Stéphane Walker (born 25 December 1990) is a Swiss

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 ...

. Competing in men's singles, he won ten international medals, including two on the

ISU Challenger Series The ISU Challenger Series is a series of international figure skating competitions. Established by the International Skating Union in the 2014–15 figure skating season, 2014–15 season, it is a group of senior-level events ranked below the ISU ...

, and became a five-time Swiss national champion (2013–14, 2016–18). He appeared in the final segment at seven ISU Championships (six

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 ...

and the 2014 World Championships). Competing in Ice Dance with former partner Arianna Wroblewska, he is a two-time Swiss national silver medalist. As of July 2021, he is competing with Jasmine Tessari. They are the 2022 Swiss national champions.

Career

Early years

Walker began learning to skate in 1994. His

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 ...

debut came in September 2007; he placed 20th at the Tallinn Cup in Estonia. In the 2007–08 season, he was coached by Heinz Wirz in Sion and

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, Switzerland. By the 2009–10 season, Walker was training under Myriam Loriol-Oberwiler in

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

. He was sent to the 2010 World Junior Championships in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

but was eliminated after placing 30th in the short program.

2010–2011 through 2012–2013

In January 2011, Walker appeared at his first senior ISU Championship, the 2011 European Championships in

, and qualified for the final segment. He placed 10th in the preliminary round, 24th in the short program, 24th in the free skate, and 24th overall. At the 2013 European 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, he ranked 24th in the short, 17th in the free, and 20th overall.

2013–2014 season

In September 2013, Walker competed at the

Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union () and held in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition debuted in 1969 and is na ...

, the last qualifying opportunity for 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 ...

, but his placement, 15th, was insufficient to earn a spot 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 ...

, Russia. Walker reached the free skate at two ISU Championships – he finished 17th at the 2014 European Championships in January 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 ...

, Hungary, and 23rd at the 2014 World Championships in March in Saitama, Japan.

2014–2015 season

Walker had surgery on his right foot in June 2014 and spent ten weeks in a cast. He resumed training in mid-November 2014. He competed 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 ...

and 2015 World Championships in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

but was eliminated after the short program at both events.

2015–2016 and 2016–2017 seasons

By December 2015, Walker was training under

Franca Bianconi Franca Anna Bianconi Manni (born 3 March 1962) is an Italian figure skating coach and former competitor. She competed at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Personal life Bianconi was born on 3 March 1962 in Milan, Italy. She is the mother of Italian ic ...

and Rosanna Murante in

Sesto San Giovanni Sesto San Giovanni (; , ), locally referred to as just Sesto (), is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in the Italian region of Lombardy. It was awarded with the honorary title of ''città'' (city) by decree of 10 Apri ...

, Italy. At the 2016 European Championships in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, he placed 22nd in the short, 18th in the free, and 19th overall. He also qualified to the free skate at the 2017 European Championships in

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

, placing 19th in the short, 15th in the free, and 17th overall.

2017–2018 season

Walker finished 9th at the

2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition held in September 2017 in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was part of the 2017–18 ISU Challenger Series. It also served as the final qualification event for the 2018 Wi ...

. Due to his result, Switzerland was the second alternate country for the men's event at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

. He placed 18th (16th in the short, 20th in the free) at the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburg ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He did not advance to the free skate at the 2018 World Championships 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 ...

2018–2019 season

In October 2018, Walker teamed up with Arianna Wróblewska to compete 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 ...

. Two months later they placed second at the Swiss National Championships.

Programs

Stephane Walker - 2017 World Championships SP

Ice dancing

Single skating

Results

''CS: Challenger Series; JGP:

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 junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...

Ice dance with Tessari

Ice dance with Wróblewska

Single skating

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Stephane Swiss male single skaters 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Sion, Switzerland Competitors at the 2015 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2013 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2011 Winter Universiade 21st-century Swiss sportsmen