Three weeks after the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships concluded in Debrecen, Hungary, Elyce Lin-Gracey and her coach Tammy Gambill were already back to work at a training camp in Boston. Most 17-year-olds would be celebrating a bronze medal and looking forward to summer. Lin-Gracey, characteristically, was already thinking about what comes next.
"Elyce is one of those kids who, if she didn't do a clean program, she'd put the music on again and do another full run-through," Gambill said. "She wouldn't just redo the elements. She'd do a full run-through until she got it right. She's a perfectionist — which is good, but can be detrimental if you're not careful."
That drive carried the Arcadia, California, native to a breakthrough 2024–25 season: Challenger Series gold at the Nebelhorn Trophy, a 2025 World Junior bronze medal, and a spot on the senior national team heading into an Olympic season already crowded with talent.
Lin-Gracey has spent the offseason focused on maturing her artistry and expanding the emotional range in her programs — areas she and Gambill identified as priorities heading into a senior-heavy schedule that will include a Grand Prix debut at the Grand Prix de France in October alongside teammate Isabeau Levito.
"I think last year was a great learning process," Gambill said. "We know what works and what doesn't. The way she handled herself at Junior Worlds was impressive — the nerves, the media. I was really proud of her."
Lin-Gracey, who graduated from California Online Public School this spring and is taking a gap year before college, says the extra time is fully dedicated to skating. "I want to make the most of this window," she said. "I know how special this opportunity is."