Bradie Tennell's Road To The Olympics

CARPENTERSVILLE, IL – The self-described homebody from Carpentersville, who enjoys reading and family movie nights and also, of course, figure skating, has been adjusting to an onset of media attention and local fanfare as she preps for her debut at the winter Olympics next month. Bradie Tennell, 19, has been back in the area, training at her home rink, Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove. Just a few short weeks ago, she was an unlikely candidate for the U.S. Olympics team.

But after skating to a"nearly flawless" performance to music from the 2015 movie, Cinderella, Tennell placed first at the U.S. national championships on Jan. 5 in San Jose, Calif., the New York Times reports. Tennell, who won a U.S. junior title at age 15, has remained, for the most part, out of the limelight the past couple years after suffering a stress fracture in her lower back in 2015 and 2016. Healthy again in 2017, she became just the third U.S. woman ever to land a triple axel, a jump she will take with her to the Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea next month.

Tennell then received her first grand prix assignment – Skate America in November 2017 – when another American withdrew, according to a U.S. Olympics press release.

And she jumped at the opportunity, earning bronze and becoming the first U.S. woman in 10 years to medal at her grand prix debut. Six weeks later, she took her now-famous consistency to nationals and won gold over a deep field, according to the U.S. Olympics press release.

And then everything changed for Tennell.

Tennell, who is shy and describes herself as a homebody who loves family movie nights and to read, has had a whirlwind month, the Northwest Herald reports. And the excitement should continue leading up to her departure on Feb. 5 for South Korea.

So, how does the teen plan to deal with performing – including the cameras, lights and all eyes on her – at the Olympics?

“When I’m on the ice, it’s me, my skates and the music,” Tennell told the Northwest Herald. “It’s easy for me to block all of that out.”

And she's had, and continues to get, a lot of practice with skating and "blocking it all out."

Tennell began skating at age 2 when she expressed an interest in the sport. She got her start at Crystal Lake Ice House.She would ultimately end up training for much of her childhood and teenage years at Twin Rinks with her primary coach, Denise Myers, according to the Arlington Heights Post.

Now, in an effort to keep her routine as "normal as possible" Tennell is arriving at Twin Rinks by 6 a.m. each day and working with some younger skaters before starting her regular, daily training regimen, which runs from 7:30 a.m. until 2 p.m., according to the Arlington Heights Post.

In recent weeks, her coach has began to work more with Tennell on what she can expect while performing at the Olympics.

"The plan (the next few weeks) is to create the atmosphere, as close to it as possible," Myers told the Arlington Heights Post. "From the emblem on the ice being different, the sounds of the hundreds of cameras clicking as you skate by, the difference between hearing 'representing Skokie Valley Skating Club' to 'representing the United States of America.' Just trying to create these scenarios as much as possible."

Twin Rinks has been posting photos of Tennell on its Facebook page.

And Tennell has also been providing updates on her Instagram page from her time training, and hanging out, at Twin Rinks.

Area residents are excited to see the local skater compete in the U.S. Olympics. team figure skating competition will get underway on Feb. 11 in South Korea.

Village officials in Carpentersville hung a giant sign outside village hall this past week, wishing Tennell "Good Luck" at the winter Olympics. There are also plans to put up signs at entrance points to Carpentersville, according to the Elgin Courier-News.

"We want her to know how proud we are of her talent and all of the hard work," Trustee Jeff Frost told the Elgin Courier-News.

Photo caption: Bradie Tennell, of the United States, performs during the ladies free skate at the Skate America, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, in Lake Placid, N.Y. Photo credit: AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)