Elladj Baldé (born November 9, 1990) is a Canadian former competitive

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. He won the 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy, an

ISU Challenger Series The ISU Challenger Series is a series of international figure skating competitions. Established by the International Skating Union in the 2014–15 figure skating season, 2014–15 season, it is a group of senior-level events ranked below the ISU ...

event. He is the 2008 Canadian Junior champion.

Personal life

Elladj Baldé was born November 9, 1990, in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

to a Russian mother and a

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

n father, Ibrahim, from the village of Tombon, near

Labé Labé ( Pular: 𞤂𞤢𞤦𞤫) is the main city and administrative capital of the Fouta Djallon region of Guinea. It has a population of about 200,000. It is the second largest city in the country after the capital Conakry in terms of economic i ...

. He has two younger sisters, Djoulia Baldé and Catherine Baldé, who also skated. His older sister, Djouldé, died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

. After a year in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, Germany during his sister's treatment, the family moved to Canada in 1992. He speaks English, French, and Russian. On March 18, 2020, he announced his engagement to Michelle Dawley, a dancer and choreographer from

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Career

Elladj Baldé was introduced to skating at the age of seven by his mother. Though at first he would hide his skates in an attempt to avoid practice, he began to love skating when he was ten. He was sometimes discouraged by mocking of the sport. His parents also struggled with the expense of skating. In a 2021 interview, he said, "I was lucky that I grew up with coaches that understood our family’s situation and helped us out." Baldé won the junior silver medal at the 2007 Canadian Championships and won the junior title at the 2008 Canadian Championships. During the 2008–09 season, he won a pair of medals on the

ISU 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 figure skating competition, junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded ...

series and made his senior national debut at the 2009 Canadian Championships, finishing 10th. Baldé was 8th at the 2009 World Junior Championships. In 2009, Baldé underwent major surgery after tearing his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

(ACL) in his right knee, keeping him off the ice for six months. His doctor gave the go-ahead to resume practicing triples after three months of lighter training on the ice. He missed the entire 2009–10 season. Baldé returned to competition the following season and placed 5th at the 2011 Canadian Championships. In late 2011, he moved to the United States to train with

Yuka Sato is a Japanese former competitive figure skater and choreographer. She is the 1994 World champion, the 1990 World Junior champion and the 1993 & 1994 Japanese national champion. She placed 7th at the 1992 Winter Olympics and 5th at the 19 ...

and

Jason Dungjen Jason Dungjen (born September 28, 1967) is an American figure skating coach and a former pair skater. With Kyoko Ina, he is a two-time Skate America silver medalist, a three-time Nations Cup medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion. With ...

at the Detroit Skating Club in

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is ...

. He was 4th at the 2012 Canadian Championships. After identifying a problem with the blade positioning on one of his new boots, Baldé decided to compete at the

2013 Skate Canada International The 2013 Skate Canada International was the second event of six in the 2013–14 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Harbour Station in Saint John, New Brunswick on Oct ...

with an older left boot and new right boot, even though one was soft and the other stiff. Both his knees were taped as a result of

tendinitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...

. In the short program, he landed his first

quad QUaD, an acronym for QUEST at DASI, was a ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization experiment at the South Pole. QUEST (Q and U Extragalactic Sub-mm Telescope) was the original name attributed to the bolometer detector instrume ...

toe Toes are the digits of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plantigrade''; ...

in competition and added a double toe to the end. Baldé withdrew from the

2014 Skate Canada International The 2014 Skate Canada International was the second event of six in the 2014–15 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia, on O ...

on October 30, having sustained a concussion. He relocated to Montreal in or before July 2015, joining Bruno Marcotte and Manon Perron. He won an

event, the 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy, improving his personal best by 30 points. In early September 2017, Baldé sustained his fifth concussion in three or four years. The 2018 Four Continents Championships was his last competition as an eligible figure skater.

Skate Canada Skate Canada (Canadian French: ''Patinage Canada'', lit. "Skating Canada") is the national governing body for figure skating in Canada, recognized by the International Skating Union and the Canadian Olympic Committee. It organizes the annual C ...

announced his retirement on May 4, 2018. Baldé is a co-founder of the Figure Skating Diversity and Inclusion Alliance. He appeared as a choreographer in season 5 (2019) of ''

Battle of the Blades ''Battle of the Blades'' (or ''BOTB'' for short) is a Canadian figure skating reality show and competition that airs on CBC Television. The show originally aired for four seasons between 2009 and 2013. It was revived for a fifth season in 2019. ...

'' and served as a judge in season 6. He is also active on social media.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP:

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 ...

; CS: Challenger Series; 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 ...

References

External links

*
Elladj Baldé
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balde, Elladj 1990 births Canadian male single skaters Living people Russian emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Guinean descent Sportspeople of Guinean descent Canadian people of Russian descent 21st-century Canadian sportsmen