Stefano Caruso (born 19 April 1987) is a former competitive

ice dancer Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

with dual German and Italian citizenship. Representing Germany with

Tanja Kolbe Tanja Kolbe (born 7 September 1990) is a German former competitive ice dancer. With Stefano Caruso, she won seven international medals and two German national silver medals. They placed eighth at the 2013 European Championships and competed a ...

, he won seven international medals and two German national silver medals. They placed eighth at the 2013 European Championships and competed at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

, finishing 19th. Earlier in his career, Caruso competed for Italy with Isabella Pajardi.

Personal life

Stefano Caruso was born 19 April 1987 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, to a Hungarian mother and a father from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. He moved to Milan in 2000. He studied languages and communication in

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

. In September 2013, he became a German citizen while retaining his Italian citizenship. In January 2014, he began working for the Bundeswehr's sports group.

Career

Early career

Caruso started skating as an eight-year-old in Mentana, Rome. He trained in ice dance from the start and teamed up with Isabella Pajardi in 2000. They won the 2008 Italian national junior title and placed 9th at the 2008 World Junior Championships. After they split up in 2010, Caruso had tryouts with an American, Isabella Tobias, and a Canadian.

Partnership with Kolbe

Caruso teamed up with

in 2010 to represent Germany. In their first season together, they took bronze at the 2010

Ice Challenge The IceChallenge (2021 held as Cup of Austria; originally called the Leo-Scheu-Gedächtnislaufen) is an annual international figure skating competition, organized by the Grazer Eislaufverein and generally held every autumn in Graz, Austria. In som ...

and at the 2011 German Championships. In their second season together, Kolbe/Caruso won two international medals, gold at the

2011 NRW Trophy The NRW Trophy (also known as the NRW Summer Trophy or the NRW Autumn Trophy) is an annual international figure skating competition organized by the Skating Union of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 2007, it has been sanctioned by the Deutsche Eisla ...

and bronze at the Istanbul Cup. They took the silver medal at the German Championships and were assigned to the 2012 European Championships where they finished 12th. The duo split up after the event but teamed up again in July 2012. In the 2012–13 season, Kolbe/Caruso took silver again at the German Championships and earned another trip to the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

where they finished 8th. They won two international medals – bronze at both the New Year's Cup and

Volvo Open Cup The Volvo Open Cup is an annual international figure skating competition held in Riga, Latvia. In some years, the event is part of the ISU Challenger Series. Medals may be awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance ...

. In the 2013–14 season, Kolbe/Caruso were invited to their first

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

event, the

2013 Trophee Eric Bompard Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number) * Any of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, or 2013 Music Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ''13'' (Blur album), 1999 * ''13'' (Borgeous album), 2016 * ''13'' (Brian Setzer album), 2006 * ...

where they placed 7th. They added two more international medals to their collection – bronze at the

2013 Ondrej Nepela Trophy The Nepela Memorial () is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted in Bratislava, Slovakia, by the Slovak Figure Skating Association (). The competition debuted in 1993 and is ...

and

. In February 2014, Kolbe/Caruso competed at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

and finished 19th. They announced the end of their partnership in June 2014.

Post-competitive career

After ending his competitive career in 2014, Caruso began a coaching partnership with Barbara Fusar-Poli at Milan's Agorà ice rink.

Programs

With Kolbe

With Pajardi

Competitive highlights

''GP =

; JGP =

Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...

With Kolbe for Germany

With Pajardi for Italy

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caruso, Stefano Italian male ice dancers German male ice dancers 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Rome Naturalized citizens of Germany Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Germany German sportspeople of Italian descent 21st-century Italian dancers 21st-century German dancers Competitors at the 2009 Winter Universiade Italian expatriate sportspeople in Germany 21st-century Italian sportsmen 21st-century German sportsmen