{"id":65802,"date":"2018-01-29T16:24:18","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T22:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=65802"},"modified":"2018-01-29T16:24:18","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T22:24:18","slug":"olympian-bradie-tennells-choice-of-cinderella-could-lead-to-a-happily-ever-after","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/olympian-bradie-tennells-choice-of-cinderella-could-lead-to-a-happily-ever-after\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympian Bradie Tennell’s choice of ‘Cinderella’ could lead to a ‘happily ever after’"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Chris Kwiecinski<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

BUFFALO GROVE \u2013 Bradie Tennell has been living an almost fairy-tale-like life since for the past two months.<\/p>\n

The Carpentersville-native figure skater catapulted herself into the international spotlight after she was named to the 2018 Olympic team on January 6.<\/p>\n

That news came days after winning the 2018 U.S. Championship, and just weeks after surprising the figure-skating community with a third-place finish at 2017 Skate America in November.<\/p>\n

The often-shy Tennell has yet to adjust to life as an Olympian, as a small swarm of reporters and TV cameras focused on her after an open practice at the Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove.<\/p>\n

As the timid 19 year old has now found out, this is part of the toll an Olympic athlete pays every four years.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tennell\u2019s shyness, however, disappears when she takes the ice and brings her fairy tale to life when she performs her 2017-2018 season free-skate routine to a compilation of melodies from the Disney classic \u201cCinderella,\u201d while sporting a light blue leotard and a tiara.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved \u2018Cinderella,\u2019\u201d Tennell said during a media session. \u201cWhen the movie came out in 2015, I was like, \u2018I\u2019m going to skate to this some day,\u2019 and I thought this year was the right year to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tennell\u2019s love of the classic tale spans back to the beginning of her skating career, her coach, Denise Myers, said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Tennell, who has a shy personality, will have to get used to the media attention as an Olympian.\u00a0(Chris Kwiecinski\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI have a picture of her when she was 2-and-a-half, and she was in the \u2018Cinderella\u2019 dress, and the crown and the whole nine yards,\u201d Myers said. \u201cAt about 5, she was sitting with her first pair of skates on and she has a \u2018Cinderella\u2019 crown on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tennell\u2019s quick rise to fame, however, almost was its own tragedy when she faced her biggest personal challenge a few years ago.<\/p>\n

During Tennell\u2019s time as a junior figure skater, she suffered a stress fracture in her back in 2015. She recovered, only to suffer another stress fracture in her back the next year.<\/p>\n

Recovering from her two stress fractures stole two precious summers of practice, and put Tennell in a back brace. Soon after she returned to the ice, Tennell recorded an 11th-place finish at the 2016 Junior World Championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew it wasn\u2019t a career-ending injury,\u201d Tennell said. \u201cPeople have come back from far worse, and I\u2019m not one to shy away from a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now fully healthy, Tennell has proven herself to be one of the future stars of U.S. figure skating alongside fellow 2018 Olympians Karen Chen and Mirai Nagasu.<\/p>\n

With the 2018 Winter Games next for Tennell, the reigning U.S. champion can also establish herself as a top international figure skater, whose use of \u201cCinderella\u201d in her free-skate routine now carries a symbolic weight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that happy ending is like a symbol of her story,\u201d Myers said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re performing you want the music to take you, and she really connects with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Carpentersville native Bradie Tennell will try to be the first American since Sarah Hughes in 2002 to win a gold medal in figure skating.\u00a0(Chris Kwiecinski\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although her short program and free skate have already been judged the best in the U.S., Tennell said she\u2019s looking to improve her artistry, or choreography, on the ice.<\/p>\n

The judges\u2019 evaluations of skater\u2019s artistic performance are often subjective, as artistry isn\u2019t as concrete as a technical skill.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more a matter of fine-tuning things,\u201d Tennell said.<\/p>\n

Tennell\u2019s technique is sound, Myers said, but it\u2019s a matter of her projecting the interpretation and artistry of her routine to upcoming judges.<\/p>\n

Tennell has a chance to write another chapter of her \u201cCinderella\u201d story in Pyeongchang. Should she win a gold medal, she\u2019ll be the first U.S. skater to take gold since Sara Hughes in 2002.<\/p>\n

Following the Olympics, Tennell will finish her breakout year this June. Preferably, with her own happily ever after.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: 19-year-old Bradie Tennell, has loved “Cinderella” since she was a girl. Now, she’ll take her “Cinderella” routine to the Olympics. (Chris Kwiecinski\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chris Kwiecinski Medill Reports BUFFALO GROVE \u2013 Bradie Tennell has been living an almost fairy-tale-like life since for the past two months. The Carpentersville-native figure skater catapulted herself into the international spotlight after she was named to the 2018 Olympic team on January 6. That news came days after winning the 2018 U.S. Championship, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":455,"featured_media":65815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,3987],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-winter-2018"],"yoast_head":"\nOlympian Bradie Tennell's choice of 'Cinderella' could lead to a 'happily ever after' - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/olympian-bradie-tennells-choice-of-cinderella-could-lead-to-a-happily-ever-after\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Olympian Bradie Tennell's choice of 'Cinderella' could lead to a 'happily ever after' - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Chris Kwiecinski Medill Reports BUFFALO GROVE \u2013 Bradie Tennell has been living an almost fairy-tale-like life since for the past two months. 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