Zoe Jones (formerly Wood and Wilkinson; born 14 January 1980) is a retired British figure skater. She is a two-time British national champion (2000, 2001) in ladies' singles. She reached the free skate at three ISU Championships and qualified for the 1998 Winter Olympics, but could not compete because of injury. As a pairs skater with Christopher Boyadji, she is a four-time national champion (2017–2020).
| Zoe Jones | |
|---|---|
 Jones/Boyadji in June 2016 | |
| Other names | Zoe Wilkinson Zoe Wood |
| Born | 14 January 1980 Swindon, England |
| Height | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  Great Britain |
| Partner | Christopher Boyadji |
| Skating club | Swindon Ice Figure Club |
| Began skating | 1986 |
| Retired | March 24, 2022 |
Personal life
editZoe Jones was born on 14 January 1980 in Swindon, England.[1] She was raised in Freshbrook.[2]
She was previously married to Dody Wood and then Matthew Wilkinson.
She is the mother of twin girls, Zarah and Zinia, born in 2007, and a boy, Zkai, born c. 2012.[3] She lived in Canada for almost ten years before returning to England.[3] She used the surname Wood until 2015,[4] then Wilkinson[5] before returning to Jones by December 2016.[2]
After becoming a pairs team, Jones and Boyadji began a relationship and welcomed their daughter, Arya, in April of 2023.[6]
Jones' daughter, Zarah, is also a competitive figure skater and competes in the pairs discipline.[7]
Career
editSingle skating
editJones began skating at age five at the Link Centre in Swindon.[8] Early in her career, she was coached by Lesley Norfolk-Pearce.[9]
In late 1995, Jones represented the U.K. at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Brisbane, Australia, and reached the final segment by placing 10th in qualifying group A and then 19th in the short program. She finished 22nd in the free skate and overall. In late 1996, she appeared at the 1997 World Junior Championships in Seoul, South Korea. She placed 20th in the short, 17th in the free, and 18th overall. She was less successful at the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, being eliminated after placing 18th in qualifying group B.
In October 1997, Jones competed at the Karl Schäfer Memorial, the final opportunity to qualify for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. By finishing 6th, she earned an Olympic spot for the U.K., however, the British Olympic Association had additional requirements – a certain number of triple jumps at the British Championships. Jones sustained a torn hamstring a week before nationals and spent a year recovering.[3]
In the 2000–01 season, Jones won the first of two national titles and was sent to the European Championships, held in January 2001 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Making the final segment at an ISU Championship for the third time in her career, she placed 7th in qualifying group A, 17th in the short, 19th in the free, and 17th overall. In March 2001, she competed at the World Championships in Vancouver, Canada but was eliminated after placing 16th in her qualifying group. She trained under Joy Sutcliffe in Ayr.[9]
The following season, Jones had four falls at the British Championships. Weak performances from other skaters allowed her to hold on to her title but a NISA official said it was unlikely that they would send her to Europeans or Worlds.[10] Jones retired from competition after that season and became a coach, working in Canada for almost ten years.[3]
In 2014, she competed at the ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition and finished with two first places in Masters (Elite) Ladies I Artistic and Free Skating with the highest ever score in the Free of 71.33 points. In 2015, she repeated her success at the Adult Figure Skating Competition and competed for the last time as Zoe Wood.[4] In December 2015, at age 35, she competed in the British Championships as Zoe Wilkinson; she won the free skate and came in second overall, missing first place by only 0.09, and in fact, had been declared the winner until an error was realized.[11]
Pair skating
editJones and Christopher Boyadji agreed to form a pair skating partnership following a tryout in April 2016.[12][5] They trained at the Better Link Centre in Swindon.[2] Their first competition was the 2016 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial, where they finished 6th. With the beginning of 2017 she competed again under her birth name Jones.
The pair retired after the 2021–22 figure skating season after having a career-best 10th-place finish at the 2022 World Figure Skating Championships.
Coaching career
editFollowing their retirement, Jones and Boyadji began coaching together at the Better Link Centre in Swindon, where they had previously trained.
Their current students include:
Programs
editWith Boyadji
edit| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2021–2022 [15] |
| |
| 2020–2021 [16] |
|
|
| 2019–2020 [17] |
| |
| 2018–2019 [18] |
||
| 2017–2018 [19] |
|
|
| 2016–2017 [20][21] |
Single skating
edit| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2015—16 | ||
| 2001–02 [1] |
||
| 2000–01 [9] |
|
|
Results
editGP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series
With Boyadji
edit| International[22] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 | 19–20 | 20–21 | 21–22 |
| Worlds | 26th | 27th | 17th | C | 24th | 10th |
| Europeans | 14th | 10th | 12th | WD | ||
| GP France | 8th | |||||
| GP Skate America | 8th | |||||
| GP Skate Canada | 8th | |||||
| CS Nebelhorn | 14th | 15th | ||||
| CS Ondrej Nepela | 6th | WD | ||||
| CS Warsaw Cup | 12th | |||||
| Bavarian Open | 3rd | 4th | ||||
| Cup of Nice | 5th | 4th | ||||
| Open Ice Mall | 2nd | |||||
| Volvo Open Cup | 1st | |||||
| National | ||||||
| British Champ. | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | C | 2nd |
| TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Event cancelled | ||||||
Single skating
edit| International[23] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 93–94 | 94–95 | 95–96 | 96–97 | 97–98 | 98–99 | 99–00 | 00–01 | 01–02 | 15–16 |
| Worlds | 35th | 31st | ||||||||
| Europeans | 17th | |||||||||
| GP Skate Canada | 11th | |||||||||
| Finlandia Trophy | 13th | |||||||||
| Golden Spin | 5th | 11th | ||||||||
| Nebelhorn Trophy | 20th | 11th | 9th | |||||||
| Karl Schäfer | 6th | |||||||||
| Triglav Trophy | 4th | |||||||||
| International: Junior[23] | ||||||||||
| Junior Worlds | 22nd | 18th | ||||||||
| EYOF | 7th | |||||||||
| GP St. Gervais | 10th | 10th | ||||||||
| Ukrainian Souvenir | 5th | |||||||||
| National[23] | ||||||||||
| British Champ. | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | ||
| J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew | ||||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Zoe JONES: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 November 2006.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c Davies, Matthew (1 December 2016). "ICE SKATING: It all figures for Jones after link-up with new partner". Swindon Advertiser.
- ^ a b c d Elfman, Lois (2 July 2015). "Wilkinson gets redemption at adult competitions". IceNetwork.com.
- ^ a b "Results ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition 2015 Masters (Elite) Ladies I Free Skating". ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition 2015. 29 September 2016.
- ^ a b "ICE SKATING: Wilkinson is excited by her new link-up with Boyadji". Swindon Advertiser. 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Arya". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ a b "Zarah WOOD / Alex LAPSKY: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
- ^ Burchall, Kevin (7 July 2014). "Ice skating instructor turns back the clock to scoop gold medals". Swindon News.
- ^ a b c "Zoe JONES: 2000/2001". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 April 2001.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Stevenson, Sandra (9 December 2001). "Ice Skating: Standards take a tumble". The Telegraph. London.
- ^ "Results British Championships 2015 Senior Ladies". British Championships 2015. 29 September 2016.
- ^ "Zoe Wilkinson and Christopher Boyadji confirmed as new skating partnership". National Ice Skating Association. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
- ^ "Lydia SMART / Harry MATTICK: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
- ^ "Kristen SPOURS: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ "Zoe JONES / Christopher BOYADJI: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021.
- ^ "Zoe JONES / Christopher BOYADJI: 2020/2021". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Zoe JONES / Christopher BOYADJI: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Zoe JONES / Christopher BOYADJI: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Zoe JONES / Christopher BOYADJI: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Zoe JONES / Christopher BOYADJI: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Bőd, Titanilla (9 March 2017). "Zoe Jones and Christopher Boyadji: "We are here!"". Absolute Skating.
- ^ "Competition Results: Zoe JONES / Christopher BOYADJI". International Skating Union.
- ^ a b c "Zoe JONES". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016.