Luc Maierhofer (born 24 May 2002) is an Austrian figure skater who currently competes in the pairs discipline with Gabriella Izzo. Together, they are the 2024 Ice Challenge champions.
| Luc Maierhofer | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Maierhofer at the 2019 World Junior Championships | |||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 May 2002 Vienna, Austria | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||
| Country |  Austria | ||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Pair skating (since 2022) Men's singles (2015–23) | ||||||||||||||
| Partner | Gabriella Izzo (since 2024) Giorgia Ghedini (2022–23) | ||||||||||||||
| Coach | Severin Kiefer Aleksey Letov Olga Ganicheva | ||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Eissport Klub Engelmann | ||||||||||||||
| Began skating | 2008 | ||||||||||||||
| Medal record | |||||||||||||||
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With previous partner, Giorgia Ghedini, he is the 2023 Austrian junior national champions.
As a singles skater, he is the 2019 Golden Bear of Zagreb silver medalist and the 2022 Austrian national champion. On the junior level, he is the 2016 Dragon Trophy champion, the 2016 Skate Helena silver medalist, and a two-time Austrian junior national champion (2016, 2019).
Personal life
editMaierhofer was born 24 May 2002 in Vienna, Austria. His brother, Johannes Maierhofer, and half-sister Belinda Schönberger have also competed in figure skating.[1] He is currently a student at the University of Innsbruck.[2]
Career
editSingles skating career
editEarly career
editMaierhofer began learning to skate in 2008.[1] Early in his career, he was coached by Sergei Gromov.[3] He competed in the advanced novice ranks from autumn 2012 through March 2015.[4]
2015–2016 season
editCoached by Julia Lavrenchuk in Vienna, Maierhofer made his junior international debut on the 2015–16 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, finishing sixteenth at 2015 JGP Slovakia and eleventh at 2015 JGP Austria.[5]
In December, Maierhofer won his first junior national title at the 2016 Austrian Championships. He went on to win silver at 2016 Skate Helena, gold at the 2016 Dragon Trophy, and finish fifth at the 2016 Hellmut Seibt Memorial.[5]
Selected to compete at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, Maierhofer placed thirtieth in the short program but did not advance to the final segment.[5] Following that season, Maierhofer relocated to Egna, Italy, to be coached by Lorenzo Magri.[6]
2016–2017 season
editMaierhofer started the season by competing on the 2016–17 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, finishing nineteenth at 2016 JGP Slovenia and twenty-first at 2016 JGP Germany. He then ended the season by finishing fourth on the junior level of the 2016 Golden Bear of Zagreb.[5]
2017–2018 season
editMaierhofer began the season by competing on the 2017–18 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, finishing fourteenth at 2017 JGP Austria and seventeenth at 2017 JGP Italy. Between the two events, Maierhofer made his senior international debut at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where he would finish twenty-sixth.[5] Continuing to compete on the senior level, Maierhofer finished fifth at the 2017 Golden Bear of Zagreb, sixth at the 2018 Mentor Toruń Cup, and eleventh at the 2018 International Challenge Cup.[5]
Going on to compete at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, Maierhofer would finish forty-first in the short program and failed to advance to the free skate segment. He would then finish the season by placing seventh on the senior level of the 2018 Egna Spring Trophy.[5]
2018–2019 season
editBeginning the season by competing on the 2018–19 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, Maierhofer finished tenth at 2018 JGP Slovakia and ninth at 2018 JGP Austria. He subsequently went on to compete on the senior level, finishing fifth at the 2018 Golden Bear of Zagreb and the 2018 CS Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy, seventh at the 2018 Warsaw Cup, and sixteenth at the 2018 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.[5]
At the 2019 Austrian Championships in December, he won the junior men's title and finished second to Maurizio Zandron in the senior category.[5] He was assigned to the 2019 European Championships because the Italian-born Zandron was not yet eligible to represent Austria in ISU events.[7] Maierhofer qualified to the final segment at the European Championships, which took place in January in Minsk, Belarus. He placed twenty-first in the short program, nineteenth in the free skate, and twentieth overall.[5]
In March, Maierhofer advanced to the free skate at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. He finished 18th after placing 14th in the short and 21st in the free. Later that month, he competed at the 2019 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. Ranked twenty-sixth in the short program, he did not advance to the free skate segment.[5]
2019–2020 season
editMaierhofer began his final season as a junior-level singles skater by competing on the 2019–20 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, finishing thirteenth at 2019 JGP Croatia and eighth at 2019 JGP Italy.[5]
Going on to compete on the senior international level, Maierhofer finished sixth at the 2019 CS Ice Star. He subsequently won silver at the 2019 Golden Bear of Zagreb, gold at the 2019 Open d'Andorra. In February, he placed ninth at the 2020 Bavarian Open and eleventh at the 2020 Tallink Hotels Cup.[5]
Selected to compete at the 2020 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Maierhofer finished twenty-fifth in the short program and failed to advance to the free skate.[5]
2020–2021 season
editDuring the season Maierhofer competed at two competitions: the 2021 Austrian Championships and the 2021 International Challenge Cup. He would finish second and eleventh, respectively, at these events.[5]
2021–2022 season
editMaierhofer began the season by competing on the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series, finishing sixteenth at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy.[8] He withdrew from the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, but would go on to place eighteenth at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy and eleventh at the 2021 CS Cup of Austria.[9] He would then win silver at the 2021 Open d'Andorra.[5]
In December, Maierhofer won the senior men's national title at the 2022 Austrian Championships. He would then win silver at the 2022 Bavarian Open and the 2022 Merano Cup before closing the season with an eighth-place finish at the 2022 International Challenge Cup.[5]
2022–2023 season
editMaierhofer started the season by finishing fourth at the 2022 Volvo Open Cup. Going on to compete at the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series, he placed twelfth at the 2022 CS Ice Challenge and tenth at the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup.[5]
In December, he won the silver medal at the 2023 Austrian Championships. Selected to compete at the 2023 Winter World University Games, Maierhofer finished twentieth at the event.[5]
After winning gold at the 2023 Dragon Trophy, Maierhofer finished the season by finishing thirteenth at the 2023 International Challenge Cup.[5]
2023–2024 season
editMaierhofer competed at two competitions during this season: the 2024 Austrian Championships and the 2024 Bavarian Open. He would finish second and fourth, respectively, at these events.[5]
Pair skating career
edit2022–2023 season: Start and end of Ghedini/Maierhofer
editIn late 2022, it was announced that while continuing to compete as a singles skater, Maierhofer would also compete in the pairs discipline, having teamed up with Giorgia Ghedini.[10] The pair trained at in Egna, Italy and were coached by Daniel Aggiano at the Young Goose Academy.[11]
Together, the team won gold at the 2023 Austrian Junior Championships and silver on the junior level of the 2023 International Challenge Cup.[12]
2024–2025 season: Start of Izzo/Maierhofer
editIn July 2024, Maierhofer had teamed up with former American singles skater, Gabriella Izzo, and that the duo would compete for Austria.[13] It was subsequently announced that the pair would be coached by Severin Kiefer in Salzburg while also making trips to Norwood, Massachusetts to work with Izzo's singles coaches, Aleksey Letov and Olga Ganicheva.[14]
The pair would make their international debut in November, winning the gold medal at the 2024 Ice Challenge. At the event, the pair would also score the required minimum technical element score points to compete at the European and World Championships.[15][16]
Programs
editPair skating with Izzo
edit| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2024–2025 |
|
|
Singles skating
edit| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2022–2023 [17] |
|
|
| 2021–2022 [18] | ||
| 2019–2020 [19] |
|
|
| 2018–2019 [1] |
|
|
| 2017–2018 [20] |
|
|
| 2016–2017 [6] |
| |
| 2015–2016 [3] |
|
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Competitive highlights
edit- JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
- CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
- WD – Withdrew from competition
Pair skating with Gabriella Izzo
edit| Season | 2024–25 |
|---|---|
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | TBD |
| CS Warsaw Cup | TBD |
| Ice Challenge | 1st |
Pair skating with Giorgia Ghedini
edit| Season | 2022–23 |
|---|---|
| Austrian Championships | 1st |
| Challenge Cup | 2nd |
Single skating
edit| Season | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 26th | ||||||
| European Championships | 20th | ||||||
| Austrian Championships | WD | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | |
| CS Alpen Trophy | 5th | ||||||
| CS Finlandia Trophy | 18th | ||||||
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 16th | WD | |||||
| CS Ice Challenge | 11th | 12th | |||||
| CS Ice Star | 6th | ||||||
| CS Lombardia Trophy | 16th | ||||||
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 26th | ||||||
| CS Warsaw Cup | 7th | 10th | |||||
| Bavarian Open | 9th | 2nd | 4th | ||||
| Challenge Cup | 11th | 11th | 8th | 13th | |||
| Dragon Trophy | 1st | ||||||
| Egna Spring Trophy | 7th | ||||||
| Golden Bear of Zagreb | 5th | 5th | 2nd | ||||
| Mentor Cup | 6th | ||||||
| Merano Cup | 2nd | ||||||
| Open d'Andorra | 1st | 2nd | |||||
| Tallink Hotels Cup | 11th | ||||||
| Volvo Open Cup | 4th | ||||||
| World University Games | 20th |
| Season | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Junior Championships | 30th | 41st | 18th | 25th | |
| Austrian Championships | 1st | 1st | |||
| JGP Austria | 11th | 14th | 9th | ||
| JGP Croatia | 13th | ||||
| JGP Germany | 21st | ||||
| JGP Italy | 17th | 8th | |||
| JGP Slovakia | 16th | 10th | |||
| JGP Slovenia | 19th | ||||
| Dragon Trophy | 1st | ||||
| Golden Bear of Zagreb | 4th | ||||
| Hellmut Seibt Memorial | 5th | ||||
| Skate Helena | 2nd |
Detailed results
editPair skating with Gabriella Izzo
edit| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 5–10, 2024 | 2024 Ice Challenge
|
3 | 51.69 | 1 | 112.13 | 1 | 163.82 |
| Nov 20–24, 2024 |  2024 CS Warsaw Cup
|
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References
edit- ^ a b c "Luc Maierhofer: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Luc MAIERHOFER AUT SP 2023 FISU Winter World University Games". YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Luc Maierhofer: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016.
- ^ "Luc Maierhofer". rinkresults.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "AUT–Luc Maierhofer". SkatingScores.com.
- ^ a b "Luc Maierhofer: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 30 May 2017.
- ^ "Trauerfall stoppt Ziegler/Kiefer bei EM" (in German). ORF. 24 January 2019. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019.
- ^ "Lombardia Trophy 2021". Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio.
- ^ "Competition Results: Luc Maierhofer". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Results after the Junior Pairs Short Program at the Austrian Nationals 2023, 🇦🇹". Instagram. Skate Austria. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "🏆Challenge Cup🏆". Instagram. Young Goose Academy. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ a b "AUT–Giorgia Ghedini/Luc Maierhofer". SkatingScores.com.
- ^ Anything GOEs [@AnythingGOEs] (July 10, 2024). "🇦🇹 Gabriella Izzo / Luc Maierhofer 🇨🇦 Cristina Lyons / Marty Haubrich 🇦🇹 Paola Jurisic / Michail Savenkov are new pairs teams" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Izzo, Gabriella. "🐈⬛ ⬅️🛍️ @lucmaierhofer". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ a b c "AUT–Gabriella Izzo/Luc Maierhofer". SkatingScores.com.
- ^ "Was für ein Debüt! Gabriella Izzo & Luc Maierhofer sichern sich bei ihrem allerersten gemeinsamen Wettkampf direkt die Goldmedaille mit beeindruckenden 163.82 Punkten! 🥇✨". Instagram. Skate Austria. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "Luc Maierhofer: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023.
- ^ "Luc Maierhofer: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022.
- ^ "Luc Maierhofer: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020.
- ^ "Luc Maierhofer: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018.