Yasmin Siraj

Yasmin Siraj
Siraj in 2010
Born July 30, 1996
Boston, Massachusetts
Hometown Brookline, Massachusetts
Height 1.56 m (5 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country United States
Coach Mark Mitchell, Peter Johansson
Skating club Skating Club of Boston
Began skating 1998

Yasmin Siraj (born July 30, 1996) is an American former figure skater. She is the 2010 U.S. junior silver medalist and competed at the 2013 World Junior Championships.

Career

Siraj began skating at the age of two, following her sister Layla. After taking Basic Skills classes at the Skating Club of Boston, she had private lessons with Sheryl Franks and Bobby and Barbie Martin until the age of eight when she joined coaches Mark Mitchell and Peter Johansson.

In 2010, Siraj won the junior silver medal at the U.S. Championships. The following season, she made her ISU Junior Grand Prix debut, winning two silver medals and qualifying for the JGP Final where she finished seventh. She placed eighth in her senior national debut at the 2011 U.S. Championships.

Siraj was 15th at the 2012 U.S. Nationals but rebounded the following year, finishing 6th at the 2013 U.S. Championships. She was sent to the 2013 World Junior Championships where she finished 11th.

In 2013, Siraj placed sixth at the Junior Grand Prix of Latvia, her only JGP assignment of the season. She won gold for the third consecutive year at the New England Regionals, winning the competition by over 16 points.

In 2014, Siraj placed 16th at the 2014 U.S. Nationals, after which she retired. In 2017, she began skating with the award-winning synchronized skating team, the Haydenettes.

Personal life

Yasmin Siraj was born in Boston and grew up in Brookline. Her mother Aban Makarechian, is an architect of Iranian descent, and her father Ra'ad Siraj, is managing director of The Bank of New York Mellon of Saudi Arabian background. She has an elder sister, Layla, and younger brother, Amir.

In addition to skating, Siraj has also been a competitive pianist. She won awards at the American Fine Arts Festival and performed three times at Carnegie Hall.

Siraj attended Brookline High School, graduating in 2014. She subsequently attended Harvard College, where The Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper, named her one of the fifteen most interesting seniors of 2017-18.

Programs

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2013–2014
2012–2013
  • Seven Years in Tibet
    by John Williams
2011–2012
  • Daphnis et Chloé
    by Maurice Ravel
2010–2011
  • Misa Tango
    by Luis Bacalov
2009–2010
2008–2009
  • Song of India
    by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
2007–2008

Competitive highlights

International
Event 06–07 07–08 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15
Junior Worlds 11th
JGP Final 7th
JGP France 2nd
JGP Latvia 5th 6th
JGP U.K. 2nd
Gardena 2nd N.
National
U.S. Champ. 5th N. 2nd J. 8th 15th 6th 16th
U.S. Junior 2nd Jv. 6th I.
U.S. Collegiate Champ. 3rd
Eastern Sect. 1st N. 1st J. 1st 2nd 4th
New England Reg. 1st Jv. 1st I. 2nd N. 1st J. 1st 1st 1st
JGP = Junior Grand Prix
Levels: Jv. = Juvenile; I. = Intermediate; N. = Novice; J. = Junior