David Mitchell (figure skater)

David Mitchell (born April 23, 1982) is an American retired ice dancer. He competed for most of his career with partner Loren Galler-Rabinowitz. Together they are the 2004 U.S. bronze medalists.

David Mitchell
Personal information
Country represented	United States
Born	(1982-04-23) April 23, 1982 Ann Arbor, Michigan
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7 ^1⁄2 in)
Former partner	Loren Galler-Rabinowitz Kendall Tupper
Former coach	Natalia Dubova
Skating club	SC Boston
Retired	2006
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	145.04 2003 NHK Trophy
Comp. dance	28.67 2004 Skate Canada
Original dance	44.24 2003 NHK Trophy
Free dance	73.76 2003 NHK Trophy

Career

Mitchell began skating at the age of eight and took up ice dancing at ten.[1] He teamed up with Galler-Rabinowitz before the 1999 season, finishing fifth on the novice level at their first-time competition at the United States Figure Skating Championships. They went on to win the novice title in 2000 and the junior title in 2002. That, combined with their pewter medal in 2003 at the senior level, made them the first US figure skaters to medal at the Novice, Junior, and Senior levels at Nationals in a four-year span. The pair finished fourth in the 2003 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Galler-Rabinowitz and Mitchell won bronze at the 2004 U.S. Championships. They missed the following year's national championship due to surgery to repair torn cartilage in Mitchell's shoulder.[2] Their bronze medal finish was noteworthy in that both teams who placed above them were at the time ineligible for the Olympics.[3] Had the Olympics been held that year, Mitchell and Galler-Rabinowitz would have been the highest ranking US ice dancers sent.[4]

The pair made news in late 2005 when Mitchell's mother campaigned against a bill that would make ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Maxim Zavozin U.S. citizens in time for the 2006 Winter Olympics.[5] Despite her letter urging Senator Hillary Clinton to vote against it, the bill passed.[6] The effort was moot, however: Galler-Rabinowitz and Mitchell only finished ninth at the 2006 U.S. Championships, which would not have scored the duo an Olympic berth even if the Belbin and Zavozin teams had been ineligible.

Mitchell retired after the 2005/2006 competitive season.

Personal life

Mitchell graduated from Tufts University in 2004 where he studied Political Science & Government and was a brother at Delta Tau Delta. He is currently attending Law School at the University of Florida.

Competitive highlights

(with Galler-Rabinowitz)

Event	1998–99	1999–00	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06
Four Continents Championships						8th
World Junior Championships				12th	4th
U.S. Championships	5th N.	1st N.	5th J.	1st J.	4th	3rd		9th
Cup of Russia								7th
Skate Canada						9th	9th
Skate America							9th
Bofrost Cup						6th
NHK Trophy						7th
Nebelhorn Trophy								4th
Junior Grand Prix, China					3rd
Junior Grand Prix, USA					3rd
Junior Grand Prix, Bulgaria				8th
Junior Grand Prix, Norway			9th
Junior Grand Prix, Czech Republic			8th
N. = Novice level; J. = Junior level

Programs

(with Galler-Rabinowitz)

Season	Original dance	Free dance
2001–2002[1]	Seduction by Oscar Lopez	Cinderella by Prokofiev
2005–2006[7]	Merengue Rhumba: Bessa Me Maria by Ricky Martin	Variations on a Tango by Astor Piazzolla arranged by Antonio Najarro

References

1. Mittan, Barry (March 8, 2002). "Galler-Rabinowitz and Mitchell skate well at first Junior Worlds". Golden Skate. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
2. Mittan, Barry (August 30, 2005). "Adversity Strengthens Resolve for American Dancers". Skate Today.
3. Mittan, Barry (April 1, 2004). "Dancers Excel in Multiple Endeavors". GoldenSkate. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
4. Rosewater, Amy (July 26, 2004). "Putting Their Legs to the Test — Galler-Rabinowitz and Mitchell Now Focusing Solely on Skating". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved July 11, 2007.
5. "Mitchell's letter to lawmakers". ESPN. December 5, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2007.
6. "Belbin faces another road block in quest for citizenship". ESPN. December 5, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2007.
7. "Loren GALLER-RABINOWITZ / David MITCHELL: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012.

External links

Loren Galler-Rabinowitz / David Mitchell at the International Skating Union

• "2002 US National Junior Dance Champions," 5/03
• "Loren Galler-Rabinowitz and David Mitchell; Dancers Excel in Multiple Endeavors," 4/1/04