Jamie Silverstein (born December 23, 1983) is an American former competitive ice dancer. With Justin Pekarek, she is the 2000 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 1999 World Junior champion, and 2000 U.S. silver medalist. With Ryan O'Meara, she is the 2006 U.S. bronze medalist and competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Early life Silverstein was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. After her parents divorced when she was 11, she moved with her mother to Michigan.
Skating career Early in her career, Silverstein competed with Justin Pekarek. They won the 1999 World Junior and U.S. Junior titles. The next season, they moved up to the senior level. They won gold at the 1999 Nebelhorn Trophy, silver at the 2000 U.S. Championships, and bronze at the 2000 Four Continents. They announced their split on January 10, 2001. Silverstein later revealed that she had battled eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia, during her career.
Silverstein trained briefly with Brandon Forsyth but never competed with him. She left competitive skating for a period and attended Cornell University. She was off the ice completely for two years, stepping onto the ice again in late 2004. Silverstein decided to make a return to competition. In April 2005, she began training with Ryan O'Meara. They won the bronze medal at the 2006 U.S. Championships and qualified for the 2006 Winter Olympics. They were coached by Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva in Canton, Michigan.
On May 3, 2006, Silverstein and O'Meara announced that they would take time off from competitive skating, with Silverstein planning to return to school.
Later life and career In 2008, Silverstein graduated from Cornell University with a degree as a College Scholar, choosing to specialize in catharsis and emotional psychology. Her thesis work involved a performance piece whose subject was Ekman's six basic emotions. Now she works as a yoga instructor and is an advocate in eating disorder recovery. She also maintains a blog.
In 2012, Silverstein opened a yoga studio, The Grinning Yogi, in Seattle.
Programs
With O'Meara Season Original dance Free dance 2005–06 Round the World Sweet the Sting Cha Cha Nu Tango
With Pekarek Season Original dance Free dance 1999–2000 I Like It Like That Eres Todo en Mí I Like It Like That Iieee Great Expectations Estella's Theme Siren 1998–99 My Sweet and Tender Beast
Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Series / Junior Grand Prix
With O'Meara International Event 2005–06 Winter Olympics 16th Four Continents Champ. 6th Skate America 5th National U.S. Championships 3rd
With Pekarek International Event 96–97 97–98 98–99 World Champ. 12th Four Continents Champ. 3rd Skate America 5th Sparkassen Cup 4th Nebelhorn Trophy 1st International: Junior World Junior Champ. 10th 1st Final 6th 1st Bulgaria 2nd France 2nd Germany 3rd 1st National U.S. Championships 3rd J 2nd J 1st J 2nd
See also List of select Jewish figure skaters
References
External links Official website U.S. Olympic team bio "The Tribe goes to Torino: Sketches of Jewish Olympic-Bound Athletes", 2/16/06