Steven Cousins (born 24 May 1972) is a British former competitive men's singles

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, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. He is the 1993

Skate Canada International Skate Canada International is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organised and hosted by Skate Canada. The first Skate Canada competition was held in 1973 in Calgary, Alberta. When ...

bronze medalist and an eight-time British national champion. He finished as high as 6th at the Olympics (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

), 7th at the World Championships (

), and 4th at the European Championships (

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Career

Cousins began skating in 1978 after he and his brother pushed their parents to take them to an ice rink. Although he had a negative reaction at first ("We ended up going to the rink, and I hated it"), he eventually grew interested in figuring out how to jump and spin. He was also spurred on by sibling rivalry with his elder brother. Cousins is the youngest skater to win the British National Championships. He trained with Donna Gately at Deeside Ice Rink in the United Kingdom and then moved to the United States where he spent a number of years. In 1993, he moved to Canada and was coached by Doug Leigh at the Mariposa School of Skating in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He also worked with Stephen Pickavance and Karen Barber in the UK. Cousins competed at three

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

, nine World Championships, and nine

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

during his career. He became the first Briton to land a triple Axel in competition at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

, Norway. He was the British national champion for seven consecutive years before his streak was interrupted by Neil Wilson in the 1996–97 season. Cousins finished higher at the 1997 European Championships and was sent to the 1997 World Championships. Cousins reclaimed his national title in the 1997–98 season. After finishing ninth at the 1997 Nations Cup, he withdrew from the 1997 Trophée Lalique. He placed sixth at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

in Nagano, Japan. He was coached by Doug Leigh and Robert Tebby. Cousins retired from eligible competition in 1998 but continued to skate in shows, including touring with Stars on Ice until 2007. He has worked as a choreographer. In May 2010, he joined the International Skating School at Planet Ice,

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, and Silver Blades,

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

. He was the event manager for the 2012–13 Disson skating shows.

Personal life

Cousins was born on 24 May 1972 in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He married Canadian ice dancer Kristina Lenko in June 2003. They formally separated in the summer of 2006 and subsequently divorced. With former wife Elena Berezhnaya, he has two children. The couple's separation was confirmed in August 2013. Cousins has a home in Chester but lives more than half the year in

, Canada.

Programmes

Competitive highlights

''GP: Champions Series (Grand Prix)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousins, Steven 1972 births Sportspeople from Chester British male single skaters English male single skaters Olympic figure skaters for Great Britain Figure skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Living people Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games