Cain-Gribble and LeDuc: The journeys of Team USA's unapologetic pair skating duo
Both skaters emphasise the importance of doing things their way and not conforming to any stereotypes.
Figure Skating
No matter what happens in the pair skating competition at Beijing 2022, Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc will be making history and they will be doing it their way.
LeDuc will be the first out non-binary athlete to compete at a Winter Games. A non-binary person is someone who does not feel as though they fit into the category of being male or female. LeDuc's pronouns are they/them/theirs.
Cain-Gribble, who at 5'6'' is significantly taller than the average woman in pair skating, has had to overcome body shaming throughout her career.
“I had a lot of people tell me I shouldn’t be in this sport because of the way I’m shaped, but this is my body, this is the way I am,” Cain-Gribble told Team USA. “It was one of the things that almost forced me into retirement. … There is a body stereotype still, and we are trying to definitely fight that.”
Pushing the boundaries
This will be the pair's first Olympics but they can take plenty of confidence having won their second U.S. pairs figure skating title at the 2022 U.S. championships at the beginning of the year. Their short program set a new scoring record in the US (79.39 points).
Their involvement at Beijing 2022 will be important in pushing the boundaries of the sport in a positive direction.
"I've always felt that I didn't quite align with the expectations that were put on me - masculinity always felt forced, like something I had to do," LeDuc said last month after qualifying for the Games. "It never felt authentic to me. When I was finally given the tools and shown the examples that I can exist outside of that, it made sense - I felt whole. I thrive expressing myself in these ways."
"My hope is that when people see my story, it isn’t focused on me and saying, ‘Oh, Timothy is the first out non-binary person to achieve this level of success in sport.’ My hope is that the narrative shifts more to, ‘Queer people can be open and successful in sports.’ We’ve always been here, we’ve always been a part of sports. We just haven’t always been able to be open.” - LeDuc to NBC Sports
'They never point fingers'
The two teamed up in May 2016, formed a unique connection and synergy and have never looked back.
“They have a phenomenal relationship, unlike anything I’ve seen before with a pair team,” coach Peter Cain, Ashley's father, told Team USA. “They tend to work through things really well. They don’t ever point fingers or blame each other. One person can make a mistake and it’s the team, not the individual. That’s something very, very special.”
Cain-Gribble comes from a figure skating family. Her father Peter competed at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics with sister Elizabeth in the pair skating event representing their native Australia. Her mother Darlene competed for Canada in ice dance.
'Two Pillars of Equality'
One event in particular to look out for will be their free skate. Performed to the 'W.E.' soundtrack, Cain-Gribble and LeDuc call their routine "Two Pillars of Equality".
They will wear matching unitards as a powerful symbol of that equality.
"They are doing a lot of the same moves, similar things: throw jumps, lifts, side-by-side jumps together," author of "Red Nails, Black Skates" Erica Rand told CNN Sport.
"I also see a lot of emphasis on just the strong skating work. You also see that in other skaters, it's not a unique thing, but just the emphasis on some matching work in their spirals -- which is the term for skating arabesques -- and just a feeling of huge power."
Every choice the pair makes is thought-through and intended to communicate their message of equality.
"We're not a very traditional team, so doing a program that's about a love story isn't exactly our story," Cain-Gribble said. "It's fine for others, but we want to show a story of equality out on the ice and that comes from the music we pick, the way that we skate, how our programs are choreographed and our costumes."
When and where to watch Cain-Gribble and LeDuc compete
The pair skating short program takes place on Friday 18 February at 18:30 Beijing time, while the free skate follows that up the next day beginning at 19:00 local time at the Capital Indoor Stadium.
Cain-Gribble and LeDuc will be the 13th pair out of 19 to take the ice.
From the Opening Ceremony to athlete action, here's where and how you can watch the Winter Games in your region via the Official Olympic Broadcast Partners.
Keep up with all the action in our Live Blog updates throughout Beijing 2022, here.