Luc Maierhofer (born 24 May 2002) is an Austrian

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 the 2019

Golden Bear of Zagreb The Golden Bear ( hr, Zlatni medvjed) is an ISU annual international and inter-club figure skating competition held in Zagreb, Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem ...

silver medalist and the 2022 Austrian national champion. On the junior level, he is the 2016

Dragon Trophy The Dragon Trophy is an annual international figure skating competition. It is typically held in February in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Medals may be awarded in men's and ladies' singles on the senior, junior, and advanced novice levels. Senior events ...

champion, the 2016

Skate Helena Skate Helena (formerly known as the Helena Pajović Cup) is an annual figure skating competition held in December or January in Belgrade, Serbia. Named after Helena Pajović, the event became part of the European Criterium in 2008. Skaters may c ...

silver medalist, and a two-time Austrian junior national champion (2016, 2019).

Personal life

Maierhofer was born 24 May 2002 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria. His brother, Johannes Maierhofer, and half-sister

Belinda Schönberger Belinda Schönberger (27 August 1991) is an Austrian former competitive figure skater. She is the 2011 Austrian national champion and has won two senior international medals. Programs Competitive highlights ''CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Ju ...

have also competed in figure skating.

Career

Early career

Maierhofer began learning to skate in 2008. Early in his career, he was coached by Sergei Gromov. He competed in the advanced novice ranks from autumn 2012 through March 2015. Coached by Julia Lavrenchuk in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Maierhofer made his junior international debut in August 2015 at the

ISU Junior Grand Prix in Slovakia The ISU Junior Grand Prix in Slovakia (sometimes titled Grand Prize SNP or Skate Slovakia) is an international figure skating competition. Sanctioned by the International Skating Union, it is held in the autumn in some years as part of the JGP serie ...

. In March 2016, he competed at his first ISU Championship – the 2016 World Junior Championships in

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...

, Hungary. He was ranked 30th in the short program but did not advance to the final segment. Following that season, Maierhofer relocated to

Egna Neumarkt (literally "new market"; ; it, Egna ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about south of the city of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 5,001 and an area of .All de ...

, Italy, to be coached by Lorenzo Magri.

2017–2018 season

Maierhofer's senior international debut came in September at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. He finished 26th at the competition, which served as the final qualifying opportunity for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Ranked 41st, he was eliminated after the short program at the 2018 World Junior Championships in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, Bulgaria.

2018–2019 season

Maierhofer began his season on the JGP series, placing within the top ten at both of his assignments. At the Austrian Championships in December, he won the junior men's title and finished second to

Maurizio Zandron Maurizio Zandron (born 15 November 1992) is an Italian-born figure skater who currently competes for Austria; he previously represented Italy until 2018. He is the winner of several medals in international competition, including gold at the 2016 ...

in the senior category. He was assigned to the 2019 European Championships because Zandron was not yet eligible to represent Austria in ISU events. Maierhofer qualified to the final segment at the European Championships, which took place in January in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, Belarus. He placed 21st in the short program, 19th in the free skate, and 20th overall. In March, Maierhofer advanced to the free skate at the 2019 World Junior 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. He finished 18th after placing 14th in the short and 21st in the free. Later that month, he competed at the 2019 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. Ranked 26th in the short, he did not reach the free skate.

2021–2022 season

Maierhofer began the Olympic season at the

2021 CS Lombardia Trophy The 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy Memorial Anna Grandolfi was held on September 10–12, 2021 in Bergamo, Italy. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, and ice dan ...

, where he placed sixteenth. He withdrew from the

2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 22–25, 2021 in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. It was also the final qualifying event for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Medals were awarded in the discipli ...

, but went on to place eighteenth at the

2021 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy was held on October 7–10, 2021 in Espoo, Finland. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, pairs, and ...

and eleventh at the 2021 CS Cup of Austria.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''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 ...

Pairs With Ghedini

Men's Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maierhofer, Luc 2002 births Austrian male single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Vienna 21st-century Austrian people Competitors at the 2023 Winter World University Games