Bortz Wins Junior Women’s Crown : She Uses a Rare Triple Jump to Sway U. S. Ice Judges

Cindy Bortz appears to be the little kid next door with the bright smile, the winning manner and the cute laugh. She’s not the ordinary neighbor, though. Unless, of course, your neighbors are national champions.

Bortz won the junior women’s crown Friday at the National Figure Skating Championship at Nassau Coliseum. The petite 14-year-old from Tarzana strung together a pair of strong, creative performances in the short and long programs to capture her first national crown.

“Last year I came in second in novice,” she said. “I was close. Now I’m real happy. It wasn’t my best but I thought it would be good enough.”

She was right. Bortz fell early in her routine while attempting a triple jump. It took her a little while to recover, but the second half of her program was scintillating. She even landed a triple lutz, one of the most difficult jumps. Officials with the U.S. Figure Skating Association said they believed Bortz was the first junior woman to successfully complete a triple lutz in the Nationals.

“I don’t know if that’s true but I hope so,” said Bortz.

“I missed that one thing at the beginning of the program. But then I think I skated pretty well.”

Bortz, who needs to grow a few inches to approach 5 feet, looks slightly younger than 14. But Bortz, who skates five hours a day, balancing her morning workouts with afternoon classes at Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, carries herself with confidence on the ice and with a disarming charm off it. When asked if she would consent to an interview, she replied, “Can my mother do it instead?”

Bortz was second in the novice group at the Nationals last year. She immediately moved into juniors and won the Southwest Pacific Regional to get here.

“She improved so much, from ninth last year after the figures to fifth this year,” said Wendy Halber Olson, who has coached Bortz since the preliminary level. “If she skated a good short and long program, we thought she could win.”

Bortz said: “I came in second (overall) after the short program, and I thought what I did tonight would be good enough.”