Sonia Lafuente Martínez (born 7 December 1991) is a Spanish former

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 ...

. She is a six-time Spanish national champion. Lafuente became the first Spanish skater to medal on the

ISU 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 ...

circuit when she won silver at the 2006 Mexico Cup.

Personal life

Lafuente was born on 7 December 1991 in

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auton ...

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. She is a university student, studying sports. She intends to spread her studies over several years in order to accommodate her career.

Career

Lafuente began skating at age four, after her parents took her and her sister to a newly opened rink in Madrid. Carolina Sanz and Ivan Saez were her coaches for much of her career. In the 2003–04 season, Lafuente made her international debut as a novice, and finished with the bronze medal at the Merano Cup, an event she would win one year later. She began competing in junior internationals in 2005–06. In the 2006–07 season, Lafuente became the first Spanish skater to win a

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 ...

medal. She trained mainly in

Majadahonda Majadahonda () is a municipality in Spain, situated northwest of Madrid, in the Community of Madrid. It lies alongside the motorway A6 Madrid-A Coruña. The Puerta de Hierro university (public) hospital was relocated to Majadahonda from the wes ...

. In 2008, Lafuente made her 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, ...

. She was 30th at her first Senior Worlds. The next season, she finished 23rd at Europeans and 26th at Worlds, which did not qualify her for the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

. However, she was able to qualify for the Olympics with an 8th-place finish at the

2009 Nebelhorn Trophy The 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy was held between September 23 and 26, 2009 in Oberstdorf, Germany. It served as the final Olympic qualifier to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skatin ...

, and finished 22nd in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. The next season, she received her first Grand Prix assignments, and finished 10th and 7th, respectively, at the

2010 Skate Canada International The 2010 Skate Canada International was the second 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 K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario on October 28� ...

and the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard. She was 12th at the

but did not qualify for the free skate at Worlds. Lafuente was 9th at the

2011 Nebelhorn Trophy The 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy took place on September 21–24, 2011 at the Eislaufzentrum Oberstdorf. It is held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany and is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain. It was one of the first international senior competi ...

, 7th at the 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, 5th at the 2011 Golden Spin of Zagreb, and 15th at the 2012 European Championships in Sheffield. Lafuente finished 7th at the 2013 European Championships and earned the minimum score to compete at the 2013 World Championships where she was 22nd. 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 ...

was the last opportunity to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Lafuente was unable to win one of the six available ladies' berths, finishing 26th. In October 2013, she decided to move to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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 ...

, Canada to train in

Brian Orser Brian Ernest Orser, (born 18 December 1961) is a Canadian former competitive and professional figure skater and coach to Olympic champions. He is the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medallist, 1987 World champion and eight-time (1981–88) Can ...

's group. In 2014, she began working with Ghisland Briand and

Tracy Wilson Tracy Wilson, (born September 25, 1961) is a Canadian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Rob McCall, she won the Canadian national championship seven times (1982–1988), is a three-time World bronze medallist, and the 1988 Olympic ...

as her coaches. After finishing 33rd at the 2016 European Championships, Lafuente decided to leave competition for a year. In 2018, Lafuente was the sole performer in the music video for the song Pausa, from the album Autoterapia, by the Spanish band Izal.

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 ...

; CS: Challenger Series; JGP:

2005–present

Novice career

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lafuente, Sonia 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Las Palmas Spanish female single skaters Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Spain Universiade medalists in figure skating Universiade silver medalists for Spain Competitors at the 2011 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2015 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2013 Winter Universiade 21st-century Spanish women