<p>Oh now I am not so sure I have the right person</p>
<p>I give up too, someone please tell me!</p>
<p>Google euro maidan</p>
<p>Thanks for the help twinmom and arabrab!</p>
<p>I give up- someone help me…please</p>
<p>Got it- thanks guys! Pretty girl!</p>
<p>If someone would PM me with the name, I’d love to know. I’ve been watching each night, wondering if I’m watching a fellow CC’ers D! Wishing her the bet of luck!</p>
<p>Watching this morning and rooting for her, but looks not it is not to be for them this year. Looks like they will not make it to the long program. =(( </p>
<p>Agreed, Singersmom, we happened to be in a diner that had NBCSN on with the ice dancing short program and I did see Lady Lorna’s daughter butbthis was not her year. Still, that’s quite an EC!</p>
<p>Nice story, though: <a href=“Heekin-Canedy Embraces Her Adopted Country - WSJ”>http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303945704579386383650716084</a></p>
<p>And still: the OLYMPICS!!! How cool is that?</p>
<p>I’m confused. Can you just choose any country and try out for their Olympic team? I thought you had to be a citizen.</p>
<p>You have to become a citizen of that country. Often, there is a link, like a parent came from the other country but not always. </p>
<p>You have to be a citizen. But, some countries allow athletes to become citizens under an expedited pathway, and some other athletes may either have dual citizenship or may more easily derive citizenship through a parent that came from that country. Tanith Belbin was Canadian, but gained US Citizenship shortly before the 2006 Olympics where she won a silver medal in ice dancing with Ben Agosto. Aliona Savchenko is Ukranian, and represented Ukraine in the Olympics in 2002, but began skating with German Robin Szolkowy in 2003 and has now represented Germany in the Olympics in 2006, 2010, and just now in Sochi where they won bronze again.</p>
<p>A large number of female figure skaters are American but skate for other countries. I think I counted 13 at Worlds one year. </p>
<p>Each country has their own citizenship rules. They can grant citizenship to an athlete for the competition. For pairs there is usually some link with one of the partners, but it is not required. The news articles indicate that OP’s daughter was granted citizenship to compete. Her partner though had the herititage. </p>
<p>I noticed that quite a few of the US skaters are U of Michigan students, and also some of the Canadians. I think it is relatively easy to train in Bloomfield Hills and attend U of M, guessing they let these students take a very light load and semesters off as needed if they are competitive skaters. I know a summer Olympic athlete in another sport who won a medal in the last summer games – she took a year off from her Ivy league school (where she played her sport) to train to make the Olympic team and compete.</p>
<p>Remember the South African runner Zola Budd who got British citizenship after SA’s boycott of the LA Olympics?
Huge controversy - her grandfather was a Brit.
There was a British Olympic swimmer who swam at a US University for years and then went on to win a gold medal in 1980- largely because the US stayed out of competition that year. There are a number of Cornell hockey players (female) who are skating for Canada.</p>
<p>Some of the countries require passing a written test for citizenship. I think they said the one female skater had to learn Lithuanian. </p>
<p>I think it is interesting that so many athletes train in the U.S. while Russia would not allow the French couple to continue their training even though they had been there 3 years. </p>
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<p>Because they’re Canadian! Canada doesn’t have to go to other countries to get their female hockey players (or their male ones either). </p>
<p>That’s an example of the opposite: Canada is not poaching American players. Cornell is recruiting Canadian women to play hockey.</p>