EULESS, TX (Nexstar) — The U.S. has not won an Olympic medal in pairs figure skating since 1988.
In the upcoming Winter Games, the U.S. can only send one team, and a new couple is fighting to earn that spot.
Ashley Cain and Timothy DeLuc train in a low-key location outside Fort Worth, Texas. They train six days a week.
Cain’s long-term coaches happen to be her parents.
“When we walk in the door, it’s business, it’s skating and it has always been that way,” said Peter Cain, Ashley’s father and coach.
Peter Cain is an Australian Olympic pair skater. Now, he’s guiding this duo to their dream.
“Every figure skater wants that moment on Olympic ice, so it’s something we’ve worked for really our entire skating career,” said DeLuc.
They’ve only been together since May of 2016.
DeLuc had retired from the sport and was skating on cruise ships. Ashley Cain was competing in singles when a U.S. figure skating coach suggested they team up.
“I hadn’t seen him in about 2 1/2 years, and then I got a call,” said Ashley Cain.
“From that moment, I knew already that this was going to be something special,” said DeLuc.
Ashley Cain and DeLuc will continue competing all the way up to Nationals in January 2017. That’s when they’ll find out which pairs team will represent Team U.S.A. in the Olympics.
In this web extra, Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc tell a little-known story about the first time they teamed up.
