The teens have learned to be patient with peers as they describe the sport that’s taken them to national and world competitions as a pair.

No, it’s not ice skating, though they perform many of the same figure-skating moves. And it’s certainly not roller derby, though they do glide around on roller skates. Keaton Mitchell and Esha Harwalkar are national champions in artistic competitive roller skating. They’re one of just few junior pairs in the entire United States, at that.

“You have to explain that it’s exactly what ice skaters do,” Esha said.

“Just on roller skates,” Keaton said.

The teens, who skate in unison, have a habit of finishing each other’s sentences. They often walk in sync, falling in step without any conscious effort. Those are quirks acquired, perhaps, through five-plus years of training together. Before a world championship, you can find them at Lynnwood Bowl and Skate, practicing six times per week, for three to four hours at a stretch.

“They’re two people, but they start becoming one, which is exactly what you want in a pairs team,” said their coach, Anna Carrier Barnett.

Keaton, 15, who lives in Lynnwood, is a sophomore at Archbishop Murphy High School. Quick to laugh and poke fun at himself, he enjoys drawing and music.

Esha, 16, is a junior at Interlake High School in Bellevue, where she’s captain of the cheer squad. Poised and academically focused, she’s active in the business club DECA.

When they don their skates, it’s pure artistry on eight wheels.

Among their favorite moves is the “death spiral,” in which the female skater is spun upside down, practically on the rink surface.

“It’s so close, that her hair actually does graze the floor,” Carrier Barnett said.

Other moves in their repertoire put Esha high in the air. In a lift called the Militano, she doesn’t flinch as her head comes within inches of lighting fixtures on the rink ceiling.

The grace comes from dedication. It’s not automatic. They’ve had to put social lives on hold for the rigors of training.

“I have a low pain tolerance, but you’ve got to deal with it,” Keaton said.

“Some falls hurt more than others,” Esha said.

They took gold as a junior pair this summer in the U.S. national championships in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In October, they traveled to the Artistic Skating World Championships in Novara, Italy. They fell just short of the medals platform, but they did bring back a wealth of inspiration.

“Our trip to Italy was just mind-expanding to see the level of competition,” said Keaton’s father, Dan Mitchell. “I think it really opened the kids’ eyes as to what they need to strive for.”

Mitchell said his son’s interest in the sport started at age 9, after a birthday party.

“Similar to a lot of kids, he went to a birthday party. He said, ‘I like this,’ ” Dan Mitchell said. “This is his passion. This is what he excels at.”

Lessons at the skating rink followed soon afterward. The Lynnwood Expressions Artistic Skating Club brought the pair together.

Esha and Keaton have enjoyed support from their families as well as from coaches, who are elite skaters in their own right.

Carrier Barnett is a former freestyle singles world champion. Their assistant coach, Kylee Berger, is a former U.S. champion. Berger also has represented the United States in world competitions in pairs and freestyle.

Their recent trip abroad attracted outside help. World renowned Italian skater Danilo Decembrini took notice of the young Americans and offered to assist with coaching. He flew out to work with them this week.

Italy, for now, is the world powerhouse in artistic roller skating. The sport has a huge following throughout Europe and South America.

“Italy is the dominant force in pairs, worldwide. They’ve had that domination for at least 12 to 15 years,” said Bill Spooner, president of USA Roller Sports, the governing body for artistic competitive roller skating and other roller sports. “But in years preceding that, the United States was the dominant force for about 15 years.”

Spooner said pairs roller skating requires tremendous work to develop not only individual skills, but those of a team. That helps explain why there are so few high-level competitors. Of the nine national regions for the sport, some might not produce a qualifying junior pair.

“Pairs is very difficult to do because you have to act as one unit, just like in ice skating,” he said.

Spooner said Keaton and Esha have enormous potential, if they stay on their current path.

“I’m very impressed with that team, which is why I’m convinced they’ll be a team of the future,” he said. “They’re very nice, polite, respectful young people. That doesn’t happen by accident.”

In Lynnwood, the training continues. Keaton and Esha are striving to skate clean programs, where they complete every element without any falls. Keaton has been hitting the weight room to bulk up his thin frame and his former “spaghetti arms” so he can lift his partner more easily.

They aim to compete in next year’s Roller Games in Nanjing, China, a world championship featuring a variety of roller sports.

Keaton let out a good-natured laugh as he talked of their ambitions.

“Go big or go home,” he said.