Watch me now,I thought.Watch me win.
Without you.
Shaw and Lin take the ice at the 2006 U.S. National Championships to supportive cheers from the crowd, showing solidarity after Katarina’s fall in the warm-up.
Garrett smiles and waves up at the stands. Katarina is all business.
Inez Acton:I remember seeing Kat looking fierce and thinking: wow, what a badass.
Ellis Dean:Josie and I were in silver medal position, behind Fischer and Chan, but we knew once the top teams skated we’d be bumped down to fourth. At least we were ahead of those little pipsqueaks Gaskell and Kovalenko.
Katarina and Garrett take their opening position. The applause fades. Their music begins.
Francesca Gaskell:I wasn’t even thinking about scores or medals. We were all worried about Kat. That was a nasty bump to the head. She seemed fine, though—at first.
As they start their first choreographic sequence, Katarina attacks every step. Garrett is more tentative and ends up lagging behind her.
Kirk Lockwood:Garrett was trying to play it safe—the kiss of death, especially in a final.
Garrett Lin:I was scared. I didn’t want to hurt her.
Inez Acton:The more Garrett held back, the harder Kat pushed.
Garrett Lin:It wasn’t our best skate, that’s for sure. But we were getting through it, and there was a big gap between our scores and Fischer and Chan’s. I thought, okay, we’ll get silver. Kat will be upset we didn’t win, but we’ll still go to Torino.
They transition into the slower part of the program. Garrett seems more comfortable with the languid tempo of “Haunt Me.” Katarina continues to skatewith intensity. Coming out of their combination spin, she loses her balance for a second, but quickly recovers.
KIRK LOCKWOOD: When they got into the lift, I could tell right away.
Katarina and Garrett begin their rotational lift. She arches her back and grabs her skate blade.
Garrett Lin:The entry was a little shakier than usual, but I thought I had her.
They spin faster and faster. Garrett’s arms are shaking. Katarina’s body tenses.
Kirk Lockwood:He didn’t have her.
Ellis Dean:They fought for it, I’ll give ’em that.
Kirk Lockwood:It’s a miracle she got up there. Maybe better if she hadn’t, though.
Katarina jerks, letting go of her blade. Garrett stumbles, momentum slowing. Katarina grasps for the blade again. It slashes across her palm, spraying blood.
Garrett Lin:I thought I could save it. I thought I could save her.
He loses his grip. They’re still rotating. Katarina is thrown onto the ice, the back of her skull hitting with a sickening crack audible even over their music.
Kirk Lockwood:There was so much blood. You couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
Ellis Dean:Everyone was freaking out. And that sexy slow jam’s still playing. It would’ve been funny if it wasn’t soinsane.
Francesca Gaskell:The whole thing was terrifying! Every skater’s worst nightmare.
Kirk Lockwood:They finally turned off the music. And the place wentsilent.Kat must have been in a lot of pain, but she didn’t cry out, didn’t scream. Maybe she was too stunned.
Garrett Lin:I was on my knees on the ice, and she seemed so far away. She wasn’t moving. For a second, I thought she was dead. I thought I’d killed her.
The crowd stands in shocked silence, staring like rubberneckers at a car crash. Then the camera zooms in close on Katarina, focusing on the blood staining her white dress.
