Zhao Hongbo is a Chinese retired pair skater. With his wife Shen Xue, Zhao is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, a three-time Four Continents Champion and a six-time Grand Prix Final champion.
Ingo Steuer is a German pair skater and skating coach. With Mandy Wötzel, he is the 1998 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1997 World champion, the 1995 European champion, and a four-time German national champion. As a coach, he led Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany to multiple world and European titles.
Robin Szolkowy is a retired German pair skater. With partner Aliona Savchenko, he is the 2010 and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, a five-time World champion, a four-time European champion, a four-time Grand Prix Final champion, and an eight-time German national champion.
Aljona Savchenko is a retired Ukrainian-born German pair skater. One of the most decorated pair skaters, she is the 2018 Olympic Champion and a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, a six-time World Champion, a four-time European Champion, and a five-time Grand Prix Final champion.
Maxim Leonidovich Trankov is a Russian pair skater. With Tatiana Volosozhar, he is a two-time 2014 Olympic champion in the pairs and in team events, the 2013 World champion, a four-time European champion, the 2012 Grand Prix Final champion, and a three-time Russian national champion. They have also won six events on the Grand Prix series.
Mari-Doris Vartmann is a German pair skater. With Ruben Blommaert, she won four ISU Challenger Series medals. With Aaron Van Cleave, she is the 2015 German national champion, the 2011 NRW Trophy champion, and 2010 Warsaw Cup champion.
Country changing is a phenomenon in the figure skating world in which skaters change the country they represent in competition. There are many different reasons why competitors switch countries, but it mostly comes down to maximizing the possibility of being able to compete at the World Figure Skating Championships and the Winter Olympic Games. A skater who cannot do that representing their home country often looks for another one. Because spots to Worlds and the Olympics are allotted by country, not by skater, a skater can hope to transfer to a new country and have a better chance of becoming national champion, being sent to Worlds, and qualifying for a spot in the Olympics.
Tatiana Andreyеvna Volosozhar is a Ukrainian-born Russian pair skater. With Maxim Trankov, she is the two-time 2014 Olympic champion in the pairs and in team events, the 2013 World champion, a four-time European champion, the 2012 Grand Prix Final champion, and a three-time Russian national champion. They have also won six events on the Grand Prix series.
Stefania Berton is an Italian competitive pair skater. With partner Ondřej Hotárek, she is the 2013 European bronze medalist, the 2013 Skate Canada International champion, and a three-time Italian national champion. Berton/Hotárek are the first Italian pair skaters to win European and Grand Prix medals.
Mark Pepperday is a British figure skating coach and former competitor. He is the 1977 World Junior silver medalist. His highest placement at the European Championships was 14th, in 1981, and his highest placement at the World Championships was 20th, in 1983.
Sarah Stefanie Hecken is a German retired figure skater. She is a four-time German national champion and has won twelve senior international medals, including six gold. She has placed as high as 11th at the World Championships. Her first international victory was at the 2007 Junior Grand Prix event in Germany.
The 2011 European Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition in the 2010–11 season. Skaters competed in the categories of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2012 World Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition in the 2011–12 season. The event determined the World Champions in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. It was held between March 26 and April 1 in Nice, France.
The 2012 European Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition in the 2011–12 season. The event determined the European Champions in men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The competition was held from 23 to 29 January 2012 in Sheffield, Great Britain.
The 2013 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2012–13 season. The competition was held from 23 to 27 January 2013 at the Dom Sportova in Zagreb, Croatia. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2010–11 figure skating season began on July 1, 2010, and ended on June 30, 2011. During this season, elite skaters competed on the ISU Championship level at the 2011 European, Four Continents, World Junior, and World Championships. They also competed in elite competitions such as the Grand Prix series and Junior Grand Prix series, culminating in the Grand Prix Final.
The 2014 World Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition held in Saitama, Japan, at the Saitama Super Arena from March 24 to 30. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event also determined the number of entries a country may send to the 2015 World Championships.
The 2012 Skate Canada International was the second event of six in the 2012–13 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario on October 26–28. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final.
Stéphane Walker is a Swiss figure skater. Competing in men's singles, he won ten international medals, including two on the ISU Challenger Series, and became a five-time Swiss national champion. He appeared in the final segment at seven ISU Championships. Competing in Ice Dance with former partner Arianna Wroblewska, he is a two-time Swiss national silver medalist. As of July 2021, he is competing with Jasmine Tessari. They are the 2022 Swiss national champions.
Giada Russo is an Italian figure skater. A two-time Italian national champion, she has won nine senior international medals and qualified for the free skate at two ISU Championships.
