Ruben Blommaert

Ruben Blommaert (born 5 March 1992) is a retired Belgian-born German pair skater. With his skating partner, Alisa Efimova, he is the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo silver medalist.

He also holds Belgian citizenship and competed for Belgium in single skating until 2010. Blommaert began representing Germany after teaming up with Annabelle Prölß to compete in pairs. They won the 2013 Cup of Nice and the 2013 German national title. He and his next partner, Mari Vartmann, won four ISU Challenger Series medals and the 2015 Cup of Nice. With Annika Hocke, Blommaert won silver medals at the 2017 CS Minsk-Arena Ice Star and 2017 International Cup of Nice and competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics. He competed for one season with Elena Pavlova.

Personal life

Ruben Blommaert was born on 5 March 1992 in Bruges, Belgium. He became a German citizen on 1 July 2014 while retaining his Belgian citizenship. He has a twin brother, Sander, who dances with the Royal Ballet in London.

Career

Blommaert began learning to skate in 1998. He competed for Belgium in single skating until 2010, appearing at the European Championships (finishing twenty-fifth in 2008 and 2009) and the Junior World Championships (finishing thirty-eighth in 2008 and twenty-eighth in 2009).

Partnership with Prölß

Blommaert teamed up with Annabelle Prölß in October 2011. They won the junior pairs title at the 2012 German Junior Championships.

In 2012–13, Prölß/Blommaert made their Junior Grand Prix debut in Lake Placid, finishing 6th, and then placed 4th in Germany. They won gold medals in the junior events at the 2013 Ice Challenge and 2013 Bavarian Open. Prölß/Blommaert won gold in their senior national debut at the 2013 German Championships. They finished 7th at the 2013 World Junior Championships.

In 2013–14, Prölß/Blommaert debuted on the senior international level. After finishing 4th at their first two events, they took gold at the International Cup of Nice. They received their first senior Grand Prix assignment, the 2013 Trophée Éric Bompard, after France's Daria Popova / Bruno Massot withdrew, finishing seveneth. They then closed their season with a silver medal at the 2014 International Challenge Cup.

In 2014–15, Prölß/Blommaert placed seventh at 2014 Skate America and sixth at the 2014 Rostelecom Cup. The pair soon parted ways after that.

Partnership with Vartmann

In the 2015–16 season, Blommaert started skating with Mari Vartmann. They won the 2015 Cup of Nice. At the 2016 Europeans, they placed 4th in the short program, 8th in the free program and 8th overall.

Vartmann and Blommaert started the 2016–17 season on the Challenger Series, winning bronze at both Nebelhorn Trophy and Finlandia Trophy. On 10 January 2017, the Deutsche Eislauf-Union announced that the two had parted ways.

Partnership with Hocke

Blommaert and Annika Hocke announced their partnership on 9 February 2017. They competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, as well as at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships, before dissolving their partnership.

Partnership with Pavlova

Blommaert announced in July 2019 that he had formed a new partnership with Russian pair skater Elena Pavlova. Due to Pavlova's visa issues, they indicated they would initially have to split time training between Russia and Germany. The pair split after one season.

Partnership with Efimova

Blommaert formed a new partnership with Alisa Efimova, who had previously competed with Alexander Korovin for Russia. They placed 2nd at the 2022 German Championships but were not allowed compete internationally until Efimova had been released by the Russian federation. They had their international debut at the 2022 Nebelhorn Trophy, where they placed second.

Competing on the Grand Prix series, Efimova/Bloomaert competed at 2022 Skate Canada International, however, after a hard fall on a throw in the short program, Efimova bruised her thigh and the pair withdrew from the event before the free skate. Going on to compete at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo, Efimova/Bloomaert won the silver medal behind Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo Ambrosini of Italy. At the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, Efimova/Bloomaert finished fifth.

The pair didn't compete at the 2023 German Championships due to Bloomaert coming down with a high fever a couple of days before the event.

Regardless, they were still selected to compete at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, Efimova/Bloomaert placed third in the short program but fifth in the free skate and dropped to fifth place overall.

Going on to compete at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Efimova/Bloomaert placed seventh in the short program and tenth in the free skate, finishing in tenth place overall.

Bloomaert retired from competitive figure skating following the season, citing a lack of funding from the German Skating Union as one of the main reasons.

Programs

Pair skating with Alisa Efimova (for Germany)

Pair skating with Elena Pavlova (for Germany)

Pair skating with Annika Hocke (for Germany)

Pair skating with Mari Vartmann (for Germany)

Pair skating with Annabelle Prölß (for Germany)

Single skating (for Belgium)

Competitive highlights

Pair skating with Alisa Efimova (for Germany)

Pair skating with Elena Pavlova (for Germany)

Pair skating with Annika Hocke (for Germany)

Pair skating with Mari Vartmann (for Germany)

Pair skating with Annabelle Prölß (for Germany)

Single skating (for Belgium)

Detailed results

Pair skating with Alisa Efimova (for Germany)

Pair skating with Elena Pavlova (for Germany)

Pair skating with Annika Hocke (for Germany)

Pair skating with Mari Vartmann (for Germany)

Pair skating with Annabelle Prölß (for Germany)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blommaert, Ruben
1992 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Bruges
Belgian male single skaters
German male pair skaters
Naturalized citizens of Germany
Belgian emigrants to Germany
Figure skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Olympic figure skaters for Germany
21st-century German sportsmen
21st-century Belgian sportsmen