Jean-Luc Baker

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker at the2018 Internationaux de France
Personal information
Born	(1993-10-07)October 7, 1993 (age 32) Burnley, England, United Kingdom
Home town	Montreal, Canada
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Figure skating career
Country	United States
Discipline	Ice dance
Partner	Kaitlin Hawayek (since 2012) Joylyn Yang (2006–11)
Skating club	Seattle Skating Club
Began skating	1995
Medal record
Four Continents Championships 2018 Taipei Ice dance U.S. Championships 2019 Detroit Ice dance 2020 Greensboro Ice dance 2021 Las Vegas Ice dance 2022 Nashville Ice dance World Team Trophy 2021 Osaka Team World Junior Championships 2014 Sofia Ice dance Junior Grand Prix Final 2013–14 Fukuoka Ice dance

Jean-Luc Baker (born October 7, 1993) is a British-Americanice dancer. With his skating partner,Kaitlin Hawayek, he is the2018 Four Continents champion, the2018 NHK Trophy champion, and a four-timeU.S. national bronze medalist (2019–22).

Earlier in their career, he and Hawayek became the2014 World Junior champions, the2013 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalists, and the2014 U.S. national junior champions.^[1]

Jean-Luc Baker was born inBurnley,England.^[2] He is the son ofSharon Jones Baker, who represented the United Kingdom in ice dancing at the1988 Winter Olympics, and Stephen Baker, who competed for the U.K. inpair skating at the1976 World Junior Championships.^[3] His first name was inspired by the fictional characterCaptain Jean-Luc Picard ofStar Trek: The Next Generation.^[4]

Baker was born with aclub foot.^[5] When he was four, he moved to the United States with his family. He attendedHarbour Pointe Middle School andKamiak High School inMukilteo, Washington. After graduation, he moved toDetroit,Michigan to pursue his career.^[6] He has a black belt intaekwondo.^[7]

Since 2024, he has been in a relationship with British ice dancer,Olivia Smart.^[8]

Jean-Luc Baker was introduced to ice skating by his parents in 1995.^[2][9] He was inspired to switch from singles to ice dancing by his mother.^[10] He teamed up with Joylyn Yang in the summer of 2006, with his parents coaching the duo.^[7][11] They won U.S. national titles on the juvenile and intermediate levels and took the novice bronze medal at the2010 U.S. Championships. The following season, Yang/Baker were assigned to twoISU Junior Grand Prix events, finishing seventh in Japan and tenth in the Czech Republic. They were sixth on the junior level at the2011 U.S. Championships.

Baker teamed up withKaitlin Hawayek in June 2012.^[12] They were sent to two JGP events and won the silver medal inGermany. Hawayek/Baker took the junior silver medal at the2013 U.S. Championships and were assigned to the2013 World Junior Championships inMilan where they finished seventh.

During the2013–14 ISU Junior Grand Prix, Hawayek/Baker won the gold medal in their JGP events at theJGP Mexico and theJGP Poland. Their results qualified them to theJGP Final inFukuoka,Japan, where they won the silver medal. They then won the gold medal at the2014 World Junior Championships, setting a new Junior World record for the overall score with a total of 157.12 points.

Hawayek/Baker began their season at an ISU Challenger Series event, the2014 Nebelhorn Trophy. They finished fourth after placing fourth in the short and third in the free dance. Their Grand Prix assignments were the2014 Rostelecom Cup and2014 NHK Trophy, winning the bronze medal at the latter.^[13]

Baker sustained a concussion when Hawayek accidentally struck him with her arm in September 2015, just before theLabor Day weekend.^[14][15] He returned to limited training after two weeks and full training a week later.^[14]

Hawayek/Baker finished fourth at the2015 Skate America. Due to food poisoning, Hawayek vomited eight times in four hours during the night before the short dance at the2015 Cup of China.^[15] After competing in the first segment, the duo decided to withdraw. They placed fifth at the2016 U.S. Championships.

Hawayek/Baker won the silver medal at the2016 CS Autumn Classic International. Competing on theGrand Prix series, they finished sixth at the2016 Skate Canada International and fourth at the2016 NHK Trophy.

Beginning the season at the2017 CS U.S. Classic, Hawayek/Baker won the silver medal. TheirGrand Prix assignments were the2018 Skate Canada International, where they placed fourth, and the2018 Skate America, where they placed fifth. Following the Grand Prix, they competed in a secondChallenger event, the2017 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, winning the bronze medal.

Hawayek/Baker won the pewter medal at the2018 U.S. Championships and were assigned to the2018 Four Continents Championships, as the top three teams were sent to the2018 Winter Olympics. They won the gold medal at Four Continents, finishing 9.33 points ahead of silver medalistsCarolane Soucisse /Shane Firus. Baker remarked, "it was really awesome; it was a new experience for us. We’ve medaled at junior events and sporadically at senior events in Grand Prixs or senior Bs. It was a really cool experience, and we hope to do it more often in the future."^[16]

Following the withdrawal ofMaia andAlex Shibutani, they were named to the US team for the2018 World Championships inMilan, where they placed tenth. On April 20, 2018, they announced that in the summer, they would begin training underMarie-France Dubreuil andPatrice Lauzon inMontreal,Quebec, Canada.^[17]

Baker sustained a concussion during training in August 2018, and as a result, they withdrew from the2018 CS Finlandia Trophy.^[18] At their firstGrand Prix assignment, the2018 NHK Trophy, the withdrawal ofGabriella Papadakis /Guillaume Cizeron due to injury left several teams competing for the gold medal. Hawayek/Baker came second in the rhythm dance, behindTiffany Zahorski /Jonathan Guerreiro, but narrowly placed first in the free dance, winning the title overall. Hawayek called it "just such a pleasure and honor to be here performing" and was especially pleased with their results, given they "had just three weeks of training fully recovered" prior.^[19] They placed only fourth at the2018 Internationaux de France, but their results qualified them for theGrand Prix Final inVancouver, where they placed sixth.

At the2019 U.S. Championships, Hawayker/Baker won the bronze medal. Reflecting on their move to Montreal, Hawayek called it "a great training center that we’re happy to be a part of. It makes us feel able to skate more openly and freely, and I think we’ll continue that for the next few years."^[20] They were assigned to the2019 Four Continents Championships, where they finished fifth, and the2019 World Championships, where they placed ninth.

Beginning the season at the2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Hawayek/Baker placed fourth in the rhythm dance but took the silver medal overall after coming second in the free dance.

For their firstGrand Prix assignment, they competed at2019 Skate Canada International, where they were third after the rhythm dance.^[21] In the free dance, they dropped behind the British teamFear/Gibson.^[22] Competing at the2019 Cup of China, Hawayek/Baker placed fifth in the rhythm dance after struggling on the Finnsteppattern dance.^[23] Several errors in the free dance kept them in fifth in that segment as well, and overall.^[24]

Hawayek/Baker placed third in the rhythm dance at the2020 U.S. Championships and praised the crowd reception of theirSaturday Night Fever program.^[25] Third in the free dance, they also won their second national bronze medal.^[26]

At the2020 Four Continents Championships inSeoul, they placed seventh in the rhythm dance after a double fall out of their dance lift, which Hawayek described as "a fluke thing that happened."^[27] Fifth in the free dance, they rose to sixth place overall.^[28] They were assigned to compete at theWorld Championships inMontreal, but these were canceled as a result of thecoronavirus pandemic.^[29]

With the pandemic ongoing, Hawayek and Baker opted to return to live with Hawayek's parents inBuffalo, New York for the early months and were able to do some on-ice training when the rink in Buffalo was reopened as an essential workers' daycare, communicating with their coaches overZoom. After quarantine, they returned to Montreal in June and rejoined their coaches at the Ice Academy of Montreal in July.^[30] With theGrand Prix assigned based mainly on training location, Hawayek/Baker nevertheless were assigned to the2020 Skate America inLas Vegas and crossed the border again to attend.^[31] They won the silver medal.^[32]

Returning to the United States again for the2021 U.S. Championships, also held in Las Vegas, Hawayek/Baker placed third in the rhythm dance.^[33] They were also third in the free dance, taking their third consecutive bronze medal.^[34] They were assigned to the American team for the2021 World Championships inStockholm.^[35] They placed eleventh in the rhythm dance and rose to ninth overall after the free dance.^[36][37]

Hawayek/Baker were chosen as America's dance entry in the2021 World Team Trophy and finished third in both segments, while Team USA won the silver medal.^[38][39][40]

For the Olympic season, the duo opted for a free program toFrédéric Chopin'sPrelude in E minor andNocturne in E minor, music that Hawayek said she had long dreamed of skating to, saying that "there is a lot of maturity and depth in this music. There is nostalgia, hopefulness, and happiness. I envisioned something that was not too heavy but also not too youthful."^[41]

Hawayek sustained a concussion and received stitches to her head after a fall while practicing a lift in early July 2021.^[42] As a result, Hawayek/Baker withdrew from both the2021 U.S. Classic and their firstGrand Prix assignment, the2021 NHK Trophy. They competed for the first time at the2021 Rostelecom Cup, finishing in fifth place.^[41] They also competed on theChallenger series at the2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, winning the gold medal.^[1]

Hawayek/Baker entered the2022 U.S. Championships seeking to make up ground on the previous year's pewter medalists,Green/Parsons, who had enjoyed a strong fall season while Hawayek/Baker were absent and recovering. Both teams made twizzle errors in the rhythm dance, with Hawayek/Baker in fourth place, 1.46 points behind Green/Parsons. Delivering a strong free dance, they were third in that segment and took their fourth consecutive bronze medal. She said afterward that "this means so much to us. It has not been a straight journey to this for us whatsoever over the last four years, especially over the last six months."^[43] The following day, they were named to their firstAmerican Olympic team.^[44]

Competing at the2022 Winter Olympics in thedance event, Hawayek/Baker placed eleventh in the rhythm dance. For Hawayek, it was "an absolute joy to perform out there."^[45] They were tenth in the free dance, remaining in eleventh overall.^[46] For the Olympic gala, Baker choreographedAlysa Liu's program using theItzy song "Loco," which was praised by both the musical group and its fans.^[47]

Hawayek and Baker concluded the season at the2022 World Championships, held inMontpellier, France. Russian skaters were banned from the event by theInternational Skating Union due to their country'sinvasion of Ukraine.^[48] The team placed ninth in the rhythm dance, eighth in the free dance, and eighth overall.^[49]

Hawayek and Baker enlisted Italian choreographerMassimo Scali to work on their rhythm dance for the new season, a program ofDesi Arnaz's music inspired by Arnaz's dynamic withLucille Ball. For the free dance, they chose music by Norwegian singerAskjell, citing his "very modern-day take on the essence of classical music."^[50]

The team made their season debut at the2022 CS Finlandia Trophy, where they finished second behind Canadian training partnersFournier Beaudry/Sørensen.^[51] Hawayek/Baker then began theGrand Prix at the2022 Skate America, winning the silver medal and notably finishing first in the free dance due to technical errors by American gold medalistsChock/Bates. They finished 0.73 points behind Chock/Bates overall.^[52] At their second assignment, the2022 Grand Prix of Espoo, Hawayek and Baker finished second in the rhythm dance, clearing the 80-point threshold for the first time with a score of 80.93.^[53] They finished second in the free dance as well, taking their second Grand Prix silver medal and qualifying to theGrand Prix Final.^[54][55]

Appearing at the Final inTurin, they were sixth of the six teams in the rhythm dance but rose to fifth place after Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen dropped following a fall in the free dance. Baker said they were "thrilled" with their performance but disappointed with their marks, vowing to "continue to build for our next events."^[56]

On January 17, Hawayek/Baker announced that they were withdrawing from the2023 U.S. Championships, saying that they had been dealing with "significant physical injuries that have led to challenges in our mental health and we feel it is in our best interest to prioritize this currently." They said that they would petition to be included on theWorld Championship team on the strength of their results that season and in years prior.^[57] Following the U.S. Championships, U.S. Figure Skating approved their petition, and they were announced as part of the World team on January 29.^[58] However, on February 24 it was announced that they had withdrawn to further prioritize "their healing and mental health." They were replaced byChristina Carreira andAnthony Ponomarenko.^[59]

Hawayek and Baker were assigned to the2023 Grand Prix de France and2023 NHK Trophy. However, they withdrew from those events on October 23 and October 25 due to Baker suffering a concussion.^[60]

On January 15, Hawayek announced that they had "made the tough decision to take a step back from competing for the remainder of the season and reevaluate our options for future seasons."^[61]

Following the initial announcement of his and Hawayek's break from competitive ice dancing, Baker began working as a figure skating choreographer. His clients have included:

• Emily Bratti /Ian Somerville^[62]
• Caroline Green /Michael Parsons^[63]
• Holly Harris /Jason Chan^[64]
• Marin Honda^[65]
• Alysa Liu^[66]
• Lia Pereira /Trennt Michaud^[67]
• Shoma Uno^[68]
• Zhao Qihan^[69]

Results in the2014–15 season 

Date	Event	SD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 24–27, 2014	2014 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	4	53.11	3	89.20	4	142.31
Nov 14–16, 2014	2014 Rostelecom Cup	7	52.86	6	83.47	6	136.33
Nov 28–30, 2014	2014 NHK Trophy	4	58.50	3	87.91	3	146.41
Jan 18–25, 2015	2015 U.S. Championships	4	63.95	4	98.50	4	162.45
Feb 9–15, 2015	2015 Four Continents Championships	6	58.31	5	91.67	5	149.98

Results in the2015–16 season 

Date	Event	SD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 9–11, 2015	2015 CS Finlandia Trophy	4	55.60	7	77.26	4	132.86
Oct 23–25, 2015	2015 Skate America	4	56.54	4	94.15	4	150.69
Nov 6–8, 2015	2015 Cup of China	4	58.35	–	–	–	WD
Dec 2–5, 2015	2015 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	2	58.76	2	94.30	2	153.06
Jan 15–24, 2016	2016 U.S. Championships	5	63.02	5	95.84	5	158.86

Results in the2016–17 season 

Date	Event	SD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 29 – Oct 1, 2016	2016 CS Autumn Classic International	3	62.70	2	97.80	2	160.50
Oct 28–30, 2016	2016 Skate Canada International	6	65.01	6	97.18	6	162.19
Nov 28–30, 2016	2016 NHK Trophy	5	65.41	4	104.34	4	169.75
Dec 7–10, 2016	2016 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	2	70.12	2	107.24	2	177.36
Jan 14–22, 2017	2017 U.S. Championships	4	72.60	8	87.46	5	160.06

Results in the2017–18 season 

Date	Event	SD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 13–17, 2017	2017 CS U.S. International Classic	3	56.65	2	96.90	2	153.55
Oct 27–29, 2017	2017 Skate Canada International	5	63.10	4	102.10	4	165.20
Nov 24–26, 2017	2017 Skate America	7	62.15	5	101.38	5	163.53
Dec 6–9, 2017	2017 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	4	63.58	3	100.30	3	163.88
Jan 5–7, 2018	2018 U.S. Championships	4	73.18	4	114.43	4	187.61
Jan 22–27, 2018	2018 Four Continents Championships	1	69.08	1	105.21	1	174.29
Mar 21–24, 2018	2018 World Championships	15	63.48	10	101.80	10	165.28

Results in the2018–19 season 

Date	Event	RD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Nov 9–11, 2018	2018 NHK Trophy	2	70.71	1	113.92	1	184.63
Nov 23–25, 2018	2018 Internationaux de France	4	69.85	4	111.62	4	181.47
Dec 6–9, 2018	2018–19 Grand Prix Final	6	71.33	5	112.71	6	184.04
Jan 19–27, 2019	2019 U.S. Championships	3	76.77	3	120.18	3	196.95
Feb 7–10, 2019	2019 Four Continents Championships	5	74.42	5	115.45	5	189.87
Mar 18–24, 2019	2019 World Championships	9	75.90	10	113.16	9	189.06

Results in the2019–20 season 

Date	Event	RD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 25–28, 2019	2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	4	75.77	2	116.70	2	192.47
Oct 25–27, 2019	2019 Skate Canada International	3	79.52	4	115.25	4	194.77
Nov 8–10, 2019	2019 Cup of China	5	74.70	5	105.26	5	179.96
Jan 21–26, 2020	2020 U.S. Championships	3	82.59	3	118.57	3	201.16
Feb 4–9, 2020	2020 Four Continents Championships	7	71.93	5	116.56	6	188.49

Results in the2020–21 season 

Date	Event	RD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 23–24, 2020	2020 Skate America	2	81.15	2	121.32	2	202.47
Jan 11–21, 2021	2021 U.S. Championships	3	85.28	3	127.27	3	212.55
Mar 22–28, 2021	2021 World Championships	11	75.08	9	113.43	9	188.51
Apr 15–18, 2021	2021 World Team Trophy	3	76.79	3	110.16	2 (3)	186.95

Results in the2021–22 season 

Date	Event	RD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Nov 25–28, 2021	2021 Rostelecom Cup	5	73.72	5	113.90	5	187.62
Dec 9–11, 2021	2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	2	74.60	1	116.72	1	191.32
Jan 3–9, 2022	2022 U.S. Championships	4	79.39	3	126.29	3	205.68
Feb 12–14, 2022	2022 Winter Olympics	11	74.58	10	115.16	11	189.74
Mar 21–27, 2022	2022 World Championships	9	76.56	8	115.05	8	191.61

Results in the2022–23 season 

Date	Event	RD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 4–9, 2022	2022 CS Finlandia Trophy	2	78.90	2	118.55	2	197.45
Oct 21–23, 2022	2022 Skate America	2	79.12	1	122.95	2	202.07
Nov 25–27, 2022	2022 Grand Prix of Espoo	2	80.93	2	121.53	2	202.46
Dec 8–11, 2022	2022–23 Grand Prix Final	6	79.50	5	118.56	5	198.06

Results in the2012–13 season 

Date	Event	SD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 19–22, 2012	2012 JGP Turkey	3	54.56	6	73.43	5	127.99
Oct 10–13, 2012	2012 JGP Germany	2	58.66	2	79.95	2	138.61
Jan 20–27, 2013	2015 U.S. Junior Championships	3	60.72	2	89.02	2	149.74
Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2013	2013 World Junior Championships	11	49.63	6	74.72	7	124.35

Results in the2013–14 season 

Date	Event	SD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 4–7, 2013	2013 JGP Mexico	1	56.11	2	80.34	1	136.45
Sep 18–21, 2013	2013 JGP Poland	1	62.58	1	82.26	1	144.84
Dec 5–8, 2013	2013–14 JGP Final	2	58.05	2	81.37	2	139.42
Jan 5–12, 2014	2014 U.S. Junior Championships	1	65.30	1	86.96	1	152.26
Mar 10–16, 2014	2014 World Junior Championships	1	66.73	2	90.39	1	157.12

• Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker official website
• Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker at theInternational Skating Union
• Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker atU.S. Figure Skating
• Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker at Skating Scores
• Jean-Luc Baker atTeam USA (archive June 23, 2023)
• Jean-Luc Baker atOlympics.com
• Jean-Luc Baker atOlympedia
• Jean-Luc Baker at InterSportStats

• 1993 births
• Living people
• Sportspeople from Burnley
• English male ice dancers
• American male ice dancers
• English emigrants to the United States
• World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists
• Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists
• American male taekwondo practitioners
• English male taekwondo practitioners
• Figure skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics
• Olympic figure skaters for the United States
• Figure skating choreographers
• 21st-century American sportsmen
• 21st-century English sportsmen

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• InterSportStats template with ID not in Wikidata