People think that ice is unyielding, but if you’re precise, if you’re focused and calm, it can give your skates wings.
b.1998
Juneau, AK
Coach
Sergei Maslov
Choreographer
Viktor Bartók
Ethan Pasternak was born on November 1, 1998 in Juneau, Alaska and learned to skate at the tender age of two. His parents, Fiona and Piotr, brought him to the city rink during summers and Mendenhall Lake in the winter. A child prodigy, Ethan surprised all the local skate club instructors when he performed a double axel at only five years of age. Mrs. Pasternak has often recalled that Ethan seemed more comfortable on skates than on his feet. Ethan was always dedicated to the sport, spending up to six hours each day skating.
He drew the attention of renowned coach Sergei Maslov as the youngest competitor in the 2010 Pacific Northwest Skating Championships. Under Mr. Maslov’s training, Ethan has become widely recognized as one of the world’s most talented young skaters to date. Ethan enjoys traveling and competing, but loves coming back home to skate by the Juneau Ice Fields. His fondest and earliest memory is skating on Mendenhall Lake in late January 2002. Weaving figure-eights at dusk, he listened to his skates echo against the calm, ancient glacier. From that moment forward, Ethan never wanted to leave the ice.
Titles
2017
GSL Junior Grand Prix Ljubljana
JUNIOR MEN, 4TH
U.S.A. Championships
JUNIOR MEN, 1ST
2016
GSL Junior World Championships
JUNIOR MEN, 9TH
U.S.A. Championships
JUNIOR MEN, 2ND
2015
International Challenge Tournament
JUNIOR MEN, 4TH
U.S.A. Championships
JUNIOR MEN, 3RD
West Coast Championships
JUNIOR MEN, 1ST
2014
U.S.A. Championships
NOVICE MEN, 2ND
Pacific Northwest Championships
NOVICE MEN, 1ST
2013
U.S.A. Championships
NOVICE MEN, 4TH
Pacific Northwest Championships
NOVICE MEN, 2ND
West Coast Regional Championships
NOVICE MEN, 2ND
Stats
Personal Best GSL Total
169.84
GSL Short Program
61.79
GSL Free Skating
108.05
Ethan won his first championship title at age fourteen in 2012. It had been his first time traveling outside Alaska. Seeing a city like Seattle for the first time and competing with other talented skaters really motivated him to try something different with his routine. Mr. Maslov trusted the young teen and helped him practice at night. Ethan took home 2nd place with a double Axel, double toe-loop combo. However, due to his unconventional music choice, “Long River” by Aurora Falls, the judges only gave him an 8.9 score.
Undeterred, Ethan continued to bring his talent and unique vision to the ice. During his performance at the West Coast Championships in 2014, he gracefully executed a triple Salchow followed by a flying combination spin. Choreographed to Nayantara Kani’s “Vibravado”, Ethan’s performance landed him 1st place with a score of 9.7.
At the 2016 U.S.A. Championships Ethan took home first place by performing a quad lutz-triple toe loop combination. He ended the performance on a level 4 spin with a +3 grade of execution. By setting traditional choreography against Gravity’s rock-infused cover of Nocturne, Ethan earned a score of 9.9.
Currently, Ethan is working on the quadruple Axel, a move that has yet to be successfully implemented by any skater. So far he is 3.85 turns in.