Chafik Besseghier

Chafik Besseghier

Besseghier in 2011
Personal information
Full name Chafik Besseghier
Country represented  France
Born October 11, 1989 (1989-10-11) (age 22)
Annecy
Home town Grenoble
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Coach Didier Lucine
Sophie Golaz
Claudie Lucine
Choreographer Amaury Reot
Laurie May
Skating club Grenoble Métropole PAT
Began skating 2002

Chafik Besseghier (born October 11, 1989) is a French figure skater. He is the 2012 French bronze medalist, two-time Crystal Skate gold medalist, and 2011 Coupe de Nice silver medalist.

Contents

Career

Besseghier began skating at a relatively late age, almost 13, in August 2002.[1] Within a year, he had landed all the double jumps, and was landing triples by the end of his second year.[2] He skated mostly domestically before making his junior Grand Prix debut in 2008. In 2009-10, he won the bronze medal at the Crystal Skate and 2010 Triglav Trophy.

In 2010, Besseghier received his first senior Grand Prix assignment, and competed at the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard. After landing his first quadruple-triple jump combination in the short program, he was in fourth place, with the second-highest technical score. He made several mistakes in the free skating and placed fifth overall.[3]

Prior to the 2011-12 season, Besseghier spent several months in Detroit, where he worked with Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen at the Detroit Skating Club.[4] He was the silver medalist at the 2011 Coupe de Nice, where he won the free skate.[5] Besseghier again competed at the Trophée Eric Bompard, coming in 9th. He won the bronze medal at the 2012 French Championships.

Personal life

Besseghier is the son of Algerian immigrants.[1]

Programs

Season Short program Long program Exhibition
2011–2012 Piano in Concerto
by Maksim Mrvica		 Teardrop
by Massive Attack
Children
by Robert Miles
Safri Duo		 L'assasymphonie
from Mozart, l'opéra rock
by Florent Mothe
2010–2011 Artsakh
by Ara Gevorgyan		 Les Temps des Gitans
by Goran Bregovic
Tarantella
Korobushko
by Bond		 Hallelujah
by Grégory Morant
Tarantella
Korobushko
by Bond

Competitive highlights

Event 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12
European Championships
French Championships 17th 12th 9th 5th 4th 3rd
Trophée Eric Bompard 5th 9th
Coupe de Nice 6th 2nd
Triglav Trophy 3rd 6th
Ondrej Nepela Memorial 11th
Winter Universiade 5th
Crystal Skate of Romania 3rd 1st 1st
Junior Grand Prix, Spain 6th

References

  1. ^ a b "Le gamin patineur des quartiers a imposé son "sport pour fille"" (in French). Le Nouvel Observateur. 16 November 2011. http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/sport/20111116.OBS4644/le-gamin-patineur-des-quartiers-a-impose-son-sport-pour-fille.html. 
  2. ^ Berlot, Jean-Christophe (November 30, 2010). "The change of the guard in French men's skating". Ice Network. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101130&content_id=16230660&vkey=ice_news. 
  3. ^ Bod, Titanilla (December 6, 2010). "The memorable debut of Chafik Besseghier". AbsoluteSkating.com. http://absoluteskating.com/interviews/2010chafikbesseghier.html. Retrieved December 22, 2010. 
  4. ^ Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen: Building Champions
  5. ^ "Alaskan wins international figure skating title". Anchorage Daily News. October 29, 2011. http://www.adn.com/2011/10/29/2145735/alaskan-wins-international-figure.html.