Yrétha Silété (born 27 August 1994) is a French 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 is a two-time French national champion (2011, 2012) and represented France at the European, World, and World Junior Championships. She achieved her best result, ninth, at the 2012 European Championships.
Personal life
Yrétha Silété was born in
Melun
Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of Seine-et-Marne, ...
,
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
. Her parents immigrated to France from
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...
. Her sister, Yolene, is a gymnast and her brother, Yvan, plays soccer. She decided to study law.
Career
Silété began skating at age six in Dammarie-lès-Lys and worked with coach Claude Péri-Thévenard throughout her entire career.
In 2008, Silété won the national novice title. She skated in the
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 ...
series in 2009 and 2010; her best result was fourth at the 2010 JGP Courchevel. Later that season, she won the bronze medal at the 2010 NRW Trophy. Silété won the
French Championships
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam tennis events eve ...
at the senior level, finishing first in the short program and fourth in the free skating. She was 11th at the 2011 Junior Worlds.
Following the 2010–11 season, Silété decided to turn senior. She began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, where she placed 11th. Her next event was the 2011 French Masters; she came in fifth in the short program but won the free skate to place third overall. She competed at the 2011 Trophée Éric Bompard, where she placed 8th. Silété next competed at the French Nationals, and successfully defended her title.
Silété competed at the
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 ...
for the first time in her career, and aimed for a top-ten finish. She achieved her goal, finishing ninth after placing 8th in the short program and 11th in the free skate. She was chosen to represent France at the 2012 World Championships 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 million2012 World Team Trophy.
Silété received a pair of senior Grand Prix assignments, however, in August 2012, she collided with another skater while training in Courchevel and had a bad fall, suffering a torn
anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...
and injuring her lateral external ligament and meniscus. She underwent surgery to repair the damage on 27 August and was expected to remain off the ice until January 2013 and miss the entire 2012–13 season. Recovery was a slow process — in April 2013, Silété had regained only one triple jump, the
toe loop
Toes are the digits of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plantigrade''; ...
. Although she had another operation in August 2013, persistent problems led her to retire from competition on 1 November 2014.