Yannick Ponsero (born 17 October 1986) is a French former competitive

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 ...

. He won two medals at the World Junior Championships (silver in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, bronze in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

) and two medals 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 ...

series, including gold in France. On the senior level, he is the

2008 NHK Trophy The 2008 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2008–09 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo on November 27–30. Medals were ...

bronze medalist, a two-time

International Cup of Nice The International Cup of Nice (french: Coupe Internationale de Nice) is an annual international figure skating competition usually held in October or November in Nice, France. It was continuously held from 1995 to 2017 (except 2005) for 22 years. Th ...

champion, and the 2009 French national champion.

Personal life

Ponsero was born on 17 October 1986 in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed ...

, France. In addition to skating, he competed in skiing events until the age of 12. He studied physiotherapy.

Career

Ponsero began skating at age four after watching his sister Christina at the rink. He represented the SG Annecy club and was coached by Didier Lucine for many years. In the 2001–02 season, Ponsero debuted on the

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 ...

(JGP) series and competed at his first World Junior Championships, finishing 8th. In March 2005, he stepped onto the podium at the World Junior Championships in

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

, Canada; ranked third in his qualifying group, first in the short program, and second in the free skate, he won the silver medal behind

Nobunari Oda is a Japanese competitive figure skater. He is the 2006 Four Continents champion, a four-time Grand Prix Final medalist (silver in 2009 and 2010; bronze in 2006 and 2013), the 2005 World Junior champion and the 2008 Japanese national champio ...

of Japan. Making his senior Grand Prix (GP) debut, Ponsero placed fifth in October 2005 at

Skate America Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: m ...

. He was seventh at his second GP assignment, the 2005 NHK Trophy. In March 2006, he ranked second in his qualifying group, first in the short, and seventh in the free at the World Junior Championships in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, Slovenia; he was awarded the bronze medal behind Japan's

Takahiko Kozuka is a former competitive Japanese figure skater. He is the 2011 World silver medalist, a two-time Grand Prix Final medalist, a two-time Four Continents medalist, and the 2010–11 Japanese national champion. He is also the 2006 World Junior ...

and Russia's Sergei Voronov. Ponsero won the

in 2007 and 2008. Competing in the 2008–09 Grand Prix series, he finished fourth at the 2008 Skate Canada International, having dropped from first after the short program. He won his only Grand Prix medal, a bronze, at the

and became an alternate for the Grand Prix Final. At the 2009 European Championships, Ponsero was 9th following the short program. He won the long program with a new personal best but missed out on a medal by 0.06 of a point. At the 2010 European Championships, Ponsero was third following the short program and seventh in the long program, finishing sixth overall. He was not selected for either the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver or the 2010 World Championships in Turin. In January 2011, he announced that he had decided to take time off from skating in order to focus on his studies.

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 ...

; JGP:

References

External links

*
Official website of Yannick Ponsero
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponsero, Yannick 1986 births Living people French male single skaters Sportspeople from Annecy World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Competitors at the 2011 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2005 Winter Universiade