Simon Shnapir (born August 20, 1987) is an American former competitive
pair skater
Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...
. With
Marissa Castelli
Marissa Castelli (born August 20, 1990) is an American retired pair skater. With her skating partner, Mervin Tran, she is the 2017 U.S. national silver medalist.
With her former partner, Simon Shnapir, she is the 2013 Four Continents bronze me ...
, he is the 2013
Four Continents
Europeans in the 16th century divided the world into four continents: Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Each of the four continents was seen to represent its quadrant of the world—Africa in the south, America in the west, Asia in the east, a ...
bronze medalist, the 2009
World Junior bronze medalist, and a two-time
U.S. national
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
champion (2013 & 2014). The pair won a bronze medal in the team event 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 ...
. After their split in May 2014, Shnapir teamed up with DeeDee Leng and competed in the 2014–15 season.
Personal life
Shnapir was born to Jewish parents, both chemical engineering graduates, in Moscow,
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
, Soviet Union.
[ He arrived in the United States with his family when he was 16 months old.][ After living in ]Brighton, Boston
Brighton is a former town and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of Brighton. Initially Brighton was part of Cambridge, and known as "L ...
for a few years, the family moved to Sudbury, Massachusetts
Sudbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,934. The town, located in Greater Boston's MetroWest region, has a rich colonial history.
History
Incorporated in 1639, the bou ...
.[
Shnapir graduated from ]Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (LSRHS or L-S) is a public regional high school in Sudbury, Massachusetts, with a 99% graduation-rate. The school was founded in 1954, and the building was replaced prior to the 2004–2005 academic year, wit ...
in 2005, and went on to major in marketing at Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
.
Career
Shnapir began learning to skate in 1993.[ Early in his pairs career, he skated with Tanya Aziz and Courtney Gill. Bobby Martin became his coach in around 2000.][
]
Partnership with Castelli
Shnapir and Marissa Castelli
Marissa Castelli (born August 20, 1990) is an American retired pair skater. With her skating partner, Mervin Tran, she is the 2017 U.S. national silver medalist.
With her former partner, Simon Shnapir, she is the 2013 Four Continents bronze me ...
teamed up in April 2006 and began training together in earnest in June.[ They trained 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 ...
, coached by Bobby Martin, Carrie Wall (technical), Mark Mitchell (in-betweens, polishing), and Peter Johansson (throws).[ Castelli broke Shnapir's nose once while they were practicing the ]twist
Twist may refer to:
In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage
* ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist''
* ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...
.[
Castelli/Shnapir qualified for the 2008 Junior Grand Prix Final and placed sixth. The pair won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Junior Championships.
In the 2009–10 season, Castelli was off the ice for a month after a collision with an Italian skater resulting in 15 stitches to her inner thigh.][ The pair placed tenth on the senior level at the 2010 U.S. Championships and were sent to the 2010 Four Continents Championships where they also finished tenth.
In 2012, Castelli/Shnapir split up for a month but decided to recommit to their partnership.][ They won gold at the 2012 ]Ice Challenge
The Icechallenge (formerly known as the Leo-Scheu-Gedächtnislaufen or Leo Scheu Memorial) is an annual international figure skating competition organized by the Grazer Eislaufverein and sanctioned by the Austrian Figure Skating association and the ...
and then won bronze, their first 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 ...
medal, at the 2012 NHK Trophy
The 2012 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2012–13 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Miyagi on November 22–25. Medals were ...
.[ They won their first national title at the 2013 U.S. Championships.][ They were assigned to the 2013 Four Continents and won the bronze medal.
Castelli/Shnapir won their second national title at the 2014 U.S. Championships and were named in the U.S. team 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 ...
, held in February 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 ...
, Russia. They won a bronze medal in the team event and placed 9th in the pairs event. In March, Castelli/Shnapir finished 11th at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. They announced the end of their partnership on May 7, 2014.[
]
Partnership with Leng
On May 28, 2014, the Associated Press reported that Shnapir had teamed up with DeeDee Leng.[ They were coached by Bobby Martin and Carrie Wall at the Skating Club of Boston.][ For the 2014-2015 Grand Prix season, they were assigned to ]Rostelecom Cup
The Rostelecom Cup (russian: Кубок Ростелекома), formerly the Cup of Russia (russian: Кубок России), is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating ser ...
and NHK Trophy
The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Organized by the Japanese Skating Federation, it began in 1979 and was added to the Grand Prix series in 199 ...
.[ After having placed 6th and 8th at these competitions, respectively, Leng and Shnapir placed 8th at the 2015 U.S. Championships.][
In April 2015, Leng suffered a season-ending concussion during a practice session.][ On June 30, 2015, Shnapir announced his retirement from competitions.][ In November 2016, he became the director of the high performance program at the Skating Club of Boston.][
]
Programs
With Leng
With Castelli
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 ...
''
With Leng
With Castelli
See also
* List of select Jewish figure skaters
References
External links
* at Figure Skaters Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shnapir, Simon
American male pair skaters
Figure skaters from Moscow
Living people
1987 births
Jewish American sportspeople
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Russian emigrants to the United States
Russian Jews
World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists
Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Olympic medalists in figure skating
Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in figure skating
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School alumni
Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists
21st-century American Jews