Starr Andrews Becomes 1st Black Woman to Win Medal at US Figure Skating Championships Since ’98

She came out on top in a sport where Black women rarely step foot on the medal podium.

After skating in the national championship program last week, figure skater Starr Andrews became the first Black woman in over three decades to win a medal at the US Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, California.

According to Local News Today, the 21-year-old finished fourth overall after completing the two-day competition with a score of 188.24 and a free-skate score of 119.27.

“To be the next African American woman to stand on a podium is amazing,” Andrews said, according to The Washington Post.

“It will never be an easy path [in skating]’ Andrews said. “There are ups and downs, and … you have to make the best of it. This is how you become a great athlete, and [it] also helps you in normal life.”

Andrews was proud of the improvement in the recent performance even with some minor hiccups.

“I can’t even put into words how much it all means to me. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for everyone who believed in me. Even though I made two huge mistakes in my long I am so glad from how much I improved over the last year. I hope to keep improving and showing my star power,” Andrews wrote on Instagram.

Andrews shared the medal podium with champion Isabeau Levito, runner-up Bradie Tennell, and bronze medalist Amber Glenn.

Following her free skate, Andrews was selected to represent America as the first proxy for the women’s team who will participate in the World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan, scheduled for March.

As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Andrews became the first U.S. Black figure skater to win an International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix medal in the series history that dates back to 1995. She scored the win on Oct. 29 at Skate Canada in Mississauga, Ontario.