by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor

Abigail Semanko, daughter of Marty and Lisa Semanko, recently became a United States Figure Skating Gold Medalist for the fourth time. 

Semanko is a senior at Lincoln High School and passed her Senior Free Skate test in Fergus Falls on March 8, 2019 to achieve this  national recognition. She has previously achieved Gold Medal status in Moves in the Field, Dance, and Solo Free Dance. 

According  to the United States Figure Skating Association, she is one of only 210 figure skaters in the United States to have ever achieved quadruple Gold Medalist status. 

“Yeah, I actually just learned this as well and it really surprised me that there’s that few,” Semanko said. “I’m honored to be one of the 210 though, it’s a really cool accomplishment.”
Semanko, who is coached by her mother and Chelsey Vettleson, practices five days a week for a total of 8 hours, with two practices on Mondays and Tuesdays. 

To pass her senior free skate test, Semanko needed to land five double jumps and two double-double combinations cleanly, perform three spins, and a difficult footwork sequence all while demonstrating grace and presentation throughout the four-minute long routine.

“My strength is definitely in the technical aspect of skating rather than the presentation side,” Semanko said. “You can almost always count on me to land every jump and hit every turn correctly in my routine, but having the smooth and graceful presentation has always been more of a challenge for me. I can be a little clumsy sometimes.”

Semanko is planning to continue her education at St. Cloud State University next fall and she plans to continue skating in some capacity. 

“As of right now, I plan on coaching with the St. Cloud Figure Skating club for sure, but if I were to continue skating it would be by trying out for the hockey cheer team that performs at every men’s Huskies hockey games,” Semanko said.