Lorraine McNamara was born February 18, 1999, in Washington, D.C.[1] She has four brothers and one sister.[2] She attended Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac, Maryland.[3]
Career
On the ice from age two and a half, McNamara began training under Elena Novak and Alexei Kiliakov at the Wheaton Ice Dance Academy as a young child.[2][4] She teamed up with her first ice dancing partner when she was six and skated with him for five months.[5]
McNamara/Carpenter became age-eligible for junior internationals. In August 2012, they finished sixth in their Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut in Courchevel, France. They placed fourth the following month at their second JGP assignment in Istanbul, Turkey. After winning the junior bronze medal at the U.S. Championships, McNamara/Carpenter were assigned to the World Junior Championships in Milan. They placed 8th in the short dance, 11th in the free dance, and 9th overall in Italy.
2013–2014 season
McNamara/Carpenter won their first international medals during the 2013–14 JGP series, taking silver in Riga, Latvia, and then gold in Minsk, Belarus. Their results qualified them to the JGP Final in Fukuoka, Japan, where they won the bronze medal. The duo won the junior silver medal at the 2014 U.S. Championships and finished fourth at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, after placing third in the short dance and fifth in the free dance.
McNamara/Carpenter won gold at both of their 2015–16 JGP assignments, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Toruń, Poland. In December 2015, they were awarded gold at the 2015–16 JGP Final,[8] outscoring silver medalists Alla Loboda / Pavel Drozd by over eight points. In January 2016, they won their second national junior title, finishing ahead of Rachel Parsons / Michael Parsons by 4.58 points. In March, they competed at the World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Ranked second in the short dance and first in the free dance, McNamara/Carpenter won the gold medal by a margin of 0.91 over the Parsons.[9]
Competing in what would be their final Junior World Championships, they placed seventh in the short dance after receiving only a Level 1 on their step sequence. Carpenter had trouble with her twizzles in the free dance, placing them sixth in that segment and remaining in seventh place overall.[10]
2017–2018 season
Making their senior international debut, McNamara/Carpenter won the Lake Placid Ice Dance International. Initially assigned to two Challenger series events, they placed fifth at the 2017 CS Autumn Classic International and eighth at the 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy. They then made their Grand Prix debut, placing fifth at the 2017 Cup of China. Reflecting on the transition to the senior ranks, Carpenter remarked, "we knew we didn't have anything to lose, so we threw out our very best. We will use the experience of getting here and build off of it."[11] Following the Grand Prix, they competed at a third Challenger and won the silver medal at the 2017 CS Warsaw Cup.
Competing as seniors domestically, they placed sixth at the 2018 U.S. Championships. As the top three American teams were assigned to the Olympic team, McNamara/Carpenter were sent to the 2018 Four Continents Championships in Taipei. McNamara/Carpenter placed fourth in Taipei, of which McNamara said, "I think it went exactly the way we wanted, two strong, clean skates. I think it’s a good debut for us."[12]
McNamara/Carpenter placed sixth at the 2020 U.S. Championships.[18] This proved to be their final competitive appearance, as Carpenter announced his retirement from ice dance on April 16, 2020. McNamara said she would seek to continue skating with a new partner.[19]
2020–2021 season
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic greatly complicated McNamara's search for a new partner, given the restrictions on both travel and the use of training facilities. Upon seeking to arrange a rink tryout with Anton Spiridonov in June 2020, she would later note that "phone calls needed to be made so it would be open just for us, and we needed to enter through the back door."[20] On July 3, the two announced that they had formed a partnership.[21]
McNamara/Spiridonov entered their third season together with the personal goal of reaching the four-team podium at the national championships.[20] After winning gold at the Ice Dance International, the team appeared at two Challenger events, winning the bronze at the 2022 CS U.S. Classic before coming fifth at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. They also appeared at the Santa Claus Cup, winning a bronze medal.[25]
In advance of the national championships, McNamara/Spiridonov were named to the American team for the 2023 Winter World University Games, held that year in Lake Placid. They won the rhythm dance, but in the free dance the French team Dupayage/Nabais overtook them, and McNamara/Spiridonov won the silver medal.[26] They finished sixth at the 2023 U.S. Championships.[25]