ISU

When a top skater comes out of retirement it is always an interesting story. And it is even more interesting when two top skaters come back and team up – which is what Pair Skaters Vanessa James and Eric Radford did. She is the 2019 European Champion and 2018 World bronze medalist with her former partner Morgan Ciprès, competing for France. He is a two-time World Champion, 2018 Olympic bronze medalist and Olympic Team Champion with Meagan Duhamel, representing Canada. He retired in 2018, her career with Ciprès ended in 2019, but in 2021 they decided to come back. Together.

Traditionally, Japan is boasting a deep field in Single Skating, just think of superstars like two-time Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu or of Olympic silver medalist Mao Asada. However, Pair Skating and Ice Dance are growing as well in the country of the rising sun and Japan has a realistic medal chance in the team event at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Japanese skating stars are going where no man has gone before.

Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron of France needed only one season to soar to the top of the Ice Dance World back in 2014/15. They are France’s hope for an Olympic gold medal in Figure Skating in Beijing and want to crown their career with this medal that eluded them in 2018 when they came a close second to Tessa Virtue/ Scott Moir (CAN). France will also be represented in the Men’s event with two entries, most likely Kevin Aymoz and Adam Siao Him Fa.

Russia’s rising star Kamila Valieva reigned supreme in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series this season. Not only did the 15-year-old prodigy win her two events Skate Canada International and Rostelecom Cup in her international senior-level debut season, but she kept pushing the highest score since the Challenger event Finlandia Trophy. The 2020 ISU World Junior Champion now holds the highest score for the Women’s Short Program (87.42 points), the Free Skating (185.29 points) and total score (272.71 points) – all set at Rostelecom Cup.

Shoma Uno of Japan will be only 24 on December 17, but he has competed in five ISU World Championships as well as in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, where he won the silver medal. He collected silver as well at the ISU World Championships 2017 and 2018 plus in the ISU Grand Prix Final the same years.

Her love for Figure Skating ended in so much hate that she threw her skates out of the window. But now she is back on the ice, and loving it again. Slovakia’s Nicole Rajicova has overcome serious challenges – and now she has a message to share.

Eight months, it turns out, is a long time in Figure Skating. Back in the middle of 2020 Laura Barquero and Marco Zandron were so far from performing at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games it barely registered on their radars.

Japan’s Ice Dancers Misato Komatsubara/Tim Koleto have taken two huge steps towards their Olympic dream: They qualified a quota place for their country at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 in Stockholm (SWE) in March by placing 19th and American-born Koleto has received Japanese citizenship. The season had its challenges for the husband-and-wife-team as they were unable to return to their training base in Montréal (CAN) because of travel restrictions. Instead, they trained at home in Japan and in Colorado Springs, where Tim is originally from.

Austria’s top Figure Skating Pair Miriam Ziegler and Severin Kiefer are so at ease with their build-up to the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games they have offered a helping hand to their rivals.

Sweden’s Nikolaj Majorov debuted at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 in Stockholm (SWE) and not only competed in the final Free Skating but also secured an Olympic quota spot for his home country by finishing 23rd. Now the Skater, who turned 21 on August 18, is getting ready for the Olympic season and has some news to share. “Life is going good! The Majorov family moved after 30 years in Luleå to a new place called Norrköping with new opportunities,” he said.

The plan is simple for Figure Skater Satoko Miyahara as she eyes up the most important season of her already glittering career: go out and enjoy every moment.

In Focus is back for a brand new season! Kicked off by the biggest stars of tomorrow, with the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating - Courchevel 1 (FRA), In Focus will offer some of the best pictures of the events. Check out the ones from this weekend. 

Italy’s Daniel Grassl had a few ups and downs in the past season and now prepares to enter outer space in the Olympic year.

You can see quite a few bi-national Ice Dance and Pair Skating couples in the world of Figure Skating, however, Russian Ice Dancers Tiffani Zagorski/Jonathan Guerreiro probably set the record when it comes to a multi-national background: Tiffani is originally British, then first moved to France to train and compete before coming to Russia. Jonathan’s mother is Russian and his father is Portuguese, but he was born in Australia as his parents were working there. He then moved with his family to Russia to pursue his skating career. So that makes five countries: Russia, Great Britain, France, Australia and Portugal. “I think with the two of us combined you don't get more nationalities,” Zagorski joked. “If you count backgrounds, you've got also Polish and Irish.”

Like most Skaters, Jason Brown (USA) looks back at a strange and challenging season, but now he is gearing up for an exciting Olympic year. “As skaters and athletes we are just so used to the schedule and the predictability of the routine of what we do”, the 26-year-old said.