Mitchell Islam (born January 24, 1990) is a Canadian 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 ...
. He teamed up with partner
Alexandra Paul
Alexandra Elizabeth Paul (born July 29, 1963) is an American actress, activist, health coach, and former model. Paul began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film ''Christine'' (1983). ...
in 2009. They are the 2010
World Junior silver medalists, 2013
Nebelhorn Trophy
The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014–15 season.
The competitio ...
bronze medalists, and three-time
Canadian national
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...
bronze medalists (2011, 2014, 2015). They 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 ...
.
Personal life
Mitchell Islam was born on January 24, 1990, in
Barrie
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.
[ His mother, Debbie, is a former ladies' singles skater who won the Canadian junior title and senior national bronze medal. She is also a figure skating judge; she was on the judging panel for the men's event at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.][ His father, David, is Director of Ice Dance at the Mariposa School of Skating. His sister, Rachel, competes in track and field. Mitchell Islam is currently an Ice Dance coach alongside his father, David Islam at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie. In his years after retirement as a coach, he has successfully coached many teams from the National to International level, such as most recent 2x Junior National Polish Champions and Junior Worlds competitors Olivia Oliver and Joshua Andari. Another one of Mitchell Islam's dance teams, Dana Sabatini-Speciale and Nicholas Buelow, among many other achievements, were recently crowned the 2022 Novice Canadian National Silver Medalists in Ottawa, Ontario.
Mitchell Islam has played AAA hockey, rep level lacrosse, and soccer. He studied political science at ]Oakland University
Oakland University is a public research university in Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson, it was initially known as Michigan State University-Oakland, operating under the Mi ...
,[ completing his final semester in April 2017.][
]
Career
Early career
From 2000 through 2008, Islam competed with Joanna Lenko
Joanna Lenko (born April 24, 1992) is a Canadian retired ice dancer. She won three medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series with Mitchell Islam.
Personal life
Lenko was born in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. Her sister is fellow skater Kristina Le ...
.[ They trained at the Mariposa School of Skating,][ coached by Mitchell Islam's father, David.][
In the ]2006–07 ISU Junior Grand Prix
The 2006–07 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the tenth season of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, a series of international junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the Junior-level complement to the 2006–07 ISU Grand ...
season, Lenko/Islam were 5th in the Netherlands and won a silver medal in Hungary. After taking silver on the junior level at the 2007 Canadian Championships, they were assigned to the 2007 World Junior Championships but withdrew after the original dance due to Lenko's illness.[
Lenko/Islam won a pair of medals in the 2007–08 ISU Junior Grand Prix — silver in the U.S. and bronze in Estonia — which qualified the team for the 2007 JGP Final. Health issues forced them to withdraw prior to the event. They were also unable to compete at the 2008 Canadian Championships, where they had intended to skate at the senior level for the first time. Despite missing the event, Skate Canada named them to the 2008 Junior World team.][ However, Lenko's health issues persisted, leaving them unable to compete at the event.
]
Partnership with Alexandra Paul
In February 2009, Mitchell Islam had a successful tryout with Alexandra Paul
Alexandra Elizabeth Paul (born July 29, 1963) is an American actress, activist, health coach, and former model. Paul began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film ''Christine'' (1983). ...
, a fellow skater at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ontario.[ His father was on his coaching team.
Paul/Islam began competing together during the 2009–2010 season. In July 2009, they beat the Canadian junior champions at the Minto Summer Skate and were given a Junior Grand Prix assignment. They competed at two 2009–10 JGP events, finishing fourth in Poland and fifth in Turkey. They won gold at the Canadian Junior Championships and were assigned to Junior Worlds where they captured the silver medal.
Paul/Islam moved up to the senior ranks for the 2010–2011 season. They finished fourth in their senior Grand Prix debut at 2010 Skate Canada International. Their next event was ]2010 Cup of Russia
The 2010 Cup of Russia was the fifth event of six in the 2010–11 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Megasport Arena in Moscow on November 18–21. Medals were awarde ...
. They had a fall in the short dance and withdrew from the free dance after Paul sustained a rib injury.[ Paul/Islam made their senior national debut at the 2011 Canadian Championships, finishing in third. They were first alternates for the 2011 World Championships.][
His partner sprained her knee ligament around 2011 or 2012.][
Paul/Islam finished eighth at the 2011 Skate America. They withdrew before the free dance at ]2011 NHK Trophy
The 2011 NHK Trophy was the fourth event of six in the 2011–12 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena in Sapporo from November 10–13 ...
after placing seventh in the short — Paul suffered a cut to the back of the thigh in a collision with Italy's Lorenza Alessandrini
Lorenza Alessandrini (born 6 August 1990) is an Italian retired ice dancer who began representing France internationally in 2015. She and her skating partner, Pierre Souquet, competed in the final segment at the 2016 European Championships.
Ea ...
/ Simone Vaturi during the morning practice on November 12.[
In June 2012, Paul/Islam decided to train full-time at the Detroit Skating Club in ]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 ...
.[ They had no Grand Prix events in 2012. At the 2013 Canadian Championships, they finished fourth.][
Paul/Islam began the following season with bronze 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, pair ...
. They placed fifth at their sole Grand Prix assignment, the 2013 Skate Canada International. After winning the bronze medal at the 2014 Canadian Championships, they were assigned to 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 ...
in 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 ...
, where they placed 18th.
Paul/Islam ranked 8th in the short dance, 14th in the free dance, and 13th overall 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. A few weeks later, they changed coaches, joining Marie-France Dubreuil
Marie-France Dubreuil (born August 11, 1974) is a Canadian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With her husband Patrice Lauzon, she is a two-time (2006–2007) World Figure Skating Championships, World silver medallist.
Personal life
Mari ...
, Patrice Lauzon
Patrice Lauzon (born November 26, 1975) is a Canadian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With his wife Marie-France Dubreuil, he is a two-time (2006–2007) World silver medalist.
Personal life
Patrice Lauzon was born in Montreal, Quebec, ...
, and Romain Haguenauer at the Gadbois Centre in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.[
Paul injured her hamstring in the summer of 2016.][ She and Islam received the bronze medal at the 2016 CS U.S. International Classic. On November 18, Paul twisted her knee when she fell during a morning practice at the ]2016 Cup of China
The 2016 Audi Cup of China was the fifth 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 Capital Gymnasium in Beijing on November 18–20. Medals were ...
.[ The duo decided to withdraw from the competition before the short dance. They announced their competitive retirement on December 15, 2016.][
]
Programs
With Paul
With Lenko
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 ...
; 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 ...
''
With Paul
With Lenko
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islam, Mitchell
1990 births
Canadian male ice dancers
Living people
World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists
Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Olympic figure skaters of Canada
Skating people from Ontario
Sportspeople from Barrie
21st-century Canadian people