With every twist, turn and shift, Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc move in matching motion.
"Timothy always talks about synergy," Cain said. "We have really great energies that bounce off of each other."
"We definitely rely on each other when times get really tough," LeDuc said.
And the duo faced the toughest of times in early December. While competing in Croatia, Ashley crashed to the ice and suffered a concussion. It was an extremely painful moment that came with lingering effects.
"If something was broken, you would have a timespan. You would know it would be healed by this time," Cain said. "With a concussion, I felt different every single day. But I didn't have any doubts about trying the elements that we had taken the fall on. I was actually eager to do it."
The team was eager to show the world they could respond, and did just that Saturday night in Detroit. Cain and LeDuc put on an incredible performance at the U.S. national championships, bringing the title back to North Texas.
"After all the years of work, we were finally here in this moment," LeDuc said. "The audience is standing on their feet, we just skated the program of our lives, and we're going to win the national championships."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
It was a remarkable turnaround to the title, and now the unquestioned favorites to represent the United States in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
"We know we're now the ones being chased," Cain said."But that's OK with us."
"Beijing is absolutely our long-term goal, but it's still three years away," LeDuc said. "Every big stepping stone like this is a stepping stone toward the Beijing Olympics."
Steps Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc are embracing, as they continue to train in unison, already crowned as U.S. champions.
