Adam Rippon's Childhood Coach Recalls Training Olympics Bronze Medalist in Philadelphia Suburbs
Rippon lived with coach Yelena Sergeeva for more than 3 years
By Dan Stamm and Erin Coleman ••
More than a decade before Olympics bronze medalist Adam Rippon showed his wizardry on the ice in Pyeongchang, he spent his teenage years living and training in the Philadelphia suburbs with coach Yelena Sergeeva.
For seven years of his youth, Rippon was Sergeeva’s star student.
“He really right away showed exceptional talent in his movements, ability to move, his personality and his ability to work hard,” Sergeeva said.
Sergeeva, who is Russian, started coaching Rippon at rinks in the Philadelphia suburbs when he was 10. It was a commitment not only from Rippon but from his family. Originally from Clarks Summit, a suburb of Scranton, Rippon’s mother, Kelly, would drive him two hours each way, every other day, to the Philadelphia area to train with Sergeeva.
"I'd like to be in the Olympics and everything, but I think I should take it one step at a time," Rippon said at the time.
"Really from the start we realized that he had a special ability,” Kelly Rippon said in 2002.
Rippon would go on to live with his coach for three and a half years – until he was 17 – all in an effort to chase his dream.
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Scranton, Pennsylvania's Adam Rippon, 28, started ice skating at the age of six. He is participating in the men's figure skating competition for his first time at the Olympics.
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Rippon wins a kiss from one of his teammates as his scores came in in the team skate, which aired on NBC Sunday.
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Rippon is the first openly gay athlete to qualify for the Winter Games.
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Andrew Sherk, 25, is from Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. He and his teammate, Justin Krewson, compete in the men's double luge. They finished 14th in a World Cup race at the Pyeongchang course in 2017.
Ker Robertson Schoutens
Vineland, New Jersey's Anthony Watson, 28, will become the first Jamaican to compete in skeleton at the Winter Games.
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Carlijn Schoutens, 23, from Trenton, is participating in women's long track speed skating. Schoutens won the 3000m and the 5000m at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
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Hagen Kearny, 26, from Bradford, Pennsylvania, placed 5th for snowboard cross the FIS World Cup Standings in 2017 and now will be competing in snowboardcross in Pyeongchang.
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Born in East Orange, New Jersey, Hakeem Abdul-Saboor, 30, was working as a personal-fitness trainer in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2015 before he began training for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Abdul-Saboor will be participating in the Men's bobsled competition.
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Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Jamie Greubel Poser, 34, earned a bronze medal for the women's bobsled in Sochi in 2014. She will be participating in the women's bobsled again this year.
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Jayson Terdiman, 29, from East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, competed and finished 11th in the doubles luge competition in Sochi in 2014. He is participating in the men's luge in Peyongchang.
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John-Henry Kreuger, 22, from Pittsburgh, started ice skating at 5 years old. He is competing in the men's short track speed skating.
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Meghan Tierney, 21, from Long Branch, New Jersey, is participating in the women's snowboardcross competition. Tierney started snowboarding at age 10.
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Summer Britcher, 23, of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, competed in the women's luge at Sochi in 2014. She is also participating in women's luge in Pyeongchang.
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Born in Philadelphia, Ryan Gunderson, 32, holds the record for most games played in a career at the University of Vermont. Gunderson is a defender on Team USA in Peyongchang.
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Ryan Zapolski, 31, left, was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He will be the goalie for Team USA at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
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Brian O'Neill, 29, from Philadelphia, is a forward for Team USA in Peyongchang.
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Chad Kolarik, 32, from Abington, Pennsylvania, was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 7th round of the 2004 NHL draft. He is a forward for Team USA in Peyongchang.
Even being in the Philadelphia area, rather than the Scranton area, Rippon and Sergeeva struggled to find quality ice time, going from rink to rink just to find a place to skate.
It would take him until he was 28 to make his first Olympic team. He made the most of the opportunity, skating a stunning free skate to help Team USA earn team bronze in figure skating.
Sergeeva watched every moment with pride for her former student.
