New Jersey's ice-dancing Reed siblings compete for two other countries

VANCOUVER, B.C. —

The roll call of the ice dancing Reed family of New Jersey stands out like a Johnny Weir costume.

There's Chris and Cathy Reed, ages 20 and 22, a brother-sister team competing for Japan. Their mother is Japanese and the family has long had dual citizenship.

Then there's little sister Allison, at 15 the youngest figure skater in the competition, competing for Georgia with dance partner Otar Japaridze.

All will compete in the ice dancing original dance program Sunday.

Though none is a contender — Chris and Cathy Reed are 18th after the compulsory competition Friday, and Allison Reed and Japaridze are 20th — reporters flock to them. Everyone, it seems, wants to hear their tale.

Allison was granted Georgian citizenship last month, then suddenly saw herself thrust into the periphery of the Olympics' greatest tragedy, the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. Reed is one of the seven Georgian athletes who went on with the competition following the death, walking in the Opening Ceremony on the night of the tragedy with a black arm band that they still wear.

She had never met Kumaritashvili but says the tragedy was still an emotional blow.

"We are basically here to carry on his Olympic dream as we compete," she said. "We had a broken heart for our teammate, but it was a great experience to be able to walk in the Opening Ceremonies and glad we could do that so we could remember Nodar and represent our country in the Olympics. So there were definitely some mixed feelings."

Reed barely made the Games' age guidelines by turning 15 in June, just a few weeks before the July 1 cutoff.

She only recently teamed with Japaridze, a 22-year-old Georgian who trains at the same rink in Mt. Laurel, N.J. They had met years earlier, and when each suddenly found themselves without a partner, they decided to compete together.

A 12th-place finish at an international competition in Germany in October qualified them for the Olympics — as long as she could get citizenship.

That allowed her to compete at the Olympics alongside her older siblings, who have competed since 2006 for Japan, winning three straight national titles. Chris and Cathy Reed list Warren, N.J., as their hometown, but say they plan to continue to compete for Japan.

Ice dancing is suddenly a strong sport for the United States, which has two teams in medal contention. Do the American flags catch the Reeds' eyes when they compete?

"I just pay more attention to Japanese flags because we're skating for Japan," Cathy Reed said.

Ice dancing is a sport in which teams can compete into their 30s, so the Reeds have time to become something more than a novelty at the Olympics.

They insist, however, they don't see their story as anything out of the ordinary.

"To be skating for different countries, it doesn't feel as weird as people might think," said Allison Reed.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com.