Liam Firus (born July 2, 1992) is a Canadian businessman and partner at Rockbank Capital Corp. A retired competitive figure skater, he represented Canada at the
2014 Winter Olympic Games in
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 ...
.
Personal life
Liam Firus was born July 2, 1992, in
North Vancouver,
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
.
[ He is the son of Lois Sullivan, a real estate agent, and Trevor Firus, an accountant.][ He has a younger brother, Shane, who competes in ]ice dancing
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 ...
.[
Firus attended Sentinel Secondary School in ]West Vancouver
West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is situated on the north shore of Burrard Inlet to the northwest of the city ...
.[ After part-time business administration studies at ]Capilano University
Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunshi ...
,[ Firus became a student at ]Athabasca University
Athabasca University (AU) is a Canadian public university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first Canadian ...
, pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in finance.[ In 2013, he passed the ]Canadian Securities Course
The Canadian Securities Institute (CSI; formerly, CSI Global Education) is a Canadian organization that offers licensing courses, advanced certifications, continuing education and custom training for financial services professionals in Canada an ...
.[
Firus began dating Canadian pairs figure skater Kirsten Moore-Towers in 2015.][ On August 22, 2023, they became engaged.][
]
Career
Early years
Firus started skating as a hockey player in 1999 and eventually switched to figure skating.[ Lorna Bauer began teaching him when he was eight years old.][ A member of the North Shore's Vancouver Skating Club, he trained in the fall and winter at the Pacific National Exhibition Agrodome and the rest of the year at the Canlan Ice Sports Arena.][
During the 2009–2010 season, Firus won the Canadian junior title but was not assigned to the World Junior Championships.][
]
2010–2011 season
Firus finished 6th in his senior national debut at the 2011 Canadian Championships and was assigned to the World Junior Championships where he finished 20th.
2011–2012 season
Firus began the 2011–2012 season by winning the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix event in Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, Australia.
2012–2013 season
Firus experienced severe pelvic pain while training for the Canadian Championships Canadian Championships refers to a number of national-level competition in Canada. It may refer to:
* Canadian Championship, the national championship tournament for professional soccer
* Canadian Figure Skating Championships
* Canadian Professiona ...
.[ He placed fifth at the event in January 2013. His condition developed into ]osteitis pubis
Osteitis pubis is a noninfectious inflammation of the pubic symphysis (also known as the pubis symphysis, symphysis pubis, or symphysis pubica), causing varying degrees of lower abdominal and pelvic pain. Osteitis pubis was first described in pat ...
and he decided to undergo prolotherapy.[ He resumed training after five months.][
]
2013–2014 season
In autumn 2013, Firus began training under Christy Krall in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...
.[ He won bronze at the 2014 Canadian Championships and was named to the Canadian team 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 ...
. He finished 28th in 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 ...
.[
]
2014–2015 season
Firus placed 11th at 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 ...
in Kelowna
Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...
, British Columbia and won the bronze medal at the 2015 Canadian Championships in Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...
. He finished 15th at the 2015 Four Continents Championships.
2015–2016 season
Firus won silver at the 2016 Canadian Nationals and finished 13th at the 2016 Four Continents Championships. He withdrew from the 2016 World Championships in Boston
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 ...
, stating "Making this decision was extremely difficult. However, I feel that withdrawing from the World Championships is vital for our team."[
]
2016–2017 season
Ahead of the season, Firus changed coaches, joining Bruno Marcotte
Bruno Marcotte (born September 10, 1974) is a Canadian figure skating coach and former competitor in pair skating, pairs. He is the 1993 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, 1993 World Junior bronze medallist with Isabelle Coulombe and the ...
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 ...
, Quebec.[
]
2017–2018 season
Firus won the bronze medal at the 2017 CS Warsaw Cup in Poland. A few days later, he was invited to a Grand Prix event, 2017 Skate America, receiving the call on the Wednesday morning before the event.[ He officially announced his retirement on May 14, 2018.][
]
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''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Firus, Liam
1992 births
Canadian male single skaters
Living people
Olympic figure skaters for Canada
Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Sportspeople from North Vancouver
Capilano University alumni
21st-century Canadian sportsmen