Francisco Javier Raya Buenache (born 20 April 1991) is a Spanish

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 is the 2011 Spanish national senior champion and has competed in the free skate at eight ISU Championships.

Personal life

Francisco Javier Raya Buenache was born on 20 April 1991 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. He studied ballet from the age of six until he was 17. He is studying audiovisual communication at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

. Raya is openly gay.

Career

Raya began skating in 1998 at a rink near Madrid's Chamartín railway station. His first coach was Jocelyn Flanagan. He is now coached by Carolina Sanz and Jordi Lafarga in Madrid and spends some time training in Canada during the summer. He has worked with Daniela Slovak in

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 ...

, Manon Perron in

Montreal 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 ...

, and Brian Orser in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Raya made his European debut in 2011, finishing 19th. He sustained a leg injury before the 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy but recovered in November. He withdrew from the 2012 Spanish Championships due to illness, and later missed the 2012 Europeans but competed at the 2012 Worlds, where he finished 24th. Raya 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 ...

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 placed 25th. He withdrew from the 2014 World Championships due to an injury of the adductor in his left foot. At the 2015 European Championships in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, he placed 21st in the short program, 14th in the free skate, and 14th overall.

Programs

Results

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raya, Javier Living people Spanish male single skaters 1991 births Figure skaters from Madrid LGBTQ figure skaters Spanish gay sportsmen Olympic figure skaters for Spain Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Complutense University of Madrid alumni Competitors at the 2015 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2013 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2011 Winter Universiade Academic staff of the Complutense University of Madrid 21st-century Spanish sportsmen