Samuel Contesti
Contesti at the 2009 European Championships.
Born (1983-03-04) 4 March 1983 (age 40)
Le Havre, France
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
CountryItaly
Skating clubCourmayeur SC
Began skating1987
RetiredJune 15, 2012
Medal record
Representing  Italy
Figure skating: Men's singles
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2009 Helsinki Men's singles

Samuel Contesti (born 4 March 1983) is a French-Italian former competitive figure skater. He originally competed for France, then switched to Italy after the 2006–07 season. He is the 2009 European silver medalist and a five-time Italian national champion (2008–12).

Personal life

Samuel Contesti's father, Yves, was a professional football player in Ligue 1.[1] He has two older sisters.

Contesti married Geraldine Zulini in February 2007 and their son, Ennio, was born in June 2009.[1] Their second child was born in 2012.[2][3]

Career

Contesti initially competed for France, placing ninth at the 2005 European Championships and 26th at Worlds the same year. The next season, he placed 5th at Trophée Eric Bompard and 2nd at French Nationals but did not compete at Europeans or Worlds. In autumn 2006, Contesti was assigned to compete at Skate America, however, the French skating federation decided to withdraw his name.[1] In 2007, he won bronze at French Nationals.

Having married an Italian,[4] Contesti began competing for Italy in March 2008.[1] In spring of 2008, he moved to Courmayeur, Italy.[1] By capturing silver at the 2009 European Championships, Contesti became the first male single skater to win a medal for Italy at the event in 55 years, since Carlo Fassi's gold in 1954.[4] At the 2009 World Championships, Contesti placed 5th, his career-best finish at the event.

Contesti confirmed his retirement from competition on 15 June 2012.[5][6]

Programs

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2011–12
[7][8]
  • Au son de gitare
    by Antoine Bonelli
  • Tarantella Napoletana
    by Linguini Brothers
2010–11
[9]
  • Sikuriadas
    by Panpipes of the Andes
  • Wara Bolivian
  • Cacharapaya
    by Panpipes of the Andes
2009–10
[10]
2008–09
[11]
  • Once Upon a Time in the West
  • Cotton-Eyed Joe
2007–08
  • Homevid
    by Riccardo Cervelli
2006–07
[12]
2005–06
[13]
  • Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
2004–05
[14]
2003–04
  • Summer of '42
  • Le jour d'avant
    by Yann Tiersen

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

For Italy

International[15]
Event 07–08 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12
Olympics 18th
Worlds 5th 7th 18th 10th
Europeans 2nd 5th 6th 7th
GP Cup of China 4th 6th
GP Cup of Russia 4th
GP NHK Trophy 4th
GP Skate America 8th
GP Skate Canada 5th
Challenge Cup 2nd 1st 3rd
Finlandia Trophy 3rd
Golden Spin 2nd
Mont Blanc Trophy 1st 1st
Nepela Memorial 3rd
NRW Trophy 2nd 2nd 4th 1st
Schäfer Memorial 2nd
National[15]
Italian Champ. 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Team events
World Team Trophy 6th T
(9th P)
Japan Open 1st T
(5th P)
T = Team result; P = Personal result; Medals awarded for team result only.

For France

International[15]
Event 01–02 02–03 03–04 04–05 05–06 06–07
Worlds 26th
Europeans 9th
GP Bompard 9th 5th
Bofrost Cup on Ice 4th
Copenhagen Trophy 1st
Crystal Skate 3rd
Gardena 3rd
Schäfer Memorial 5th
National[15]
French Champ. 11th 6th 3rd 2nd 3rd

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Flade, Tatjana (26 July 2009). "Sweet Revenge". GoldenSkate.com. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  2. ^ Paret, Sylvain (1 October 2012). "La nouvelle vie de Samuel Contesti" [Samuel Contesti's new life]. Le Dauphiné (in French).
  3. ^ Castellaro, Barbara (13 January 2014). "Samuel Contesti: le vittorie del silenzio" [Samuel Contesti interview]. ArtOnIce.it (in Italian).
  4. ^ a b Mittan, Barry (24 September 2009). "Contesti Contends in Championships". SkateToday. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  5. ^ Buongiovanni, Andrea (15 June 2012). "Contesti, la parabola Dall'argento europeo a un addio inatteso" [Contesti, European silver medalist, retires unexpectedly]. Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Five-time Italian champ Contesti hangs up skates". Icenetwork. 18 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Samuel CONTESTI: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012.
  8. ^ "Samuel CONTESTI: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011.
  9. ^ "Samuel CONTESTI: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011.
  10. ^ "Samuel CONTESTI: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010.
  11. ^ "Samuel CONTESTI: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009.
  12. ^ "Samuel CONTESTI: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007.
  13. ^ "Samuel CONTESTI: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 15 June 2006.
  14. ^ "Samuel CONTESTI: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 6 February 2005.
  15. ^ a b c d "Competition Results: Samuel CONTESTI". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012.

External links

Media related to Samuel Contesti at Wikimedia Commons

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