Ashley Cain-Gribble
Ashley Elizabeth Cain-Gribble is an American pair skater. With her skating partner, Timothy LeDuc, she is the 2019 U.S. Champion, 2018 Four Continents silver medalist, and 2017 U.S. national bronze medalist. Earlier in her career, she also competed in single skating, becoming the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy bronze medalist and the 2012 U.S. Junior silver medalist.
Personal life
Ashley Cain was born July 22, 1995, in Carrollton, Texas. She is the daughter of Peter Cain, an Australian former pair skater who competed at the 1980 Olympics, and Darlene Wendt, a Canadian former ice dancer. She is also the niece of Elizabeth Cain and the cousin of Sean Carlow who competed for Australia in pair skating and men's singles, respectively. She became engaged to Dalton Gribble in March 2018, and they married on June 1, 2019.Cain studied online at Texas Tech University Independent School.
Career
Cain began learning to skate in 1999. Her father introduced her to pairs when she was seven or eight years old. She is a member of U.S. Figure Skating's DREAM Team, which is involved in mentoring developing skaters.Early partnerships
Competing in novice pairs, Cain finished 8th with Sergei Sidorov at the 2008 U.S. Championships. She teamed up with Joshua Reagan in April 2009. The pair was coached by David Kirby and Peter Cain at the Dr. Pepper Star Center in Euless, Texas.In the 2010–11 season, Cain/Reagan received two Junior Grand Prix assignments, placing sixth in England and taking silver in the Czech Republic. In January 2011, they won the U.S. national junior title, becoming the only pair to ever win U.S. novice and junior titles in consecutive years. They ranked eighth in the short program, fourth in the free skate, and fourth overall at the 2011 World Junior Championships in Gangneung, South Korea.
The following season, Cain/Reagan moved up to the senior level. They ranked fourth at the 2011 International Cup of Nice and sixth at their sole Grand Prix assignment, the 2011 Cup of Russia, before placing sixth at the 2012 U.S. Championships. On February 24, 2012, they announced the end of their partnership.
Single skating
As a single skater, Cain began competing on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in 2011 and won silver on the junior level at the 2012 U.S. Championships. She won the bronze medal at the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy, her first senior international. The following season, she took bronze at the 2014 Ondrej Nepela Trophy and was invited to two Grand Prix events, the 2014 Cup of China and 2014 Rostelecom Cup.Due to fatigue, Cain decided to retire from singles skating in September 2016.
Partnership with LeDuc
Following a suggestion from U.S. Figure Skating's Mitch Moyer, Cain tried out with Timothy LeDuc in May 2016. On May 23, 2016, they confirmed their intention to compete together. Peter Cain coaches the pair in Euless, Texas.2016–17 season
Cain/LeDuc received three Challenger Series assignments. After placing fourth at the 2016 Nebelhorn Trophy and 2016 Finlandia Trophy, they were awarded the bronze medal at the 2016 Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they upgraded their twist from a double to a triple. Cain stated, "We just started rotating it days before we left for that competition." She had never performed it in competition during her earlier partnerships. They placed third at the 2017 US Figure Skating Championships. At the 2017 Four Continents Championships, they placed ninth.2017–18 season
Cain/LeDuc started the season at the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy, where they placed fourth. Cain/LeDuc placed seventh at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. At the 2017 Cup of China, they placed sixth. Cain and LeDuc placed fourth overall at the 2018 US Figure Skating Championships. They placed second at the 2018 Four Continents Championships, winning their first medal at an ISU championship event.2018–19 season
At the 2018 US International Figure Skating Classic, Cain/LeDuc placed first overall with a score of 173.05. At the 2018 Ondrej Nepela Trophy, they placed first overall with a score of 181.56. At their first Grand Prix event of the season, 2018 Skate America, they placed 4th in the short program and 3rd overall with a score of 175.05. At the 2018 Rostelecom Cup, they placed 7th in the short program and 6th overall with a score of 170.29.Cain/LeDuc then competed in a third Challenger event, the 2018 Golden Spin of Zagreb. Second after the short program, they placed fifth overall following two falls in the free skate. The second fall involved Cain being dropped on her head in the process of exiting a lift, seemingly being knocked unconscious briefly, before getting up and completing the program. She was subsequently taken to the hospital. There was considerable controversy amongst commentators that the referee had not halted the performance. She was subsequently diagnosed with a concussion.
At the 2019 U.S. Championships, she and LeDuc won their first US pairs title after placing second in the short program and first in the free skate. Speaking afterward, Cain said "I was in the hospital in Croatia staring at the ceiling thinking I need to remember this moment because a month from now, I want to be on top of the podium. It shows that with hard work, you can get to this moment. My team never gave up on me, even when I was at my lowest of lows. I have been lucky, even with the concussion." As national champions, Cain/LeDuc were assigned to compete at the 2019 Four Continents Championships in early February and as America's sole pairs team at the 2019 World Championships in Saitama, Japan.
Cain/LeDuc finished fourth at the Four Continents Championships, the highest placement for an American team, after finishing fourth in both segments. Cain had struggled in the practice sessions beforehand and felt dehydrated, but recovered and said she was satisfied with how they had performed.
At the World Championships, their first, Cain/LeDuc placed ninth. Le Duc described the season as a "rollercoaster", given the issues with injuries, while Cain expressed pleasure at having earned a second pairs spot for the United States at the following year's World Championships. Cain/LeDuc concluded their season as part of the gold medal-winning Team USA at the 2019 World Team Trophy.
2019–20 season
Cain-Gribble/LeDuc began the season at the 2019 CS U.S. Classic, where they won gold, defeating reigning World silver medalists Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov. They were considered one of the favourites for the gold medal at their first Grand Prix assignment of the year, the 2019 Skate America. They placed third in the short program after Cain-Gribble fell on their throw triple Lutz. In the free skate, they had a second throw Lutz fall, as well as a popped side-by-side jump attempt and an aborted lift, which dropped them to fifth place overall. At their second Grand Prix, the 2019 Internationaux de France, Cain-Gribble again fell on their throw Lutz in the short program, putting them fourth after that segment. They finally landed the throw Lutz in the free skate, but remained in fourth place overall after Cain-Gribble fell on their side-by-side triple Salchow attempt.Competing at the 2020 U.S. Championships, Cain-Gribble/LeDuc were fourth in the short program after she two-footed the landing of their throw Lutz and an error resulted in their death spiral element being completely invalidated. Struggling with the quality of elements in the free skate, they remained in fourth place overall, winning the pewter medal. LeDuc remarked "it just wasn't in the cards for us today.