Ava Marie Ziegler (born February 28, 2006) is an American figure skater. She is the

2023 NHK Trophy The 2023 NHK Trophy was the sixth event of the 2023–24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome in Osaka, Japan, from November 24–26. ...

champion and

2022 CS Budapest Trophy The 2022 CS Budapest Trophy was held on October 13–16, 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. It was part of the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, and ice dance. Entries The Inte ...

champion.

Personal life

Ziegler was born on February 28, 2006, in Morristown,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, to parents Ron and Patricia (Mansfield). Her mother is a former competitive figure skater, who finished fifth at the

1995 U.S. Figure Skating Championships The 1995 U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place between February 7 and 11, 1995 in Providence, Rhode Island. Medals were awarded in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth) in four disciplines – men ...

, as well as a figure skating coach. She has a younger brother, Ronny. She is a resident of

Dover, New Jersey Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Located on the Rockaway River, Dover is about west of New York City and about west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 18,157,

. Ziegler has a Shepherd-

Rottweiler The Rottweiler (, ) is a breed of domestic dog, regarded as medium-to-large or large. The dogs were known in German as , meaning Rottweil butchers' dogs, because their main use was to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered mea ...

named Duke and a rabbit named Cocoa.

Career

Early career

As a juvenile, Ziegler won the pewter medal at the 2019 U.S. Championships. On the junior level, she won the bronze medal at the 2021 U. S. Championship Series. She then went on to win the pewter medal at the 2021 U.S. Junior Championships behind

Isabeau Levito Isabeau Levito (born March 3, 2007) is an American figure skater. She is the 2022–23 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time ISU Grand Prix silver medalist, the 2022 CS Nepela Memorial champion, the 2023 U.S. national champion, and th ...

, Kanon Smith, and Clare Seo.

2021–22 season

Ziegler made her international junior debut by winning a gold medal at the 2021 Cranberry Cup. She was given two assignments on the 2021–22 Junior Grand Prix series, and placed sixth at the 2021 JGP Slovakia and seventh at the 2021 JGP Slovenia. She reflected afterward that she had made mistakes on the circuit that she attributed to adjusting to the higher level of competition, but added that "I loved being on the ice with people who were better than me because it pushes me to work harder." At the 2022 U.S. Junior Championships, Ziegler won the silver medal, finishing behind Clare Seo.

2022–23 season

Debuting as a senior, Ziegler started her season with a fourth-place finish at the 2022 Philadelphia Summer International. She then made her Challenger series debut at the

, which she won, scoring a new personal best free skate score in the process. Ziegler was not initially given any assignments on the ISU Grand Prix, but following the withdrawal of fellow American skater Kate Wang from the

2022 Skate Canada International The 2022 Skate Canada International is the second event in the 2022–23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It will be held at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ontario on ...

, she was called up to replace her. Ziegler placed third in the short program, earning a new personal best score, but dropped to fourth place overall after falling twice in the free skate and finishing seventh in the segment. Despite this, she set a new personal best in total score as well. Ziegler then went on to compete at the U.S. Eastern Sectional Championships, where she won the gold medal. At the 2023 U.S. Championships, Ziegler finished ninth after placing eighth in the short program and tenth in the free skate. She closed her season by winning the bronze medal at the 2023 Coupe du Printemps.

2023–24 season

Ziegler began the season by winning the silver medal at the 2023 Cranberry Cup International, behind training mate Lindsay Thorngren. She said afterward that she was "super happy with my skates" at the event, adding that there "are things that I can improve throughout the season, but the overall, the competition was successful." Appearing on the Challenger circuit at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy, she came sixth, before finishing fifth at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy. For the second consecutive season, Ziegler did not initially receive a Grand Prix assignment, but was invited to attend the

following the withdrawal of German skater

Nicole Schott Nicole Schott (born 12 September 1996) is a German figure skater. She is the 2016 CS Warsaw Cup champion, the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy bronze medalist, a two-time NRW Trophy champion (2014, 2016), and a seven-time German national champion (2012 ...

. She placed fifth in the short program after receiving an incorrect edge call on her triple

Lutz Lutz is a surname and given name, occasionally a short form of Ludwig. People with the name include: Surname *Adolfo Lutz (1855–1940), Brazilian physician *Aleda E. Lutz (1915–1944), American Army flight nurse * Alois Lutz, Austrian figure ...

and an underrotation call on the back half of her jump combination, but won the free skate after landing seven triple jumps, the only error being another call on her Lutz edge. Ziegler's free skate carried her into first place, overtaking Thorngren by less than two points for the gold medal. She set a new American women’s record for fewest appearances needed before winning a Grand Prix, having done so in her second appearance. She became the second American woman to win the NHK Trophy after

Gracie Gold Grace Elizabeth Gold (born August 17, 1995), known as Gracie Gold, is an American figure skater. She is a 2014 Olympic team event bronze medalist, the 2014 NHK Trophy champion, the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard champion, and a two-time U.S. nati ...

who won in 2014. Ziegler said of the result that "this is the moment I do this sport for!"

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix.''

Detailed results

Senior level

''ISU Personal best highlighted in bold.''

Junior level

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ziegler, Ava Marie 2006 births Living people American female single skaters People from Dover, New Jersey Sportspeople from Morristown, New Jersey 21st-century American women