Marinaro wins gold at international figure skating event

Journal Staff Sarnia figure skater Michael Marinaro and partner Kirsten Moore-Towers won gold recently at the U.S. international figure skating classic.

Journal Staff

Sarnia figure skater Michael Marinaro and partner Kirsten Moore-Towers won gold recently at the U.S. international figure skating classic.

The duo won the short program and came second in the free skate at the meet in Salt Lake City, Utah, held Sept. 15 to 17. Their score of 188.76 points was enough to take the gold in pairs.

“It’s definitely just the start right now,” Marinaro told the CBC. “We want to keep building towards our first Grand Prix assignment in six weeks.”

Marinaro and Moore-Towers head to Zagreb, Croatia for the Grand Prix next month.

Marinaro, 25, got his start at the Point Edward skating club and won several international medals at the junior level with former partner Margaret Purdy of Strathroy, including silver at the Junior World Championships in Milan in 2013.

Despite a concussion suffered by Moore-Towers early last season, the pair secured bronze at the Canadian national championships in Ottawa last winter.

Marinaro told The Journal earlier this year he and Moore-Towers hope to compete at 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“We are definitely clear underdogs,” he said then. “But we’re going to use that as motivation for the next 12 or 13 months. It’s still within our grasp.”