Raffaele Francesco Zich

Last updated

Raffaele Francesco Zich
Born (2006-06-23) 23 June 2006 (age 19)
Hanoi, Vietnam
Hometown Turin, Italy
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7+12 in)
Figure skating career
CountryFlag of Italy.svg  Italy
Discipline Men's singles
Coach Stéphane Lambiel
Angelo Dolfini
Skating clubIce Club Torino
Began skating2009

Raffaele Francesco Zich (born 23 June 2006) is an Italian figure skater. He is the 2022 JGP Poland I bronze medalist and 2022 European Youth Olympic silver medalist.

Contents

Personal life

Zich was born 23 June 2006 in Hanoi, Vietnam, and resides in Turin, Italy. [1] His grandfather, Rodolfo Zich  [ it ], is the former rector of the Polytechnic University of Turin. [2]

Career

Early years

Zich began learning to skate in 2009. [1] He became interested in the sport after accompanying his sister, Eleonora, to the ice rink. [2] During his early years, he was coached by Claudia Masoero before eventually going on to train under Renata Lazzaroni and Edoardo De Bernadis at Ice Club Torino. [3] He competed for two seasons in the advanced novice category, winning the Italian novice men's title in March 2018. [4]

His junior international debut came in October 2019 at the 2019–20 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Egna, Italy, where he twenty-first. [4]

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of many international events in the 2020–21 season. In April 2021, Zich won the Italian junior national title. [5]

2021–22 season

Zich competed in both the junior and senior ranks, making his senior international debut in October at the 2022 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur. He finished fourth in the senior category in December at the 2022 Italian Championships. [6]

He was assigned to the 2022 World Junior Championships, which took place in April in Tallinn, Estonia. He was ranked fifteenth in the short and thirteenth in the free skate and finished fifteenth overall. [6]

2022–23 season

In October, Zich competed at consecutive 2022–23 ISU Junior Grand Prix events in Gdańsk, Poland. He won bronze at his first assignment and placed thirteenth the following week. [7] [6] Going on to compete on the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series, Zich placed eleventh at the 2022 CS Ice Challenge and fifteenth at the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup. [6]

In December, Zich placed sixth at the 2023 Italian Championships. He subsequently won the silver medal at the 2023 Sofia Trophy. Selected to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Zich finished the event in twenty-second place. [6]

2023–24 season

Zich started the season by winning gold on the junior level at the 2023 Latvia Trophy. He then went on to place fourth at the 2024 Italian Championships. [6]

Selected to compete at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Zich finished the event in sixth place. Two weeks following that event, Zich won the silver medal on the junior level at the 2024 Tallink Hotels Cup. He then finished the season by placing twenty-ninth at the 2024 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Taiwan. [6]

2024–25 season

Zich began the season by 2024 JGP Slovenia, where he finished in tenth place. Going on to compete at the 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy, Zich placed thirteenth at that event. The following month, he finished sixth at the 2025 Italian Championships. Selected to compete at the [6]

In late January, it was announced that Zich had left longtime coaches Renata Lazzaroni and Edoardo De Bernadis to train under Stéphane Lambiel and Angelo Dolfini in Champéry, Switzerland. [8] That same month, he competed at the 2025 Winter World University Games in Turin, Italy, where he placed thirteenth. He subsequently won the bronze medal at the 2025 Bavarian Open. [6]

Selected to compete at the 2025 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, Zich placed twenty-first. [6]

Programs

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2024–25
[9] [8]

2023–24
[10]
  • Autumn Moon
    by Eternal Eclipse
2022–23
[1]
2021–22
[11]
2019–20
[3]

Competitive highlights

Competition placements at senior level [6]
Season 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
Italian Championships 4th6th4th6th
CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 21st
CS Ice Challenge 19th11th
CS Lombardia Trophy TBD
CS Tallinn Trophy 13th
CS Warsaw Cup 18th15th
Daugava Open Cup2nd
Sofia Trophy 2nd
Trophée Métropole Nice 13th
Winter University Games 13th
Competition placements at junior level [6]
Season 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Winter Youth Olympics 6th
World Junior Championships 15th22nd29th21st
Italian Championships 6th1st
JGP Italy 21st
JGP Poland I 3rd
JGP Poland II 13th
JGP Slovenia 14th10th
Challenge Cup 7th
Egna Trophy 3rd
European Youth Olympic Festival 2nd
Golden Bear of Zagreb 6th
Latvia Trophy 1st
NRW Trophy 2nd
Skate Celje 2nd
Sofia Trophy 6th
Tallink Hotels Cup 2nd

Detailed results

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [6]
SegmentTypeScoreEvent
TotalTSS200.73 2022 JGP Poland I
Short program TSS70.022022 JGP Poland I
TES36.112022 JGP Poland I
PCS34.912022 JGP Poland I
Free skating TSS131.53 2022 CS Ice Challenge
TES63.66 2022 CS Warsaw Cup
PCS72.102022 JGP Poland I

Senior level

Results in the 2021–22 season [6]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Oct 20–24, 2021 Flag of France.svg 2021 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur 1158.2515100.1713158.42
Nov 11–14, 2021 Flag of Austria.svg 2021 CS Cup of Austria 1764.6919118.3519183.04
Nov 17–20, 2021 Flag of Poland.svg 2021 CS Warsaw Cup 2361.9616127.5718189.53
Dec 4–5, 2021 Flag of Italy.svg 2022 Italian Championships 463.724134.234197.95
Dec 7–11, 2021 Flag of Croatia.svg 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 1964.2122120.9721185.18
Results in the 2022–23 season [6]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Nov 9–13, 2022 Flag of Austria.svg 2022 CS Ice Challenge 1061.9010131.5311193.43
Nov 17–20, 2022 Flag of Poland.svg 2022 CS Warsaw Cup 1862.2013128.4315190.63
Dec 15–18, 2022 Flag of Italy.svg 2023 Italian Championships 662.926104.686167.60
Feb 3–7, 2023 Flag of Bulgaria.svg 2023 Sofia Trophy 171.362125.602196.96
Results in the 2023–24 season [6]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Dec 22–23, 2023 Flag of Italy.svg 2024 Italian Championships 467.394128.214195.60
Results in the 2024-25 season [6]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Nov 11-17, 2024 Flag of Estonia.svg 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy 1264.7313124.6913189.42
Dec 19–21, 2024 Flag of Italy.svg 2025 Italian Championships 673.626120.326193.94
Jan 16–18, 2025 Flag of Italy.svg 2025 Winter World University Games 969.6612129.5013199.16
March 14-16, 2025 Flag of Latvia.svg 2025 Daugava Open Cup171.922115.622187.54

Junior level

Results in the 2019–20 season [6]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Oct 2–5, 2019 Flag of Italy.svg 2019 JGP Italy 2145.562182.9921128.55
Oct 24–27, 2019 Flag of Croatia.svg 2019 Golden Bear of Zagreb 446.55661.966108.51
Nov 22–24, 2019 Flag of Slovenia.svg 2019 Skate Celje 148.67389.712138.38
Dec 12–15, 2019 Flag of Italy.svg 2020 Italian Championships (Junior) 547.55681.176128.72
Feb 12–18, 2020 Flag of Bulgaria.svg 2020 Sofia Trophy 550.87688.596139.46
Feb 20–23, 2020 Flag of the Netherlands.svg 2020 International Challenge Cup 753.22796.927150.14
Results in the 2020–21 season [6]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Apr 9–11, 2021 Flag of Italy.svg 2021 Italian Championships (Junior) 254.211123.271177.48
Apr 29 – May 2, 2021 Flag of Italy.svg 2021 Egna Spring Trophy 263.663111.303174.96
Results in the 2021–22 season [6]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Sep 22–25, 2021 Flag of Slovenia.svg 2021 JGP Slovenia 1546.161187.3614133.52
Nov 4–7, 2021 Flag of Germany.svg 2021 NRW Trophy 256.912104.922161.83
Mar 20–25, 2022 Flag of Finland.svg 2022 European Youth Olympic Festival 269.083118.752187.83
Apr 13–17, 2022 Flag of Estonia.svg 2022 World Junior Championships 1565.1913130.1515195.34
Results in the 2022–23 season [6]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Sep 28 – Oct 1, 2022 Flag of Poland.svg 2022 JGP Poland I 370.025130.713200.84
Oct 5–8, 2022 Flag of Poland.svg 2022 JGP Poland II 1851.856119.3713171.22
Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2023 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 2023 World Junior Championships 1862.4822102.7122165.19
Results in the 2023–24 season [6]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Dec 8–10, 2023 Flag of Latvia.svg 2023 Latvia Trophy 171.571125.161196.73
Jan 27 – Feb 1, 2024 Flag of South Korea.svg 2024 Winter Youth Olympics 666.057123.796189.84
Feb 15–18, 2024 Flag of Estonia.svg 2024 Tallink Hotels Cup 177.592133.792211.38
Feb 26 – Mar 3, 2024 Flag of the Republic of China.svg 2024 World Junior Championships 2959.482959.48
Results in the 2024-25 season [6]
DateEvent SP FS Total
PScorePScorePScore
Oct 2-5, 2024 Flag of Slovenia.svg 2024 JGP Slovenia 1164.679125.0210189.69
Feb 25 – Mar 2, 2025 Flag of Hungary.svg 2025 World Junior Championships 1369.532397.4621166.99

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Raffaele Francesco ZICH: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 9 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 Mecca, Giorgia (7 October 2022). "L'ex rettore Rodolfo Zich e il nipote campione di pattinaggio: "Studiava con me. Al PalaVela"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 7 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Raffaele Francesco ZICH: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Raffaele ZICH". rinkresults.com.
  5. "Competition Results: Raffaele Francesco ZICH". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 "ITA–Raffaele Francesco Zich". SkatingScores.
  7. Ormezzano, Timothy (2 October 2022). "Zich porta Torino sul podio mondiale con un record". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2 October 2022.
  8. 1 2 "Raffaele Francesco ZICH: 2024/2025 (2nd FP)". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 March 2025.
  9. "Raffaele Francesco ZICH: 2024/2025 (1st FP)". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024.
  10. "Raffaele Francesco ZICH: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 9 March 2024.
  11. "Raffaele Francesco ZICH: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022.