Latest Update News:Back in the spring of 2009, Allison Reed was just another teenager, attending Watchung Hills Regional High School and skating one or two sessions a week at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey, where her older siblings, Cathy Reed and Chris Reed, train under Nikolai Morozov.
Now, the 15-year-old ice dancer is the youngest skater at the Vancouver Olympics, participating in only her fourth competition with her first-ever partner, Otar Japaridze.
Allison is competing here for Georgia; Cathy and Chris, former U.S. novice ice dance champions, are representing Japan. The siblings’ mother, Norika — who is here watching from the stands — is Japanese, and their father is due to arrive later this week.
Amidst the celebration, there has been tragedy: before the Games even opened, 21-year-old Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died after crashing during his final practice run.
Reed and Japaridze have been wearing black armbands in practice.
“It casts a shadow,” Allison said. “It’s been a very emotional time.”
How the youngest Reed got to Vancouver is a story of being in the right place, at the right time, with the right connections ready to give a helping hand.
Before Japaridze, Allison could never find the right partner.
Cathy and Chris Reed compete for Japan while their sister Allison competes for the Republic of Georgia.
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