Sabina Wojtala (Polish pronunciation: ; born 12 September 1981) is a Polish former competitive

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 ...

. She won eight senior international medals and six Polish national titles. She reached the free skate at nine ISU Championships – four Europeans, two Worlds, and three Junior Worlds.

Personal life

Sabina Wojtala was born on 12 September 1981 in

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; ; , ; ) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the List of cities and towns in Poland#Largest cities and towns by population, 22nd largest city in Poland, and an a ...

, Poland. She attended Górnośląska Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna.

Career

Wojtala started skating in 1986. She was coached by Iwona Mydlarz-Chruścińska in

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; ; ; ) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rivers. Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an im ...

and represented Dwory Unia SA. At the 1995 World Junior Championships in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Wojtala advanced out of her qualifying group but was eliminated after the short program. At the Polish Championships, she won the bronze medal in senior pairs with Janusz Komendera but decided to focus on her single skating career. In the 1995–96 season, she began appearing on the senior international level but continued competing also on the junior level. She reached the free skate and finished 23rd overall at the 1996 World Junior Championships 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. In the 1996–97 season, Wojtala won her first senior international medal – bronze at the

Golden Spin of Zagreb The Golden Spin of Zagreb () is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Croatian Skating Federation () and held in Zagreb, Croatia. The competition debuted in 1973, and ...

. She progressed out of her qualifying group but missed the cut-off for the free skate at the 1997 World Junior Championships in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. In 1997–98, Wojtala competed only as a senior. She won gold at the

Ondrej Nepela Memorial The Nepela Memorial () is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia, by the Slovak Figure Skating Association (). The competition debuted in ...

and silver at the Polish Championships. In January 1998, she was sent to her first

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

; she ranked 17th in the short, 16th in the free, and 16th overall at the event in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy. Wojtala began the 1998–99 season on the junior level. She appeared at two

ISU Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international figure skating competition, junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded ...

events, winning bronze in Bulgaria. In November 1998, she finished a career-best fifth at the World Junior Championships in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, Croatia, having placed second in her qualifying group, ninth in the short, and fifth in the free. She then won the first of her six senior national titles. In January 1999, she achieved another career-best result, finishing tenth at the

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

(third in her qualifying group, 12th in the short, and tenth in the free). In March, she reached the free skate at her first

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. Ranked 11th in qualifying, 23rd in the short, and 19th in the free, she finished 22nd overall at Worlds in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland. Wojtala's best World Championship result came at the 2000 Worlds in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million 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 ...

invitations; she placed seventh at both the 2000 Skate America and 2000 Sparkassen Cup on Ice. 2002–03 was Wojtala's final season of international competition. She placed 18th at the 2003 European Championships in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

, Sweden, but did not appear at the

. She made a brief competitive return in the 2005–06, winning the national title, but has not competed since. She currently works as a coach.

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 ...

; JGP: Junior Grand Prix''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wojtala, Sabina 1981 births Living people Polish female single skaters Winter World University Games medalists in figure skating Sportspeople from Bielsko-Biała FISU World University Games silver medalists for Poland Competitors at the 2001 Winter Universiade 21st-century Polish sportswomen