Vanessa Gusmeroli

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**Vanessa Gusmeroli**
Personal Info
Country:	France
Date of birth:	September 19, 1978 (1978-09-19) (age 29)
Residence:	Annecy, France
Height:	160cm

Vanessa Gusmeroli (born on September 19, 1978) was a French figure skater. Away from the ice, she was also a competitive waterskier. She was a three-time (00, 01, 02)French National Figure Skating Champion and bronze medalist from The 1997 World Figure Skating Championships. She was known for her interesting programs, ranging from a circus theme to a Bank Robber. She was one of the only skaters to perform 'the splits' on the ice.

1 Biography
2 Competitive highlights
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Vanessa burst onto the international stage in the fall of 1995 at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where she finished 5th overall. During the 1996 Season, the French Figure Skating Federation sent her to the European Championships, where she skated a clean short program with a Triple Flip-double toe loop combination. Errors in the free skate dropped her 8th overall. At the World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, she finished in 14th place.

Gusmeroli returned to her "Circus" themed free skate and used the music from the motion picture, "The Mask" for her short program. In September, she represented the International team at The Continents Cup and finished 4th in the ladies portion. She also placed 4th at Trophee Lalique in Paris. The next week in Germany, she won her first international medal at The Nations Cup. She concluded 1996 by winner her first medal at The French National Championships, a silver.

In her home country, Gusmeroli skated a clean short program at 1997 European Figure Skating Championships, but dropped from second to sixth overall. After skating clean short programs at the last two European Championships, it was no surprise she skated a cleanly at The World Figure Skating Championships in Lausanne. While many other experienced skaters faltered, Gusmeroli was in 2nd after the short program. In the free skate, she two-footed and fell out of her opening Triple Flip combination, but skated cleanly after that. She placed fourth in the free skate and finished third overall, winning the bronze medal.

Gusmeroli experienced ups and downs during the 1997-1998 Season. Vanessa won the bronze medal at Trophee Lalique behind Laetitia Hubert and Tara Lipinski. With a theme of "Water, Earth, Wind and Fire" for her free skate, she won her spot on the Olympic Team by finishing third at The French National Championships, but only finished 11th at The European Championship. At The 1998 Winter Olympic Games, a mistake in the short program cost her a chance at a medal, but she recovered with an excellent free skate to finish 6th overall. With the added pressure to defend her bronze medal at The World Championships, Vanessa faltered and only finished 16th place.

She returned with better form in the 1998-1999 Season, once again winning the bronze medal at Trophee Lalique and silver at French Nationals. As usual, she presented another original program, as a Bank Robber for the free skate. At the World Championships in Helsinki, Gusmeroli skated to a third place finish in the short program. Once again, an error on a Triple Flip cost her in the free skate, and this time a medal, as she finished in 5th.

An injury to her foot forced Gusmeroli out of the 1999 Skate America Championship and the rest of the Grand Prix Season. She also decided to change coaches from Didier Lucine to Stanislav Leonovitch. Debuting her free skate to the "Legends of the Fall" soundtrack, Vanessa won her first French National Championship. She had the chance refine her programs at the Japan Open in January of 2000 and finished 4th. At the European Championships in Vienna, Gusmeroli skated well in all three portions of the competition, including a stunning free skate, which brought her to tears. She would finish in 4th place overall. While she was third in the short program and free skate, she was only fourth in a competitive qualifying group. The World Championships came to Nice, France in 2000. Gusmeroli skated poorly in the qualifying group and cost her a chance at a medal. She did skate cleanly once again in the short program and free skate to finish 4th overall.

Vanessa tried a new free skate to "Joan of Arc" early in the 2000-2001 season, but later changed back to "Legends of the Fall". She finished 9th at both European and World Championships in 2001.

In the fall of 2001, Gusmeroli won The Karl Shafer Memorial in Vienna and then placed 10th at Trophee Lalique. She captured her 3rd French Championship in December and went on to place 11th at Europeans. Vanessa faced a tough and tight competition at The Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. She skated a clean short program, but only placed 10th in that portion. In the free skate, she could only manage three triples and ended the night in 16th place.

She retired following the Olympics. She is now an International Technical Specialist.^[1]