Raffaele Francesco Zich (born 23 June 2006) is an 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 ...

. He is the 2022 JGP Poland I bronze medalist and 2022 European Youth Olympic silver medalist.

Personal life

Zich was born 23 June 2006 in

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

, Vietnam, and resides in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Italy. His grandfather, , is the former rector of the

Polytechnic University of Turin The Polytechnic University of Turin (, abbreviated as PoliTO) is the oldest Italian Public university, public Institute of technology, technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban ...

Career

Early years

Zich began learning to skate in 2009. He became interested in the sport after accompanying his sister, Eleonora, to the ice rink. During his early years, he was coached by Claudia Masoero before eventually going on to train under Renata Lazzaroni and Edoardo De Bernadis at Ice Club Torino. He competed for two seasons in the advanced novice category, winning the Italian novice men's title in March 2018. His junior international debut came in October 2019 at the

2019–20 ISU Junior Grand Prix The 2019–20 ISU Junior Grand Prix was a series of junior international competitions organized by the International Skating Union that were held from August 2019 through December 2019. It was the junior-level complement to the 2019–20 ISU Grand ...

event in

Egna Neumarkt (, ; ) is a (municipality) and a village in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about south of the city of Bolzano. It is one of ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of ...

, Italy, where he twenty-first. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

led to the cancellation of many international events in the 2020–21 season. In April 2021, Zich won the Italian junior national title.

2021–22 season

Zich competed in both the junior and senior ranks, making his senior international debut in October at the 2022 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur. He finished fourth in the senior category in December at the 2022 Italian Championships. He was assigned to the 2022 World Junior Championships, which took place in April in

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. He was ranked fifteenth in the short and thirteenth in the free skate and finished fifteenth overall.

2022–23 season

In October, Zich competed at consecutive

2022–23 ISU Junior Grand Prix The 2022–23 ISU Junior Grand Prix was a series of junior international competitions organized by the International Skating Union that were held from August 2022 through December 2022. It was the junior-level complement to the 2022–23 ISU Gran ...

events in

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

, Poland. He won bronze at his first assignment and placed thirteenth the following week. Going on to compete on the

2022–23 ISU Challenger Series The 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series was held from September to December 2022. It was the ninth season that the ISU Challenger Series, a group of senior-level international figure skating competitions, was held. Competitions This season, the se ...

, Zich placed eleventh at the 2022 CS Ice Challenge and fifteenth at the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup. In December, Zich placed sixth at the 2023 Italian Championships. He subsequently won the silver medal at the 2023 Sofia Trophy. Selected to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

, Canada, Zich finished the event in twenty-second place.

2023–24 season

Zich started the season by winning gold on the junior level at the 2023 Latvia Trophy. He then went on to place fourth at the 2024 Italian Championships. Selected to compete at the

2024 Winter Youth Olympics The 2024 Winter Youth Olympics (), officially known as the IV Winter Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Gangwon 2024 (), were a Winter sports, winter multi-sport event, cultural festival, and fourth edition of the Winter Youth Olympics he ...

Gangneung Gangneung (; ) is a list of cities in South Korea, municipal city in Gangwon, South Korea, Gangwon province, on the east coast of South Korea. It has a population of 213,658 (as of 2017).Gangneung City (2003)Population & Households. Retrieved Ja ...

, South Korea, Zich finished the event in sixth place. Two weeks following that event, Zich won the silver medal on the junior level at the 2024 Tallink Hotels Cup. He then finished the season by placing twenty-ninth at the 2024 World Junior Championships in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, Taiwan.

2024–25 season

Zich began the season by 2024 JGP Slovenia, where he finished in tenth place. Going on to compete at the

2024 CS Tallinn Trophy The 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy was held on November 12–17, 2024, in Tallinn, Estonia, as a part of the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, and ice dance. Entries The International Skating Union ...

, Zich placed thirteenth at that event. The following month, he finished sixth at the 2025 Italian Championships. Selected to compete at the In late January, it was announced that Zich had left longtime coaches Renata Lazzaroni and Edoardo De Bernadis to train under

Stéphane Lambiel Stéphane Lambiel (born 2 April 1985) is a Swiss former competitive figure skater who now works as a coach and choreographer. He is a two-time (2005–2006) World champion, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time (2005, 2007) Grand Prix ...

and Angelo Dolfini in

Champéry Champéry (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Monthey (district), Monthey in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Valais in Switzerland. History Champéry is first mentioned in 1286 as ''Champery''. The Ho ...

, Switzerland. That same month, he competed at the

2025 Winter World University Games The 2025 FISU Winter World University Games, also known as the XXXII Winter World University Games, or the 32nd Winter Universiade, and commonly known as Turin 2025 or Torino 2025, was a multi-sport event for student and youth athletes, held bet ...

, Italy, where he placed thirteenth. He subsequently won the bronze medal at the 2025 Bavarian Open. Selected to compete at the 2025 World Junior Championships in

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

, Hungary, Zich placed twenty-first.

Programs

Competitive highlights

Detailed results

Senior level

Junior level

References

External links

*
Raffaele Francesco Zich
at SkatingScores * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zich, Raffaele Francesco 2006 births Italian male single skaters Italian people of Vietnamese descent Sportspeople of Vietnamese descent Living people Sportspeople from Hanoi Sportspeople from Turin Figure skaters at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics 21st-century Italian sportsmen Competitors at the 2025 Winter World University Games