Zachary Donohue
Zachary Tyler "Zach" Donohue is an American ice dancer. With Madison Hubbell, he is a two-time World medalist, 2018 Grand Prix Final champion, 2014 Four Continents champion, and two-time U.S. national champion.
With former partner Piper Gilles, he won three medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series.
Personal life
Zachary Donohue was born January 8, 1991 in Hartford, Connecticut and was raised in Madison. He was home-schooled through high school.Early career
Donohue began learning to skate in 2001. In the 2005-2006 season, he competed with Sara Bailey. The following season, he skated with Kaylyn Patitucci. Having placed fifth on the novice level at the Eastern Sectional Championships, they did not advance to the 2007 U.S. Championships.With Lili Lamar, Donohue placed fifth in the junior category at the 2008 Eastern Sectional Championships. Their result was insufficient to advance to the 2008 U.S. Championships.
Partnership with Gilles
Donohue teamed up with Piper Gilles ahead of the 2008–2009 season. Making their international debut, they won gold at the 2008–09 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Ostrava, Czech Republic. They took silver at their second assignment, in Cape Town, South Africa. Their results qualified them for the 2008–09 Junior Grand Prix Final in South Korea but they withdrew before the competition due to an injury to Gilles. They won the junior bronze medal at the 2009 and 2010 U.S. Championships.Gilles/Donohue were selected to compete for the United States at the 2010 World Junior Championships. They placed ninth out of a field of 34 teams. They announced the end of their partnership in May 2010.
Partnership with Aronow
Donohue teamed up with Alissandra Aronow in 2010. They trained in Canton, Michigan, under the coaching team of Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva, and competed in the senior ranks. They ended their partnership shortly after the 2011 U.S. Championships.Hubbell and Donohue
Beginning of partnership with Hubbell
On May 12, 2011, U.S. Figure Skating announced Donohue's new partnership with Madison Hubbell. The two decided to train at the Detroit Skating Club under the guidance of the coaching team of Pasquale Camerlengo, Anjelika Krylova, and Natalia Annenko-Deller.Hubbell/Donohue made their international debut at the 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, winning the gold medal. After taking bronze at the 2012 U.S. Championships, they were selected to compete at two ISU Championships; they placed fifth at the 2012 Four Continents in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and tenth at the 2012 World Championships in Nice, France.
2012–2013 season
Hubbell/Donohue took bronze at the 2012 Finlandia Trophy and then competed at two Grand Prix events. They placed 5th at the 2012 Skate Canada International and fourth at the 2012 Trophée Éric Bompard. After finishing fourth at the 2013 U.S. Championships, they were not selected for any ISU Championships.2013–2014 season: Four Continents gold
After sustaining a concussion in June 2013, Hubbell spent six weeks recuperating. She attributed the injury to "lack of focus, as painful as that is to admit. I finished twizzles, I did my 3-turn, and I fell off my heel."Hubbell/Donohue won gold at the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy, placed fourth at the 2013 Skate America, and won their first Grand Prix medal, bronze, at the 2013 Skate Canada International. After placing fourth at the 2014 U.S. Championships, they were assigned to the 2014 Four Continents Championships and finished ahead of Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier to take the gold medal. Hubbell/Donohue were first alternates for the 2014 World Championships but did not take the slot made available when Davis/White withdrew; Hubbell had sustained a torn labrum in her left hip and underwent surgery in March 2014.
2014–2015 season
Hubbell/Donohue won bronze at both of their Grand Prix events, the 2014 Skate Canada International and 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard, and then took bronze at the 2015 U.S. Championships. They placed tenth at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, China.On April 13, 2015, Hubbell/Donohue announced that they had started training with Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon at the Centre Gadbois in Montreal.
2015–2016 season
In November 2015, Hubbell/Donohue won their first Grand Prix title, taking gold at the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard in Bordeaux as a result of their first place in the short dance, ahead of Canada's Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier. The second day of competition was cancelled due to the November 2015 Paris attacks. After receiving bronze at the 2015 NHK Trophy, the two qualified to their first Grand Prix Final, where they would finish sixth.Hubbell/Donohue took the bronze medal at the 2016 U.S. Championships. They placed fourth at the 2016 Four Continents Championships in Taipei and sixth at the 2016 World Championships in Boston.
2016–2017 season
Ranked third in both segments at the 2017 U.S. Championships, Hubbell/Donohue remained national bronze medalists for a third consecutive year. In February, they placed fourth in the short dance, sixth in the free, and fourth overall at the 2017 Four Continents Championships in Gangneung, South Korea.In March, Hubbell/Donohue won a small bronze medal for their short dance at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. They dropped to 9th overall after placing 10th in the free dance.
2017–2018 season: World silver medal and national title
Hubbell/Donohue began their season with gold at the 2017 CS U.S. International Classic. After taking bronze at the 2017 Skate Canada International and silver at the 2017 NHK Trophy, they qualified to their third consecutive Grand Prix Final. They would finish fourth at the event in Nagoya, Japan.At the 2018 U.S. Championships, Hubbell/Donohue placed second behind Maia and Alex Shibutani in the short dance and then second to Madison Chock / Evan Bates in the free dance. They won their first national title by a margin of 0.19 over the Shibutanis and 0.52 over Chock/Bates. All of the ice dancing medalists were named in the U.S. Olympic team.
Hubbell/Donohue were not selected for the team event but competed in the individual ice dancing event. In the short dance, they placed third, behind training mates Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir and Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron, and 0.02 points ahead of the Shibutanis. In the free dance, Donohue put both hands down in the middle of a sliding move, which constituted a technical fall. As a result, they finished fifth in the free dance, and fourth overall, 4.90 points behind the bronze medalists, the Shibutanis.
In March, Hubbell/Donohue won silver at the 2018 World Championships in Milan, having placed second in both segments.
2018–2019 season: Grand Prix Final gold and World bronze
Beginning the season again with a win at the U.S. Classic, Hubbell and Donohue were assigned to consecutive Grand Prix events, the 2018 Skate America and 2018 Skate Canada International. They won gold at both events, becoming the first team to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. After victory at Skate Canada International, Hubbell observed "we wanted to challenge ourselves to become champions in difficult situations and we knew that it was going to be really challenging to do two grand prixs back to back at the beginning of the season." At the Grand Prix Final, they placed first in both programs and won the title.At the 2019 U.S. Championships, facing a returning Chock/Bates, they won their second straight national title. They next competed at the 2019 Four Continents Championships, placing first in the rhythm dance with a new personal best. In the free dance, they unexpectedly dropped to fourth place following multiple errors, including receiving only a base level on their stationary lift after it was deemed non-stationary. As a result, they finished off the podium, behind Chock/Bates, Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje, and Gilles/Poirier. Hubbell commented after "certainly we would rather it happens here than the Worlds."
Hubbell/Donohue placed fourth in the rhythm dance at the 2019 World Championships, but overtook Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin in the free dance to place third overall, winning the bronze. Hubbell called it "our strongest performance this season", saying that their "goal was to do our best performance and the rest we can’t control, and that was really what we have achieved." They next were part of the gold-medal-winning Team USA at the 2019 World Team Trophy, concluding their season.
2019–2020 season
For the musical-themed rhythm dance, Hubbell/Donohue chose to skate a Marilyn Monroe program, a longtime goal of Hubbell's. Hubbell/Donohue were again assigned to the same consecutive events for the Grand Prix. They became two-time Skate America champions with a total of 209.55 points, after placing first with a personal best of 84.97 points in the rhythm dance and second in the free dance with a score of 124.58, 0.08 points behind the free dance score of silver medalists Stepanova/Bukin. Donohue was suffering from bronchitis at the time of the event, and commented that he hoped to have "two working lungs" by their next competition the following week. At 2019 Skate Canada International the following week, they narrowly led after the rhythm dance, 0.63 points head of Gilles/Poirier. They placed second in the free dance, and took the silver medal, in what was considered a significant upset loss.Qualifying to the Grand Prix Final, Hubbell/Donohue placed second in the rhythm dance. Third in the free dance after having revised nine of the program elements in the interim since Skate Canada International, they won the bronze medal overall.
Entering the 2020 U.S. Championships seeking to win a third consecutive title, where they placed second in the rhythm dance, with Donohue slightly losing balance at one point in the Finnstep pattern and their lift being graded at only a level 3. They came second in the free dance as well, struggling after they came out of their dance spin facing the wrong direction, prompting Hubbell to comment that it was "probably one of the hardest performances, not enjoyable." They won the silver medal behind Chock/Bates.
Returning to the Four Continents Championships after the disappointment of the previous year, Hubbell/Donohue won the rhythm dance again, albeit by a margin of only 0.03 over Chock/Bates, and 2.03 points ahead of Gilles/Poirier in third. In the free dance, both made errors in their twizzle sequence, and they dropped to third place, winning the bronze medal. Hubbell admitted afterward that "our free dance has been a rocky one for us this season."