Olivier Schoenfelder

Olivier Schoenfelder

Delobel and Schoenfelder at the 2008 Skate America.
Personal information
Country represented  France
Born 30 November 1977 (1977-11-30) (age 34)
Residence Lyon, France
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Partner Isabelle Delobel
Former partner Emeline Girod
Former coach Muriel Zazoui
Romain Haguenauer
Tatiana Tarasova
Lydie Bontemps
Former choreographer Marie-France Dubreuil
Patrice Lauzon
O. Biollet
Tatiana Tarasova
Nikolai Morozov
Skating club CSG Lyon
Began skating 1984
Retired February 2010
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 212.94
2008 Worlds
Comp. dance 41.25
2008 Europeans
Original dance 67.25
2008 Worlds
Free dance 110.39
2005 Worlds

Olivier Schoenfelder (born 30 November 1977 in Belfort, France) is a French ice dancer. With partner Isabelle Delobel, he is the 2008 World champion, the 2007 European and the 2008 Grand Prix Final champion.

Contents

Career

Schoenfelder began skating after seeing Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay at an ice show and switched to ice dancing after only six months in singles.[1]

Delobel and Schoenfelder were paired together in 1990 by coach Lydie Bontemps on the suggestion of Irina Moiseeva and Andrei Minenkov.[2][1] They won a silver medal at 1996 Junior Worlds before moving up to the senior ranks prior to the 1996–97 season. They won their first Grand Prix medal at the 1999 Skate Canada. Early in their career, they were coached by Muriel Boucher-Zazoui in Lyon, France. Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov were their choreographers from 1998–2002 and their coaches from 2000–2002 in Newington, Connecticut.[1] While practising a lift at French Nationals in December 2001, Delobel tore an abdominal muscle, keeping her off the ice for six weeks and forcing the team to miss the European Championships.[1] Feeling more comfortable in France, Delobel and Schoenfelder decided to return to Lyon and Boucher-Zazoui after the 2001–2002 season.[1]

They won their first national championship in the 2002–03 season. Delobel and Schoenfelder worked with choreographer Pasquale Camerlengo for the 2005-06 season.[3]

Delobel and Schoenfelder often finished just off the podium at major events,[4] including a 4th place at the 2006 Olympics, less than two points behind the bronze medalists.[5] The following season, they won their only European title but were unable to win a medal at Worlds.

Delobel and Schoenfelder did not repeat as European champions the following year, finishing second. They then went on to win the 2008 World Championships. They were first in both the compulsory and original dance portions of the event, and second in the free dance.[6] They considered retiring but decided to continue competing.[7]

They began the 2008–09 season with wins in all three Grand Prix appearances – Skate America, Trophée Eric Bompard, and the Grand Prix Final. During their gala exhibition performance at the Grand Prix Final, Delobel suffered a shoulder injury and underwent surgery on January 5, 2009, causing them to miss the remainder of the season.[8]

Delobel became pregnant during the injury layoff.[9] She and Schoenfelder trained cautiously, with Marie-France Dubreuil substituting for Delobel in lifts.[10] Dubreuil, along with Patrice Lauzon, also choreographed their final free dance.[10] Occasional falls caused Delobel to leave the ice in late July.[9]

Delobel's son was born in October and she returned to the ice toward the end of the month, beginning three-a-day sessions and intense physical training in November.[9] They also skipped French Nationals and the European Championships in order to spend more time on training.[9] The two returned in time for the Vancouver Olympics, competing just four-and-a-half months after she had given birth and announcing it would be their final competition.[11] They finished sixth and retired from competitive skating.[12] They continue to skate together in shows.[13]

Schoenfelder currently coaches in Lyon.[14] Among others, he currently coaches Louise Walden & Owen Edwards.

Personal life

Schoenfelder did ballet before taking up skating, his mother being a ballet instructor.[1] Schoenfelder studied journalism and has done some television commentating.[13] In May 2005, he married Isabelle Pecheur, with whom he has a son, Gabriel, born on 26 October 2006.[2][15]

Programs

(with Delobel)

Season Original dance Free dance Exhibition
2009–2010 La quête
by Jacques Brel and Karl Hugo[13]
2008–2009 Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
by The Andrews Sisters		 The Great Gig in the Sky
by Pink Floyd		 My Immortal
by Evanescence
2007–2008
  • Breton Gavotte
2006–2007
  • Tango Volver
  • Bonnie and Clyde
2005–2006
  • The Dove Takes Its Flight
    (from Carnival in Venice)
    by Jacques Azoulai
2004–2005
2003–2004
2002–2003
2001–2002

Competitive highlights

(with Delobel)

Event 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
Winter Olympic Games 16th 4th 6th
World Championships 18th 14th 11th 13th 12th 9th 6th 4th 5th 4th 1st
European Championships 15th 12th 9th 10th 7th 4th 3rd 4th 1st 2nd
World Junior Championships 4th 2nd
French Championships 3rd J. 1st J. 4th 4th 3rd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
French Masters 1st 1st 1st 1st
Grand Prix Final 5th 6th 6th 4th 3rd 1st
Trophée Eric Bompard 6th 7th 7th 7th 5th 5th 2nd 3rd 3rd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st
Skate America 3rd 2nd 1st
Cup of China 3rd
NHK Trophy 7th 4th 3rd 1st
Cup of Russia 3rd
Bofrost Cup on Ice 5th 2nd
Skate Canada International 7th 3rd 5th 4th
Nebelhorn Trophy 3rd
Ondrej Nepela Memorial 1st
Lysianne Lauret Trophy 4th
Odessa Trophy 2nd
Autumn Trophy 1st
Ukraine Trophy 2nd
European Youth Olympic Festival 1st

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Mittan, Barry (May 19, 2002). "Delobel and Schoenfelder Return to France". Golden Skate. http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2001/051902.shtml. Retrieved September 29, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Isabelle Delobel & Olivier Schoenfelder at the International Skating Union
  3. ^ Kempf, Susanne (January 2006). "Catching up with Olivier & Isabelle". AbsoluteSkating.com. http://absoluteskating.com/index.php?cat=interviews&id=2006delobelschoenfelder. Retrieved February 7, 2011. 
  4. ^ Defosseux, Paul (March 22, 2008). "French veterans finally dance to world gold". Agence France-Presse (The Sydney Morning Herald). http://news.smh.com.au/world/french-veterans-finally-dance-to-world-gold-20080322-20y9.html. Retrieved September 28, 2011. 
  5. ^ "XX Olympic Winter Games - Torino 2006 - Ice Dance - Result". International Skating Union. http://www.isufs.org/results/owg2006/CAT004RS.HTM. 
  6. ^ "Delobel and Schoenfelder win ice dance title as Americans miss podium". Associated Press. ESPN. March 21, 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/figureskating/news/story?id=3305977. Retrieved September 27, 2010. 
  7. ^ Berlot, Jean-Christophe (May 19, 2008). "Delobel, Schoenfelder aim for 2010 Olympics". IceNetwork. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080519&content_id=48231&vkey=ice_news. Retrieved June 8, 2011. 
  8. ^ Berlot, Jean-Christophe (March 3, 2009). "Delobel continues rehab of her injured shoulder". IceNetwork. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090303&content_id=61837&vkey=ice_news. Retrieved June 8, 2011. 
  9. ^ a b c d Clarey, Christopher (February 20, 2010). "From Pregnancy to the Olympic Ice in Under a Year". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/sports/olympics/21dancer.html. Retrieved June 8, 2011. 
  10. ^ a b Peret, Paul (July 17, 2009). "Delobel and Schoenfelder Prepare For Final Season". IFS Magazine. http://www.ifsmagazine.com/articles/246-delobel-and-schoenfelder-prepare-for-final-season. Retrieved September 28, 2011. 
  11. ^ Armour, Nancy (February 18, 2010). "Skating pair Delobel-Schoenfelder back after pregnancy, injury". Associated Press (Cleveland.com). http://www.cleveland.com/olympics/index.ssf/2010/02/skating_pair_delobel-schoenfel.html. Retrieved June 8, 2011. 
  12. ^ "Virtue and Moir capture historic Olympic gold". GoldenSkate. February 23, 2010. http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2009/oly_fd.shtml. Retrieved June 8, 2011. 
  13. ^ a b c Golinsky, Reut (2010). "A new quest for Olivier Schoenfelder". AbsoluteSkating. http://absoluteskating.com/index.php?cat=interviews&id=2010schoenfelder. Retrieved December 22, 2010. 
  14. ^ Peret, Paul (October 10, 2011). "Daisuke Takahashi: French Twizzles". IFS Magazine. http://www.ifsmagazine.com/articles/10312-daisuke-takahashi. Retrieved October 13, 2011. 
  15. ^ "Delobel and Schoenfelder". Icenetwork. http://web.icenetwork.com/skaters/detail.jsp?id=38774&mode=P. 

External links