Drew Meekins
Figure skater

Drew Meekins

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Figure skater
Gender:
Male
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Birth:
10 April 1985(Juneau, USA)
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Biography

Introduction

Drew Meekins (born April 10, 1985) is an American pairs skater and choreographer. With former partner Julia Vlassov, he is the 2006 World Junior Champion. Meekins attended the 2018 Olympic Games with Mirai Nagasu.

Skating career

Meekins and Vlassov won the 2006 World Junior Championships. In their first season of senior international competition, they won the silver at the Nebelhorn Trophy, placed sixth at the 2006 Cup of China, and placed 5th at the 2006 NHK Trophy. Vlassov and Meekins finished in 7th place in their senior debut at the 2007 U.S. Championships. They were fifth in the free program.

Vlassov and Meekins were assigned to two Grand Prix events for the 2007–2008 season; however, they were forced to withdraw from the 2007 Skate Canada International before the event began due to an injury to Meekins's shoulder which occurred during an attempted lift in practice. Vlassov and Meekins announced the end of their partnership on November 8, 2007.

U.S. Figure Skating announced on July 14, 2008, that Meekins had teamed up with Jessica Rose Paetsch. Paetsch and Meekins placed 10th at the 2009 U.S. Championships.

After qualifying for the 2010 U.S. Championships, Paetsch & Meekins announced the end of their partnership in December 2009.

Meekins is now a figure skating coach at the Broadmoor skating club in Colorado Springs, CO. He has worked with many skaters, including coaching and choreographing Vincent Zhou when he won the title of 2017 Junior world Champion and Mirai Nagasu when she won bronze at the 2018 Olympic Games.

Meekins now coaches a wide range of skaters and offers virtual lessons and other resources on his website.

Early life and family

Drew's father, Russ Meekins, Jr., and aunt, Susan Meekins Sullivan, as Alaska state legislators in the mid 1970s.

Andrew Meekins, known as "Drew", was born in Juneau, Alaska on April 10, 1985. He is one of five children (four sons and one daughter) born to Edward Russell "Russ" Meekins, Jr. (born 1949) and his wife Nancy Harvey. All four of his grandparents moved to Anchorage, Alaska from the Northeastern United States during the tail end of World War II and were active in business and civic affairs in Anchorage throughout the middle and late 20th century. His father, aunt and grandfather all served in the Alaska House of Representatives as Democrats representing Anchorage. His father, the only one of the three to serve more than one term, was the House's majority leader in his last term (1981–1983). In that term, he played a key role in two events which rank amongst the most significant in the history of the Alaska Legislature: the mid-session overthrow of the Democratic House leadership and its replacement with a multi-party coalition, and the bribery conviction and subsequent expulsion of a member of the Alaska Senate. As a result of the fallout from these events, he soon found himself on the outs with Alaska's political establishment. The family left Alaska ca. 1990 and moved to Massachusetts, the home state of Nancy Harvey's parents, settling on Cape Cod. One of his brothers, Cam Meekins, is a rapper.

Programs

(with Vlassov)

Season Short program Free skating
2007–2008 Malaguena
Titanic Symphony
2006–2007
  • Leelo's Tune
  • Sarabande
Warsaw Concerto
2005–2006 Picante
Paychek (soundtrack)
2004–2005 Picante
Paychek (soundtrack)
2003–2004 Beethoven's 5th
  • Mission Impossible
  • Pink Panther

Competitive highlights

With Paetsch

Event 2008–2009 2009–2010
U.S. Championships 10th
Midwestern Sectionals 3rd
Eastern Sectionals 3rd

With Vlassov

Event 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07
World Junior Championships 9th 1st
U.S. Championships 4th N. 1st N. 2nd J. 3rd J. 7th
Cup of China 6th
NHK Trophy 5th
Nebelhorn Trophy 2nd
Junior Grand Prix Final 4th 2nd
Junior Grand Prix, Croatia 3rd
Junior Grand Prix, Andorra 2nd
Junior Grand Prix, Ukraine 3rd
Junior Grand Prix, Belgrade 1st
NACS Waterloo 4th J.
NACS Ohio 1st N.
Eastern Sectionals 2nd N. 1st N.
New England Regionals 1st N. 1st N.