Keindel Walny competes for United States

Keindel Walny wakes up every morning to flags hanging in her bedroom.  

She’s not just a high school student who loves geography. These flags represent the 25 countries Walny, 17, has competed against with her synchronized figure skating team.  

Walny, a Wisconsin native, is an 11th grade student at the University School of Milwaukee and the only Jewish girl on her synchronized figure skating team. After representing the United States in competitions in the United Kingdom and France last year, Walny and her team, the Fond du Lac Blades, are preparing to compete in Poland and the Netherlands in January.  

“I’ve been at the ice rink since I was born, basically,” Walny said. “I have a brother who played hockey and cousins who figure skated, so I was in rinks all the time. I enjoyed watching figure skating, and I decided I wanted to try it. My mom took me to a public skating session one day and had me chasing her around the rink, and I never wanted to leave.” 

Walny started skating regularly at age 7. Since then, she said has spent most of her days either on the ice or training. “I have really had to learn how to manage what it means to go traveling for skating, and also balance doing my homework and catching up on tests and managing my friends,” Walny said.  

Last year at the Britannia Cup in the UK, Walny’s team took second place, with the first and third place winners also being from the US. “It was really exciting,” Walny said, “All three of us stood together. Getting to line up with 60 American flags together is a feeling I’ll never know how to describe.” 

At the French Cup in France, Walny and her team were cheered on by excited onlookers, “school kids waiting for us in the bleachers, just to get our signatures or a hug. They waited for a high five, even,” Walny said. 

This past year, Walny was home for Chanukah, but for many years growing up, Walny spent Chanukah in hotel lobbies with the one other Jewish girl on her team at the time. Now, Walny is the only Jewish girl on her team, something she embraces. “I’m so proud to be in the position I’m in. I’m proud to be Jewish,” Walny said.  

“During Covid I had my bat mitzvah when I was on a brand-new team, and my teammates were able to show up for me on Zoom,” Walny said. When she’s not skating, Walny enjoys participating in BBYO and CTeen events. 

In January, Walny’s team will be competing back-to-back in Poland and the Netherlands, where Walny and her team will be visiting the Anne Frank House. Walny helped her coach convince her teammates that it was important to visit the historical home. “We sat down together and said ‘do you want to go look at murals? Yeah, of course. But think about it. Do you want to learn about the history of your teammates?’ Now, we all want to go. We all are excited to go.” 

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