Derek Trent (born March 21, 1980) is an American former competitive pair skater. He competed for most of his career with Tiffany Vise. On November 17, 2007, Vise and Trent landed the first clean throw quadruple salchow jump in international competition.[1] They officially became the first team to perform that element in international competition.[2][3]
Because Vise spun and jumped in the clockwise direction and Trent in the counter-clockwise direction. They were a mirror pair.
Trent teamed up with Tiffany Vise in July 2003.[4][6] They had skated for years at the same rink and her partnership had ended at the same time. Because they were both partnerless, they tried out together, despite the fact that they rotate in opposite directions. Very few teams at the highest level rotate in opposite directions because it makes elements like pair spins and twists much more difficult, due to the fact that one partner will have to "force" themself to rotate in the "wrong" direction in order to complete the element (Vise spun his way on twist lifts). They represented the Broadmoor Skating Club.
Vise/Trent won the bronze medal at their first major event together, the 2003 Golden Spin of Zagreb. Beginning in the 2006–2007 season, Vise/Trent began attempting a throw quadruple salchow jump in competition. At the 2006 Skate Canada International, they were credited with fully rotating the element but not with landing it successfully.[7]
Vise/Trent began the 2007–2008 season at the 2007 Skate Canada, where they placed 5th. During the free skate at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard, they became the first-ever pair to successfully execute a throw quad salchow in an international competition.[3][2] They won the pewter medal at the 2008 U.S. Championships and were sent to the 2008 Four Continents, where they placed 8th.