Continents 3rd
GP Cup of China 5th
GP Rostel. Cup 7th
GP Skate Canada 6th
CS U.S. Classic 1st
Nepela Trophy 6th
International: Junior
Junior Worlds 3rd 3rd
JGP Final 4th 3rd
JGP Austria 2nd
JGP France 6th
JGP Latvia 3rd
JGP Slovenia 1st
JGP U.K. 4th
JGP U.S. 1st
National
U.S. Champ. 1st N 5th J 1st J 1st J 5th 6th 8th
Midwestern 1st N 2nd J 1st
Levels – N: Novice; J: Junior

With Thomas

International
Event 2015–16 2016–17
CS Ice Challenge 1st
CS U.S. Classic 5th 8th
Autumn Classic 4th
Lake Placid IDI 2nd
National
U.S. Championships 6th

With Sheikh

Event 2008–09
U.S. Championships 10th N
N: Novice