Victor Kraatz, (born April 7, 1971) is a Canadian former

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 ...

. In 2003, he and his partner,

Shae-Lynn Bourne Shae-Lynn Bourne (born January 24, 1976) is a Canadian ice dancer and choreographer. In 2003, she and partner Victor Kraatz became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship. They competed at three Winter Olympic Games, pl ...

, became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship.

Personal life

Born on April 7, 1971 in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

, Victor Kraatz grew up in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. At age 15, he moved to

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 ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. Kraatz married Finnish ice dancer

Maikki Uotila Maikki Uotila-Kraatz (born 25 February 1977) is a Finnish former ice dancer. With Toni Mattila, she is the 1997 Finnish national champion and competed in the final segment at the 1996 European Championships. Personal life Uotila was born on 2 ...

on June 19, 2004 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland. They have two sons – Oliver, born September 14, 2006 in North Vancouver, British Columbia; and Henry, born on July 10, 2010.

Career

Kraatz began to skate in 1980. In Switzerland, former pair skaters Mona and Peter Szabo taught him basic skills. His first ice dancing partner was Analisa Beltrami of Switzerland. After his move to Canada, Kraatz was coached by Joanne Sloman in

Vancouver, British Columbia 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 ...

. In the early 1990s, he switched to Eric Gillies and Josee Picard in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

. He had a partnership with Taryn O'Neill.

Partnership with Bourne

On April 20, 1991, Kraatz began skating with

, who had been a

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 ...

until that time. Bourne tried out with him in

Boucherville Boucherville is a city in the Montérégie region in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal on the South Shore (Montreal), South shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Boucherville is part of both the urban agglomeration of Longueuil and Greate ...

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 ...

on the suggestion of a coach, Paul Wirtz. During their career, Bourne/Kraatz were coached at various times by

Tatiana Tarasova Tatiana Anatolyevna Tarasova (; born 13 February 1947) is a Russian figure skating coach and national figure skating team adviser. Tarasova has been coach to more world and Olympic champions than any other coach in skating history. Her students h ...

Natalia Dubova Natalia Ilinichna Dubova (russian: Наталья Ильинична Дубова; born 31 March 1948) is a Russian ice dancing coach and former competitive ice dancer. Career Competing as Natalia Bakh with partner Vladimir Pavlikhin, she wo ...

Uschi Keszler Ursula "Uschi" Keszler (born August 13, 1948) is a figure skating coach and choreographer and a former competitor for West Germany. Career Uschi Keszler qualified to represent the United Team of Germany at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruc ...

Marina Klimova Marina Vladimirovna Klimova (russian: Марина Владимировна Климова; born 28 July 1966) is a former competitive ice dancer who competed for the Soviet Union and the Unified Team. With skating partner and husband Se ...

and

Sergei Ponomarenko Sergei Vladilenovich Ponomarenko (russian: Серге́й Владиленович Пономаренко; born October 6, 1960) is a Russian former competitive Ice dancing, ice dancer who competed for the Soviet Union and the Unified Te ...

, and Nikolai Morozov. For the 1997–98 season, their free dance was modeled after ''

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Jean ...

'', with footwork instruction provided by Riverdance lead dancer

Colin Dunne Colin Dunne (born 8 May 1968) is an English-Irish dancer and choreographer who is a leading figure in the world of traditional Irish dance, as well as a theatre actor and contemporary dancer. Best known internationally for his performances and c ...

. Bourne/Kraatz became known for their deep edges and soft knees. They were credited with perfecting and popularizing the

hydroblading A hydroblade is a figure skating edge move or connecting step in which a skater glides on a deep edge with the body stretched in a very low position, almost touching the ice. Several variations in position are possible, but one commonly perfo ...

technique. Bourne/Kraatz missed the 2000 Four Continents and 2000 World Championships due to Bourne's knee surgery. In spring 2000, they changed coaches, moving to

and Nikolai Morozov in

Newington, Connecticut Newington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. Located south of downtown Hartford, Newington is an older, mainly residential suburb located in Greater Hartford. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,536. The Connecticu ...

. Bourne/Kraatz withdrew from their 2002 Grand Prix events due to Bourne's injury. They won their tenth Canadian national title and their third Four Continents title. Bourne/Kraatz went on to become the first World champions in ice dancing from North America, winning gold at the 2003 World Championships in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

They retired from competition at the end of the season. On October 21, 2003, they announced the end of their partnership; while Bourne enjoyed show skating, Kraatz said he wanted "to experiment with other things and follow up on other dreams that I have". In January 2007, they were inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame. Kraatz represented CPA Boucherville in

Later career

After retiring from skating, Kraatz studied marketing and began working at a marketing agency in

Yaletown Yaletown is an area of Downtown Vancouver, Canada, bordered by False Creek and Robson and Homer Streets. Formerly a heavy industrial area dominated by warehouses and rail yards, since the 1986 World's Fair it has been transformed into one of the ...

. In 2005, Kraatz joined the B.C. Centre of Excellence. He went on to coach

Allie Hann-McCurdy Allie Hann-McCurdy (born May 23, 1987) is a Canadian former ice dancer. McCurdy began skating at age eight and was a singles skater until age 12 when she switched to ice dancing. In 2003, she teamed up with Michael Coreno, with whom she was the 2 ...

Michael Coreno Michael Coreno (born August 31, 1984 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian ice dancer. Coreno began skating at age seven. In 2003, he teamed up with Allie Hann-McCurdy, with whom he was 2010 Four Continents silver medallist and 2008 Canadian bronz ...

Carolina Hermann Anna Carolina Hermann (born 3 January 1988) is a German former competitive ice dancer. With her brother, Daniel Hermann, she won six senior international medals and the 2009 German national title. They reached the free dance at three ISU Cham ...

Daniel Hermann Daniel Felix Hermann (born 12 October 1986) is a German former competitive ice dancer. With his sister, Carolina Hermann, he won six senior international medals and the 2009 German national title. They reached the free dance at three ISU Ch ...

, and

Danielle O'Brien Danielle O'Brien (born 7 February 1990) is an Australian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Gregory Merriman, she is a six-time Australian senior national champion and three-time junior national champion. They have competed at the Worl ...

Gregory Merriman Gregory Merriman, also known as Greg, (born 3 October 1988) is an Australian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Danielle O'Brien, he is a six-time Australian senior national champion and three-time junior national champion. They have c ...

. In the winter of 2012–13 season, he switched to coaching hockey players.

Programs

(with Bourne)

Results

(with Bourne) ''GP: Part of Champions Series from 1995–96 season, renamed Grand Prix series in 1998–99''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kraatz, Victor 1971 births Living people Canadian male ice dancers Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Figure skaters from Berlin Figure skaters from Vancouver German emigrants to Canada Recipients of the Meritorious Service Decoration Olympic figure skaters of Canada World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists 20th-century Canadian people 21st-century Canadian people