Jari Kessler (born 29 November 1996) is a Croatian and Italian

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 ...

. For Croatia, he is the 2020

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 ...

champion, 2022 Jegvirag Cup silver medalist, 2022 Merano Ice Trophy bronze medalist, and four-time Croatian national champion (2020, 2023–25). He represented Italy until spring 2019, winning three senior international medals.

Personal life

Kessler was born in

Cles Cles (; Nones dialect, Nones: ''Clés'' or ''Cliès'') is a town and ''Communes of Trentino, comune'' in Trentino, in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of northern Italy. It is the main town of Val di Non. It is the main town of and is lo ...

, Italy. He played

pond hockey Pond hockey is a form of ice hockey similar in its object and appearance to traditional ice hockey, but simplified and designed to be played on part of a natural frozen body of water. The hockey rink, rink is 50 to 80 percent the size of a stan ...

before switching to figure skating.

Career

Early career and skating for Italy

Kessler began figure skating in 2009. His first skating coach was Ludmila Mladenova. Originally competing for Italy, he moved up to the junior ranks for the

2012–13 figure skating season The 2012–13 figure skating season began on July 1, 2012, and ended on June 30, 2013. During this season, elite skaters from men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance competed on the International Skating Union (ISU) Champion ...

. He would eventually make his senior international debut in January 2016, at the

Mentor Toruń Cup The Mentor Toruń Cup (previously known as the Kangus Cup in 2007, the Nestlé Kangus Cup in 2008, the GAM Nestlé Nesquik Cup from 2009 to 2010, the Mentor Nestlé Nesquik Toruń Cup from 2011 to 2016, and the Mentor Cup from 2017 to 2019) is an ...

in Poland. Kessler's first senior medals came in the 2017–18 season. He won bronze at the

, in January, and another bronze at the Egna Spring Trophy, in April. In October 2018, he took bronze at the

Golden Bear of Zagreb The Golden Bear of Zagreb () was an annual figure skating competition held in Zagreb, Croatia. Held since 1986, the event was organized by the Medveščak Figure Skating Club. It was originally a companion event to the Golden Spin of Zagreb, in ...

in Croatia. The Egna Spring Trophy in March 2019 was his final competition for Italy.

For Croatia

2019–20 season

Kessler competed at the 2020 Croatian Championships where he won his first national title.

2020–21 season: International debut for Croatia

Coached by Lorenzo Magri, Angelina Turenko, Alisa Mikonsaari, and Eva Martinek, Kessler made his international debut for Croatia at the 2020 CS Budapest Trophy, where he placed seventh. In November, he would win gold at the

in Germany. He subsequently finished the season with a twelfth-place finish at the 2021 International Challenge Cup.

2021–22 season

Kessler started the season by competing on the

2021–22 ISU Challenger Series The 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series was held from September to December 2021. It was the eighth season that the ISU Challenger Series, a group of senior-level international figure skating competitions, was held. Competitions This season, the ...

, finishing fifteenth at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn, thirteenth at the

2021 CS Cup of Austria The 2021 CS Cup of Austria by Icechallenge was held on November 11–14, 2021 in Graz, Austria. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, and ice dance. Entri ...

, and nineteenth at the

2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb The 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb was held on December 7–11, 2021 in Sisak, Croatia. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. T ...

. He also finished seventh at the 2021 Budapest Trophy which took place between the first two Challenger Series events. In January, Kessler competed at the

2022 European Championships The 2022 European Championships were the second edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Munich, Germany from 11 to 21 August 2022. The event started three d ...

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, Estonia, finishing thirty-first in the short program, failing to advance to the free skate segment. In February, he took bronze at the Merano Ice Trophy, silver at the Jegvirag Cup, and placed fifth at the 2021 Bellu Memorial.

2022–23 season

Kessler began the season by competing at the

2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 21–24, 2022, in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was the third event of the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entrie ...

, where he finished sixth. He would then go on to win gold at the 2023 Croatian Championships. Going on to compete at the 2023 European Championships in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, Finland, Kessler qualified for the free skate segment after finishing nineteenth in the short program. He would also finish nineteenth in the free skate and nineteenth overall. In February, Kessler won the bronze medal at the 2023 Dragon Trophy, finished fourth at the 2023 Tallink Hotels Cup, and won gold at the 2023 Bellu Memorial. Making his World Championship debut at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Kessler finished thirty-first. Jari Kessler 2025 Worlds Short Program 10

Jari Kessler 2025 Worlds Short Program 10

2023–24 season

Kessler started the season by winning bronze at the 2023 Tirnavia Ice Cup and at the 2023 NRW Trophy. In December, Kessler placed eleventh at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb before winning his third national title at the 2024 Croatian Championships. One month later, Kessler competed at the 2024 European Championships in

Kaunas, Lithuania Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, where he placed twenty-seventh in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment. Kessler subsequently competed at the 2024 Bavarian Open and the 2024 Merano Cup, finishing ninth and seventh, respectively. Selected to compete at the 2024 World Championships in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada, Kessler would finish in twenty-ninth place.

2024–25 season

Kessler began the season with a twelfth-place finish at the

2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 19–21, 2024, in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was part of the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. En ...

. He then went on to win his second consecutive national title at the 2025 Croatian Championships. After winning the bronze medal at the 2025 Volvo Open Cup, Kessler competed at the 2025 European Championships in

, Estonia. He placed thirty-fourth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment. Kessler then went on to win gold at the 2025 Dragon Trophy, bronze at the 2025 Merano Ice Trophy, and silver at the 2025 Bellu Memorial. In March, Kessler competed at the 2025 World Championships, held in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, United States. He placed thirty-fourth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.

Programs

Competitive highlights

Single skating (for Croatia)

Single skating (for Italy)

Detailed results

References

External links

*
Jari Kessler (for Croatia)
at Skating Scores
Jari Kessler (for Italy)
at Skating Scores * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, Jari 1996 births Living people Croatian male single skaters Italian male single skaters Sportspeople from Cles 21st-century Italian sportsmen 21st-century Croatian sportsmen