Olympic ice dancers Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker will not compete this season, extending a break from competition that dates to last January.
“After taking some time to reflect over the last few months, we have made the tough decision to take a step back from competing for the remainder of the season and reevaluate our options for future seasons,” was posted on their social media accounts.
Hawayek, 27, and Baker, 30, withdrew before scheduled Grand Prix starts this past fall after they fell and Baker was concussed. Baker previously sustained concussions in 2015 and 2018.
“With transparency, this year has been full of ups and downs for us as a team,” was posted on their social media in October. “While the recovery is going well, if we have learned anything over the course of our career, it is that concussions are not an injury to rush the process of returning from. For that reason we are postponing our return to competition to foster the best recovery possible. Our passion to compete is still very much present, we have just had to be more patient than expected this past year.”
They missed last season’s national and world championships for physical and mental health reasons. Last February, Hawayek posted that she dealt with effects from a concussion sustained in the 2021-22 Olympic season.
The couple last competed at the December 2022 Grand Prix Final, placing fifth.
Hawayek and Baker earned bronze at every U.S. Championships in the 2019-22 Olympic cycle, then were 11th overall at the 2022 Olympics.