Noah Lafornara

Last updated
Noah Lafornara
Full nameNoah Elias Lafornara
Born (2004-12-02) 2 December 2004 (age 19)
Buffalo, New York, U.S.A.
Hometown Milan, Italy
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Figure skating career
CountryFlag of Italy.svg  Italy (2023–present)
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States (until 2023)
Discipline Ice dance
Partner Noemi Tali (2023–present)
Romy Malcolm (2020–2023)
Gabriela Hernandez (until 2020)
CoachValter Rizzo
Brunhilde Bianchi
Denis Petukhov
Melissa Gregory
Skating clubIcelab Bergamo
Began skating2008

Noah Elias Lafornara (born 2 December 2004) is an American ice dancer who currently competes for Italy. With his current skating partner, Noemi Tali, he is the 2024 JGP Latvia champion, the 2024 JGP Thailand champion, and the 2024 Italian junior national champion.

Contents

Personal life

Lafornara was born on 2 December 2004 in Buffalo, New York to parents Jeannie and Tony. He has two brothers, Anthony and Nicholas. [1]

Career

Early years

Lafornara began learning how to skate in 2008. He was introduced to the sport by his mother, a figure skating coach, and initially began as a freestyle skater. [2] He began testing pattern dances at first as a way to improve his skills as a singles skater, but eventually chose to transition to ice dance full time. He had a short-lived early dance partnership with Gabriela Hernandez, with whom he placed 10th in the novice category at the 2019 U.S. Ice Dance Final.

Lafornara teamed up with Canadian skater Romy Malcolm in February 2020 after their respective coaches met at the 2020 Bavarian Open and suggested the two try out together. [2] However, their training was quickly put on hold due to COVID-19-related lockdown policies, and the pair trained separately from March to September of that year. Due to insufficient practice time, the team and their coaches made the decision to sit out the 2020–21 competitive season.

Malcolm/Lafornara made their competitive debut in 2021 in the U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series, the qualifying events to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. They earned a slot in the junior ice dance category at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where they finished 6th. The team received an Junior Grand Prix assignment early the following season, the 2022 JGP Poland where they placed 9th. The event would be their last competition together as Malcolm and Lafornara chose to dissolve their partnership not long after.

2023–24 season: Debut of Tali/Lafornara

After several months without a skating partner, Lafornara was offered a tryout with Italian skater Noemi Tali, who'd ended her partnership with Stefano Frasca not long after the 2023 Junior World Championships. The two agreed to team up for Italy in March 2023 after just two days of skating together, and made the decision to split their training between Tali's coaches, Valter Rizzo and Brunhilde Bianchi in Milan during the competitive season, and Lafornara's coaches, Denis Petukhov and Melissa Gregory in Connecticut during the off-season. [3]

Tali/Lafornara made their international junior debut in October 2023 at the 2023 JGP Armenia. There they won the bronze medal, finishing behind Israeli skaters Elizabeth Tkachenko / Alexei Kiliakov and U.S. sibling team Elliana Peal / Ethan Peal. While the team did not receive a second JGP assignment, their success continued with podium placements at three international junior B events over the course of October and November. At the 2024 Italian Figure Skating Championships in December, Tali/Lafornara took the junior dance title handily over Beatrice Ventura / Stefano Frasca and Vittoria Petracchi / Daniel Basile.

Due to their success at the national championships, Tali/Lafornara were assigned to compete at the 2024 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in February 2024. At Junior Worlds, the team placed fourth in the rhythm dance, but fell to ninth in the free dance to finish seventh overall.

2024–25 season

Tali/Lafornara opened their second season together with a win at the 2024 JGP Latvia over U.S. siblings Caroline Mullen / Brendan Mullen and 2024 Junior World bronze medalists Darya Grimm / Michail Savitskiy. At their second JGP assignment, the 2024 JGP Thailand, Tali/Lafornara again took the title, this time ahead of two American teams, Hana Maria Aboian / Daniil Veselukhin and Elliana Peal / Ethan Peal. With their two wins in hand, Tali/Lafornara became the first ice dance team to qualify to the 2024–25 Junior Grand Prix Final.

Programs

With Tali

Season Rhythm dance Free dance
2024–2025
[4]
2023–2024
[5]

With Malcolm

Season Rhythm dance Free dance
2022–2023
[6]
  • Epilogue: You and I/The Story of Chess
    (from Chess )
    performed by Elaine Paige and Tommy Körberg
    choreo. by Melissa Gregory, Denis Petukhov, and Enio Cordoba

Competitive highlights

JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Tali for Italy

International: Junior [7]
Event 2023–24 2024–25
Junior Worlds 7th
JGP Final TBD
JGP Armenia 3rd
JGP Latvia 1st
JGP Thailand 1st
Bavarian Open 5th
Egna Dance Trophy 1st
Mezzaluna Cup 3rd
NRW Trophy 1st
Pavel Roman Memorial 2nd
National [7]
Italian Championship 1st J
TBD = Assigned, WD = Withdrew
Levels: J = Junior

With Malcolm for the United States

International: Junior [8]
Event 2021–22 2022–23
JGP Poland 9th
National
U.S. Championship 6th J

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References

  1. ↑ "2022–23 Figure Skating Roster: Romy Malcolm and Noah Lafornara". U.S. Figure Skating . Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  2. 1 2 Calder, Anne (17 September 2022). "New Team Series: Romy Malcolm & Noah Lafornara". Ice-Dance.com.
  3. ↑ "New Team Series: Noemi Tali & Noah Lafornara". Ice-Dance.com. 12 August 2024.
  4. ↑ "Noemi Maria TALI / Noah LAFORNARA: 2024/2025". International Skating Union . Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  5. ↑ "Noemi Maria TALI / Noah LAFORNARA: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 6 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "Romy MALCOLM / Noah LAFORNARA: 2022/2023". International Skating Union . Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Noemi Maria TALI / Noah LAFORNARA: Competition Results". International Skating Union . Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  8. ↑ "Romy MALCOLM / Noah LAFORNARA: Competition Results". International Skating Union . Retrieved 18 September 2024.
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