Johan Kristoffer Berntsson (born 13 July 1982) is a Swedish 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, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

. He is an eight-time (2000–2001, 2004–2005, 2007–2010) Swedish national champion and the five-time (2002–2005, 2007) Nordic Champion. Berntsson was the first Swede to land a

triple Axel Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

Career

Berntsson began skating at age 5. Though he started out doing both hockey and figure skating, he soon focused exclusively on the latter. Berntsson won the Swedish junior national champion in 1996–1997, a title he would go on to win the next two season as well. He skated on the international junior circuit starting in 1998–1999. In the 1999–2000 season, still skating primarily as a junior, Berntsson won the national title and made his senior debut at the

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, ...

, finishing 21st. He finished in the same place for the next two seasons, and failed to qualify for the free skate at the 2001, 2002 and 2003 Worlds. Berntsson had better results in 2003–2004, winning a medal at the

Finlandia Trophy The Finlandia Trophy is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Since 1995, it is held annually in Finland in Greater Helsinki region, including Helsinki, Vantaa, and Espoo. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014� ...

and moving up to 13th at the

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...

and 21st at Worlds. His results continued to improve the next season, when he moved into the top ten at

for the first time in his career and was 14th at Worlds. In the 2005–2006 season, Berntsson finished 11th at both his Grand Prix events, and lost the national title to Adrian Schultheiss. He was 14th at the 2006 Europeans and 23rd at both the 2006 Winter Olympic Games and at Worlds. The 2006–2007 season was Berntsson's best yet. Following a bronze medal at the 2006 Nebelhorn Trophy, he finished 6th at the Cup of Russia and 9th at the NHK Trophy, then regained his national title. At the 2007 Europeans, Berntsson finished 10th, and he was a career-best 9th at 2007 Worlds, where he received a standing ovation following his disco-themed long program. His placement qualified two slots for Sweden for the next World Championships, which were to be held in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. Berntsson tore muscles in his leg at the end of July 2007, and struggled in his fall events. He then finished 7th at the 2008 Europeans and 14th at Worlds. Berntsson had hip surgery in April 2008. He finished 8th at the 2009 Europeans but 20th at Worlds, which, combined with Adrian Schultheiss's 18th place, meant that Sweden would have only one men's entry at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. Although Berntsson won Swedish Nationals, he was bypassed in favor of Schultheiss after finishing 15th at

. Berntsson won the silver medal at the 2010 Finlandia Trophy. In March 2011, Berntsson said he would no longer compete at major events but would remain involved in skating.

Personal life

Berntsson has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and is currently (2010) working toward a Master's degree in this field at

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology ( sv, Chalmers tekniska högskola, often shortened to Chalmers) is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that conducts research and education in technology and natural sciences at a high international level ...

. He plays the guitar and used to play in a band when he was younger.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP:

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 ...

; 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 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berntsson, Kristoffer 1982 births Living people Swedish male single skaters Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Sweden Sportspeople from Gothenburg Competitors at the 2009 Winter Universiade