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Camden Pulkinen

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Camden Pulkinen
Pulkinen at the 2024 World Championships
Born (2000-03-25) March 25, 2000 (age 24)
Scottsdale, Arizona
HometownNew York City, New York
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Figure skating career
Country United States
DisciplineMen's singles
CoachAlex Johnson
Rafael Arutyunyan
Skating clubSkating Club of New York
Began skating2005
Highest WS20th (2021–22)
Medal record
U.S. Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Columbus Singles
Junior Grand Prix Final
Silver medal – second place 2017–18 Nagoya Singles

Camden Pulkinen (born March 25, 2000) is an American figure skater and he is the 2024 U.S. bronze medalist. He competed at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics and is the first male figure skater to compete on behalf of Team USA in the men's singles event at the Winter Youth Olympic Games. He is the 2017–18 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time JGP Austria champion (2017, 2018), and the 2018 U.S. national junior champion. He finished within the top five at the 2022 World Championships and within the top six at the 2018 World Junior Championships. He is the former world record holder for the junior men's short program. He graduated from Columbia University in May 2024.[1]

Personal life

[edit]

Pulkinen was born on March 25, 2000, in Scottsdale, Arizona.[2] His older sister, Elena, has also competed in figure skating.[3] Pulkinen's father is of Finnish and French descent, and his mother is from Thailand.[4] He attended Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona.[5] Pulkinen attended University of Colorado Colorado Springs part-time for a few years before transferring to Columbia University in August 2022, where he studied psychology and economics.[1]

Career

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Early career

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Pulkinen began learning to skate in 2005.[2] He competed on the juvenile level beginning in the 2010–2011 season. He moved up to the intermediate level in 2013–2014 and to the novice ranks the following season.

2015–16 season: Junior international debut

[edit]

Pulkinen moved up to the junior level in the 2015–2016 season. He was coached by Karen Gesell at the Coyotes Skating Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.[6]

After winning the Golden West Championships, he was nominated to represent the United States at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Hamar, Norway.[5] He placed seventh at the competition, held in February 2016.

2016–17 season

[edit]

Pulkinen relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado in June 2016,[7] where Tom Zakrajsek, Becky Calvin, and Drew Meekins became his coaches.[8]

His ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut came in October 2016 in Tallinn, Estonia; he finished ninth at the event. In January 2017, he won the junior silver medal at the 2017 U.S. Championships.

2017–18 season: Junior Grand Prix Final silver

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Making his senior international debut, Pulkinen placed eleventh at the Philadelphia Summer International in early August 2017. He then returned to the junior level, winning gold at a 2017 JGP competition in September in Salzburg, Austria. A month later, he took silver at a JGP event in Gdańsk, Poland, and qualified to the JGP Final in Nagoya, Japan. There, he won the silver medal at the JGP Final. After that, he won gold at the 2018 U.S. Junior Championships. In March, he competed at the 2018 World Junior Championships and placed sixth.

2018–19 season: Senior international debut

[edit]

In early August 2018, Pulkinen placed fourth in the senior ranks at the Philadelphia Summer International. Competing in the 2018–2019 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, he won gold in Linz, Austria. At his second JGP event, he won the silver medal in Ostrava, Czech Republic, setting a world junior record in the short program in the process.[4] His placements in Linz and Ostrava qualified him to the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final in Vancouver, Canada.

Pulkinen next competed at the senior level at the 2018 CS Alpen Trophy, his debut on the Challenger series. He placed fourth in the short, sixth in the free, and sixth overall. At the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final, Pulkinen placed first in the short program, but sixth in the free skate. As a result, he dropped to fifth place overall. Pulkinen commented afterward that he believed he had not trained the free skate sufficiently.[9]

In late January 2019, he finished twelfth at the U.S. Championships, placing eighth in the short program and fifteenth in the free skate. He was nevertheless named to the U.S. team for the 2019 World Junior Championships. He placed first in the short program there, winning a gold small medal, but struggled again in the free skate, where he placed ninth. He finished eighth overall.[10]

In May 2019, Pulkinen announced that he had left coach Tom Zakrajsek to train under Tammy Gambill and Damon Allen.[11]

2019–20 season: Grand Prix debut

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Pulkinen at the 2019 Cup of China

Pulkinen began his first full senior season at the Philadelphia Summer International, where he placed fifth. He also placed fifth at the 2019 CS Autumn Classic International.

Pulkinen made his senior Grand Prix debut at the 2019 Skate Canada International, where he placed second in the short program, landing a ratified quadruple toe loop.[12] He dropped to fourth place following the free skate, while still setting a new personal best in that segment and in total score.[13] Pulkinen had less success at the 2019 Cup of China, where he placed eighth.[14]

Competing at the 2020 U.S. Championships, Pulkinen was seventh in the short program after errors on both his triple Axel and jump combination.[15] Despite some difficult jump landings in the free skate, he remained in seventh overall.[16] Pulkinen was assigned to compete at the 2020 Four Continents Championships in Seoul, South Korea.[17] Pulkinen placed eleventh at Four Continents.[18]

2020–21 season

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Pulkinen competed in a virtual Peggy Fleming Trophy artistic contest in the summer.[19] With the coronavirus pandemic affecting international travel, assignments for the Grand Prix were made primarily based on training location, resulting in Pulkinen being assigned to the 2020 Skate America.[20] He placed ninth at the event.[21]

Pulkinen placed eighth at the 2021 U.S. Championships.[22] He commented afterward that it had been a "difficult season", but that he was anticipating preparing for the next year.[23]

2021–22 season: World Championships debut

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Beginning the season at the 2021 U.S. Classic, Pulkinen placed fourth. He withdrew from the 2021 CS Asian Open, instead competing at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy, where he finished fourteenth.[24]

At the Grand Prix, Pulkinen placed eleventh at the 2021 NHK Trophy.[25] He was seventh at the 2021 Rostelecom Cup, and said it "definitely could have been better, but I am happy that I could improve from NHK Trophy."[26] 

Pulkinen delivered one of the strongest performances of his career at the 2022 U.S. Championships, where he finished fifth. He reflected, "last year was really tough for me, so this whole season was about progressing up to the U.S. Championships, so I’m happy to have done that."[27] He next competed at the 2022 Four Continents Championships, where he finished twelfth.[24]

As second alternate, Pulkinen was called up to compete in his World Championships. He placed twelfth in the short program, third in the free skate, and fifth overall, scoring personal bests in each segment and earning a small bronze medal for the free skate.[24][28]

2022–23 season

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Beginning the season on the Challenger series, Pulkinen won the bronze medal at the 2022 CS U.S. Classic, his first international medal at the senior level.[29] He placed fifth at the 2022 Skate Canada International, his first Grand Prix assignment, and fifth as well at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo.[30][24]

He went on to win the gold medal at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.

At the 2023 U.S. Championships, Pulkinen finished eighth and was named as the first alternate for the World Championships.[24]

2023–24 season

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Pulkinen began the season by finishing fourth at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy.[24] On the Grand Prix, he was fifth at both the 2023 Grand Prix de France and 2023 NHK Trophy.[31][32]

Ahead of the 2024 U.S. Championships, Pulkinen was preemptively named to the US team for the 2024 Four Continents Championships, which were to be held the week after the U.S. Championships in Shanghai.[33] At the U.S. Championships, Pulkinen was fifth after the short program. In the free skate, he skated a clean program, with the only mistake being a triple jump being turned into a single, and he moved up to third to win the bronze medal. This was his first national championship medal at the senior level.[34] He was assigned to compete at the 2024 World Championships and subsequently withdrew from his Four Continents assignment to focus on preparing for the World Championships.[35]

At the 2024 World Championships, Pulkinen came in 20th overall. He expressed disappointment in his performance and said of his programs, "In the short I was a little too high energy. In the long program, a little too low."[36]

2024–25 season

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Pulkinen began the season with a fourth-place finish at the 2024 Cranberry Cup International. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, he finished eleventh at the 2024 Grand Prix de France and ninth at the 2024 Finlandia Trophy.[24]

Programs

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Pulkinen at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2015–16
[37]
2016–17
[8][38]
  • Sarabande Suite (Aeternae)
    by Globus
2017–18
[2]
2018–19
[39][40]
2019–20
[41]
2020–21
[42][19]
2021–22
[43]
2022–23
[44]
2023–24
[45][46]
2024–25
[41][47]

Competitive highlights

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Competition placements at senior level [48]
Season 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
World Championships 5th 20th
Four Continents Championships 11th 12th
U.S. Championships 12th 7th 8th 5th 8th 3rd TBD
GP Cup of China 8th
GP Finland 5th 9th
GP France 5th 11th
GP NHK Trophy 11th 5th
GP Rostelecom Cup 7th
GP Skate America 9th
GP Skate Canada 4th 5th
CS Alpen Trophy 6th
CS Autumn Classic 5th
CS Cranberry Cup 8th 4th
CS Finlandia Trophy 14th
CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 6th 1st
CS Lombardia Trophy 4th
CS U.S. Classic 4th 3rd
Philadelphia Summer 11th 4th 5th
Competition placements at junior level [48]
Season 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19
Winter Youth Olympics 7th
World Junior Championships 6th 8th
Junior Grand Prix Final 2nd 5th
U.S. Championships 11th 2nd 1st
JGP Austria 1st 1st
JGP Czech Republic 2nd
JGP Estonia 9th
JGP Poland 2nd

Detailed results

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ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [48]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 271.69 2022 World Championships
Short program TSS 89.50 2022 World Championships
TES 48.63 2022 World Championships
PCS 41.14 2019 Skate Canada International
Free skating TSS 182.19 2022 World Championships
TES 97.61 2022 World Championships
PCS 84.58 2022 World Championships
ISU personal best scores in the +3/-3 GOE System [48]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 217.10 2017−18 Junior Grand Prix Final
Short program TSS 70.90 2017−18 Junior Grand Prix Final
TES 36.23 2017 JGP Poland
PCS 35.33 2017−18 Junior Grand Prix Final
Free skating TSS 146.20 2017−18 Junior Grand Prix Final
TES 75.48 2017−18 Junior Grand Prix Final
PCS 70.72 2017−18 Junior Grand Prix Final

Senior level

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Results in the 2017–18 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 3–5, 2017 United States 2017 Philadelphia Summer International 11 56.57 11 113.02 11 169.59
Results in the 2018–19 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 3–5, 2018 United States 2018 Philadelphia Summer International 5 67.20 4 127.82 4 195.02
Nov 11–18, 2018 Austria 2018 CS Alpen Trophy 6 83.44 7 147.40 5 230.84
Jan 19–27, 2019 United States 2019 U.S. Championships 8 78.39 15 121.48 12 199.87
Results in the 2019–20 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Jul 31 –
Aug 3, 2019 		United States 2019 Philadelphia Summer International 6 57.81 2 128.61 5 186.42
Sep 12–14, 2019 Canada 2019 CS Autumn Classic International 5 81.34 6 138.34 5 216.25
Oct 25–27, 2019 Canada 2019 Skate Canada International 2 89.05 4 155.73 4 244.78
Nov 8–10, 2019 China 2019 Cup of China 4 78.92 9 139.75 8 218.67
Dec 4–7, 2019 Croatia 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 5 76.04 7 143.53 6 219.57
Jan 20–26, 2020 United States 2020 U.S. Championships 7 79.19 7 156.89 7 236.08
Feb 4–9, 2020 South Korea 2020 Four Continents Championships 10 84.66 11 142.16 11 226.82
Results in the 2020–21 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 23–24, 2020 United States 2020 Skate America 9 69.09 7 138.73 9 207.82
Jan 11–21, 2021 United States 2021 U.S. Championships 7 80.08 9 140.02 8 220.10
Results in the 2021–22 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 11–15, 2021 United States 2021 Cranberry Cup International 10 61.13 8 118.37 8 179.50
Sep 14–17, 2021 United States 2021 U.S. International Classic 6 66.84 4 142.15 4 208.99
Oct 7–10, 2021 Finland 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy 6 75.51 15 128.73 14 204.24
Nov 12–14, 2021 Japan 2021 NHK Trophy 11 55.53 11 137.65 11 193.18
Nov 26–28, 2021 Russia 2021 Rostelecom Cup 5 83.47 9 154.50 7 237.97
Jan 3–9, 2022 United States 2022 U.S. Championships 6 90.16 5 170.25 5 260.41
Jan 18–23, 2022 Estonia 2022 Four Continents Championships 14 57.58 7 146.81 12 204.39
Mar 21–27, 2022 France 2022 World Championships 12 89.50 3 182.19 5 271.69
Results in the 2022–23 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 13–16, 2022 United States 2022 CS U.S. International Classic 3 77.44 4 142.05 3 219.49
Oct 28–30, 2022 Canada 2022 Skate Canada International 5 75.07 8 143.99 5 219.06
Nov 25–27, 2022 Finland 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo 7 72.45 5 157.47 5 229.92
Dec 7–10, 2022 Croatia 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 1 85.45 2 156.64 1 242.09
Jan 23–29, 2023 United States 2023 U.S. Championships 11 69.47 7 154.25 8 223.72
Results in the 2023–24 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 8–10, 2023 Italy 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy 8 62.96 3 147.50 4 210.46
Nov 3–5, 2023 France 2023 Grand Prix de France 6 83.44 7 147.40 5 230.84
Nov 24–26, 2023 Japan 2023 NHK Trophy 4 86.40 8 142.92 5 229.32
Jan 22–28, 2024 United States 2024 U.S. Championships 5 87.90 3 174.43 3 262.33
Mar 18–24, 2024 Canada 2024 World Championships 17 78.85 20 141.01 20 219.86
Results in the 2024–25 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 8–11, 2024 United States 2024 CS Cranberry Cup International 8 77.83 4 149.14 4 226.97
Nov 1–3, 2024 France 2024 Grand Prix de France 11 64.48 12 129.12 11 193.60
Nov 15–17, 2024 Finland 2024 Finlandia Trophy 10 64.34 9 130.84 9 195.18

Junior level

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Results in the 2015–16 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Jan 15–24, 2016 United States 2016 U.S. Championships (Junior) 11 46.80 10 98.59 11 145.39
Feb 12–21, 2016 Norway 2016 Winter Youth Olympics 7 57.91 8 108.68 7 166.59
Results in the 2016–17 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 28 – Oct 1, 2016 Estonia 2016 JGP Estonia 9 60.44 9 111.25 9 171.69
Jan 14–22, 2017 United States 2017 U.S. Championships (Junior) 1 73.41 2 124.24 2 197.65
Results in the 2017–18 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 23–36, 2017 Austria 2018 JGP Austria 1 66.34 1 137.46 1 203.80
Oct 4–7, 2017 Poland 2018 JGP Poland 4 68.52 1 140.83 2 209.35
Dec 7–10, 2017 Japan 2017–18 Junior Grand Prix Final 5 70.90 2 146.20 2 217.10
Dec 29, 2017 – Jan 8, 2018 United States 2018 U.S. Championships (Junior) 1 67.88 1 151.41 1 219.29
Mar 5–11, 2018 Bulgaria 2018 World Junior Championships 17 62.31 4 145.57 6 207.88
Results in the 2018–19 season [48]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 29 – Sep 1, 2018 Austria 2018 JGP Austria 2 76.15 1 147.80 1 223.95
Sep 26–29, 2018 Czech Republic 2018 JGP Czech Republic 1 81.01 5 131.44 2 212.45
Dec 6–9, 2018 Canada 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final 1 80.31 6 117.37 5 197.68
Mar 4–10, 2019 Croatia 2019 World Junior Championships 1 82.41 9 134.27 8 216.68

References

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  1. ^ a b "Camden Pulkinen: Team USA Skater, Columbia Admit". SocratesPost. 2021-06-26. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  2. ^ a b c "Camden Pulkinen: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018.
  3. ^ Metcalfe, Jeff (January 16, 2016). "Gilbert siblings ready for U.S. Figure Skating Championships". azcentral.com.
  4. ^ a b Slater, Paula (October 16, 2018). "A season of "rebranding" for USA's Camden Pulkinen". Golden Skate.
  5. ^ a b "Arizona's Camden Pulkinen to skate at Lillehammer Youth Olympics". byteclay.com. February 5, 2016. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017.
  6. ^ "Camden Pulkinen ready to skate with junior men at Nationals". byteclay.com. January 14, 2016. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017.
  7. ^ "#JacksonFamily Interviews ft. Camden Pulkinen". medium.com. February 16, 2017. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Camden Pulkinen: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017.
  9. ^ Slater, Paula (December 7, 2018). "'Dark horse' Gogolev wins men's Junior Grand Prix title". Golden Skate.
  10. ^ Slater, Paula (March 6, 2019). "Camden in true form at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate.
  11. ^ "With new coaches and a new perspective, Camden Pulkinen wants to 'show improvement in all areas' – Figure Skaters Online". 13 May 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  12. ^ Slater, Paula (October 26, 2019). "Japan's Yuzuru front-runner at 2019 Skate Canada". Golden Skate.
  13. ^ Slater, Paula (October 27, 2019). "Hanyu takes first Skate Canada gold in Kelowna". Golden Skate.
  14. ^ Slater, Paula (November 9, 2019). "Boyang Jin wins first Grand Prix gold on home ice". Golden Skate.
  15. ^ Slater, Paula (January 25, 2020). "Chen in comfortable lead at U.S. Nationals". Golden Skate.
  16. ^ Slater, Paula (January 26, 2020). "Chen wins fourth consecutive U.S. National title". Golden Skate.
  17. ^ "U.S Figure Skating Announces Men's, Pairs and Ice Dance Selections for World, Four Continents, World Junior Teams, and World Junior Camp". U.S. Figure Skating. January 26, 2020.
  18. ^ "ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships Results - Men". International Skating Union.
  19. ^ a b Hersh, Philip (July 16, 2020). "Virtual figure skating competition offers glimpse of sport's possible future". NBC Sports.
  20. ^ "2020 Skate America". International Figure Skating. October 20, 2020. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  21. ^ "ISU GP 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America". U.S. Figure Skating.
  22. ^ "2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships". U.S. Figure Skating.
  23. ^ Pulkinen, Camden (January 17, 2021). "Another nationals down. Through a difficult season, I am happy to have gotten through it" (Instagram). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g "Competition Results: Camden Pulkinen". International Skating Union.
  25. ^ Slater, Paula (November 13, 2021). "Shoma Uno defends NHK Trophy title". Golden Skate.
  26. ^ Slater, Paula (November 27, 2021). "Georgia's Kvitelashvili makes history at 2021 Rostelecom Cup". Golden Skate.
  27. ^ Slater, Paula (January 9, 2022). "Chen seizes sixth consecutive U.S. national title". Golden Skate.
  28. ^ Penny, Brandon (March 26, 2022). "Shoma Uno wins first skating world title as Vincent Zhou returns to podium". NBC Sports. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  29. ^ Sausa, Christie (September 15, 2022). "Ilia Malinin Rewrites the History Books with Quad Axel to Take Gold". U.S. Figure Skating.
  30. ^ "Starr Andrews, Emily Chan and Spencer Howe Win First Grand Prix Medals". U.S. Figure Skating. October 29, 2022.
  31. ^ Slater, Paula (November 4, 2023). "Siao Him Fa edges out Malinin for Grand Prix gold in France". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  32. ^ Slater, Paula (November 26, 2023). "Yuma Kagiyama reclaims NHK Trophy title". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  33. ^ "Eighteen Athletes Named to Four Continents Team". U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone. 2024-01-09. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  34. ^ "Malinin Repeats as Champion in Dominating Fashion". U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone. 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  35. ^ @USFigureSkating (28 January 2024). "Camden Pulkinen is withdrawing from Four Continents Championships" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  36. ^ "Team USA Makes History with Two World Championship Golds". U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone. 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  37. ^ "Camden Pulkinen: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 28, 2016.
  38. ^ Lewis, Amber (January 12, 2017). "Pulkinen aims to jump to the podium in Kansas City". icemusings.com.
  39. ^ "Camden Pulkinen: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018.
  40. ^ Capellazzi, Gina (August 30, 2018). "Camden Pulkinen: Building his springboard to success". figureskatersonline.com.
  41. ^ a b "Camden Pulkinen". U.S. Figure Skating.
    "Earlier versions". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018.
  42. ^ "Camden Pulkinen: 2020/2021". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020.
  43. ^ "Camden Pulkinen: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021.
  44. ^ "Camden Pulkinen: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022.
  45. ^ "Camden Pulkinen: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023.
  46. ^ "Camden Pulkinen creates his 2024 Short Program w/ choreographer Marie-France Dubreuil at I.AM". YouTube. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  47. ^ Pulkinen, Camden. "Camden Pulkinen: 2024/25 FP". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  48. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "USA–Camden Pulkinen". SkatingScores.
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