Alper Uçar (born 19 January 1985) is a Turkish former competitive

ice dancer 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. Ac ...

. With his skating partner,

Alisa Agafonova Alisa Alexandrovna Agafonova (married name: Besseghier, uk, Аліса Олександрівна Агафо́нова, born 15 January 1991) is a former competitive ice dancer. She is best known for her partnership with Alper Uçar. Representi ...

, he competed at two

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

(2014 and 2018) and won eight international medals, including silver at the 2011 Winter Universiade and three medals 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 ...

. They skated in the final segment at six

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

and four

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, ...

. Earlier in his career, Uçar competed in

single skating Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Men's singles and women's singles are governed by the International Skating Union (ISU). Figure skating is the oldest winter sport contested ...

. He is the 2005 Turkish national champion and a four-time junior national champion.

Career

Early years

Uçar started skating in 1997, after the first ice rink opened in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, Turkey. He competed in

until 2009. In 2001, he won the gold medal in the novice men's event at the Balkan Games. He then took gold at a competition in the Netherlands. In 2009, at the age of 24, Uçar switched to

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 ...

and teamed up with

Jenette Maitz Jenette Maitz (born December 7, 1987) is an American former competitive ice dancer. In 2009, she teamed up with Turkish skater Alper Uçar, coached by Natalia Dubova Natalia Ilinichna Dubova (russian: Наталья Ильинична Ду ...

from the United States. They competed together in the 2009–2010 season, winning the Turkish national title and placing 26th at the 2010 World Championships. They were coached by

Natalia Dubova Natalia Ilinichna Dubova (russian: Наталья Ильинична Дубова; born 31 March 1948) is a Russian ice dancing coach and former competitive ice dancer. Career Competing as Natalia Bakh with partner Vladimir Pavlikhin, she wo ...

and Oleg Voyko in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 202 ...

First three seasons with Agafonova

In 2010, Uçar teamed up with Ukraine's

to compete for Turkey. They won a silver medal at the 2011 Winter Universiade, skating in their first season together. Agafonova/Uçar placed 26th at the 2012 European Championships in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, England, and 31st at the 2012 World Championships in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

, France. Agafonova/Uçar were originally coached by

and Oleg Voyko in

. They changed coaches in December 2012, deciding to join

Alexander Zhulin Alexander (Sasha) Viacheslavovich Zhulin (; born 20 July 1963) is a Russian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With Maya Usova, he is a two-time Olympic medalist ( 1994 silver, 1992 bronze), the 1993 World champion, and the 1993 Europe ...

and Oleg Volkov in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia. They placed 13th 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, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, Croatia, and 28th at the 2013 World Championships in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximat ...

, Canada.

2013–2014 season

Agafonova/Uçar began their season at the

2013 Nebelhorn Trophy The 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 26–28, 2013 at the Eislaufzentrum Oberstdorf. It is held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany and is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain. Medals were awarded in men's and ladies' singles, pa ...

, the final Olympic qualifying opportunity. By finishing 5th, they earned a spot for Turkey in the ice dancing event at the Olympics. They then won a silver medal at the

2013 NRW Trophy The 2013 NRW Trophy is an international figure skating competition during the 2013–2014 season. An annual event organized in Germany by the Skating Union of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), it has been sanctioned by the Deutsche Eislauf Union and ...

. Agafonova/Uçar finished 17th at the 2014 European Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary. In February, the two competed at the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia; their short dance placement, 22nd, was insufficient to advance to the next segment. They qualified to the free dance and finished 20th overall at the 2014 World Championships, which took place in March in Saitama, Japan.

2014–2015 season

In December, Agafonova/Uçar won silver at the

Santa Claus Cup The Santa Claus Cup is an annual international figure skating competition organized by the Hungarian National Skating Federation. It is held annually in late November or early December in Budapest, Hungary. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of ...

in Hungary. In January, they took silver at the

Toruń Cup )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

in Poland and placed 12th at the 2015 European Championships in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden. In March, they achieved their career-best world placement, 16th, at the 2015 World Championships in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, China.

2015–2016 season

Making their

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

debut, Agafonova/Uçar placed 7th at the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard in November. In December 2015, the two moved to

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a small city (5.04 sq. miles) in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is approximately northwest of Downtown Detroit. Except a small southern border with the city of Bir ...

to work with

Anjelika Krylova Anjelika Alexeyevna Krylova (russian: Анжелика Алексеевна Крылова; born 4 July 1973) is a Russian retired Ice dancing, ice dancer. With partner Oleg Ovsyannikov, she is the 1998 Figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics, ...

and

Pasquale Camerlengo Pasquale Camerlengo (born 14 April 1966) is an Italian former competitive ice dancer who is now a coach and choreographer. With Stefania Calegari, he won gold medals at Skate America, Skate Canada, and the International de Paris, and placed fift ...

due to visa problems which were exacerbated following the

2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown A Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M attack aircraft near the Syria–Turkey border on 24 November 2015. According to Turkey, the aircraft was fired upon while in Turkish airspace because it violated the ...

. They finished 12th at the 2016 European Championships in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, Slovakia, and 21st at the 2016 World Championships in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, United States.

2016–2017 season

Agafonova/Uçar received two Grand Prix assignments; they placed 9th at the

2016 Skate America The 2016 Skate America was the first event of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Sears Centre in Chicago, Illinois, on October 21–23. Medals we ...

and 8th at the

2016 Rostelecom Cup The 2016 Rostelecom Cup was the third event of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Megasport Arena in Moscow on November 4–5. Medals were award ...

. They ranked 11th at the 2017 European Championships in

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

, Czech Republic. It was the best continental result of their career. The two finished 17th at the 2017 World Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland. Due to their result, Turkey qualified a spot in the ice dancing event at the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

. In March 2017, Uçar was elected to the ISU Athletes Commission as the ice dance representative.

2017–2018 season

20180119 Euros - Agafonova & Ucar - 10509

Agafonova/Uçar competed at two Grand Prix events and then won silver at the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy. In January, they finished 13th at the 2018 European Championships in

, Russia. In February, the two competed at the

and qualified to the final segment. They ranked 20th in the short dance, 18th in the free dance, and 19th overall in

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...

, South Korea. They had the same result at the 2018 World Championships in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy. They announced their retirement from competitive skating on March 25, 2018.

Post-competitive career

In January 2019, Uçar moved to

Estero, Florida Estero is a village in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,939. During the 2010 census, Estero was an unincorporated community, or census-designated place, the population at that time was 22,612. Est ...

, to coach at the Hertz Arena's International Skating Academy.

Programs

With Agafonova

With Maitz

Single skating

Competitive highlights

''GP:

; 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 dancing with Agafonova

Ice dancing with Maitz

Single skating

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ucar, Alper Turkish male ice dancers Turkish male single skaters Figure skaters at the 2007 Winter Universiade 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Denizli Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Turkey Universiade medalists in figure skating TED Ankara College Foundation Schools alumni Figure skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics Universiade silver medalists for Turkey Competitors at the 2005 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2009 Winter Universiade