Vanessa Gusmeroli

Vanessa Gusmeroli
Personal information
Country represented  France
Born 19 September 1978 (1978-09-19) (age 33)
Residence Annecy, France
Height 160cm

Vanessa Gusmeroli (born on 19 September 1978 in Annecy, Haute-Savoie) is a retired French figure skater and waterskier. She was a three-time (00, 01, 02) French National Figure Skating Champion and won the bronze medal at the 1997 World Figure Skating Championships.

Contents

Biography

Vanessa Gusmeroli began skating at age seven, and competed in both skating and water skiing, winning national titles in both sports and the junior European title in water skiing. At age 14, she was told she would have to commit to one sport, and decided to continue with her skating career.[1]

Gusmeroli first drew international attention at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in the fall of 1995, where she finished 5th overall. The French Figure Skating Federation sent her to the 1996 European Championships, where she skated a clean short program with a Triple Flip-double toe loop combination. Errors in the free skate dropped her to 8th overall. At the 1996 World Figure Skating Championships in Canada, she finished in 14th place.

In her second senior season, Gusmeroli returned to her "Circus" themed free skate and used the music from the motion picture, "The Mask" for her short program. She represented the International team at The Continents Cup and finished 4th in the ladies portion. She also placed 4th at Trophée Lalique in Paris and won her first international medal a week later at The Nations Cup and her first medal at The French National Championships, a silver, in December 1996. Gusmeroli skated a clean short program at 1997 European Figure Skating Championships, but dropped from second to sixth overall after a difficult free skate. At the 1997 World Figure Skating Championships in Lausanne, she skated another clean short program while many other experienced skaters faltered, leaving her in 2nd place. In the free skate, she two-footed and fell out of her opening Triple Flip combination, but skated cleanly after that, placing fourth in the free skate and winning the bronze medal.[2]

Gusmeroli experienced ups and downs during the 1997-1998 Season. She won the bronze medal at Trophée Lalique behind Laetitia Hubert and Tara Lipinski. With a theme of "Water, Earth, Wind and Fire" for her free skate, she won a spot on the Olympic Team by finishing third at The French National Championships, but was only 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 a strong free skate to finish 6th overall. With the added pressure to defend her bronze medal at The World Championships, she faltered and only finished 16th place.

Gusmeroli returned in better form in the 1998-1999 Season, once again winning the bronze medal at Trophée Lalique and silver at French Nationals. In her free skate, she portrayed a bank robber, an original theme that drew much attention. At the 1999 World Figure Skating Championships, Gusmeroli skated to a third place finish in the short program, but an error on the triple flip in the free skate dropped her to 5th.

A foot injury forced Gusmeroli out of the 1999-2000 Grand Prix Season. She made a coaching change, from Didier Lucine to Stanislav Leonovitch. Debuting a free skate to the Legends of the Fall soundtrack, Gusmeroli won her first French National Championship and finished 4th at the Japan Open in January 2000. At the European Championships in Vienna, Gusmeroli skated well in all three portions of the competition, concluding her free skate in tears. She finished in 4th place overall because of her placement in the qualifying round. At the 2000 World Figure Skating Championships in Nice, Gusmeroli skated poorly in the qualifying group and lost her chance at a medal.After skating a clean short program and free skate, she finished 4th overall.

Gusmeroli did not enjoy great success the next season. She debuted a new free skate to "Joan of Arc", 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 Schaefer Memorial in Vienna and placed 10th at Trophée Lalique. She captured her 3rd French title in December and went on to place 11th at Europeans. Facing tough competition at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, she skated a clean short program, but only placed 10th. In the free skate, she could only manage three triples and ended the night in 16th place.

Gusmeroli retired following the 2002 Olympics and eventually became an International Technical Specialist.[3][4] She and her romantic partner Matthieu Jost[5] have a daughter, born in 2009.

Competitive highlights

Event 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02
Winter Olympics 6th 16th
World Championships 14th 3rd 16th 5th 4th 9th
European Championships 8th 6th 11th 5th 4th 9th 11th
French Championships 7th 5th 2nd 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 1st
Skate America 7th
Skate Canada International 7th
Trophée Lalique 4th 3rd 3rd 10th
NHK Trophy 6th 4th 5th
Nations Cup 3rd 6th
Karl Schäfer Memorial 1st
European Youth Olympic Festival 3rd 2nd

References

  1. ^ Mittan, Barry (March 13, 2002). "Vanessa Gusmeroli: Gusmeroli Performs On Ice And Water". Golden Skate. http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2001/031302.shtml. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 
  2. ^ Lipinski, 14, Is Youngest World Champion
  3. ^ ISU Communication No. 1467PDF
  4. ^ 2010-11 Grand Prix Final: panel of judges - ladies event
  5. ^ Pernelle Carron and Matthieu Jost Split; Announcement Came as no Surprise to Coach

External links