Zoltán Kelemen (born 31 July 1986) is a Romanian 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 is an eight-time Romanian national champion. He qualified for the free skate 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 ...

, the 2014 World Championships, five

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, ...

, and two World Junior Championships.

Personal life

Kelemen was born on 31 July 1986 in

Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; hu, Csíkszereda, ; german: Szeklerburg) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt Ri ...

, Romania. He lost the sight in his right eye at age seven, following an accident involving an aerosol can.

Career

Due to his vision impairment, Kelemen fails the yearly physical Romania requires of its athletes, making him ineligible for government funding for his training and coaching. He is required to sign an annual waiver declaring that he is competing "on his own responsibility." In the 2004–05 and 2005–06 season, Kelemen competed 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 and at the World Junior Championships. In 2007, he won his first senior national title and was given his debut at the European Championships and senior World Championships. 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 ...

, Kelemen earned a spot for Romania in the Olympic men's event. He began training in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and qualified for the free skate for the first time in his career at the 2010 European Championships. He then competed at the

2010 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 ...

, placing 29th. Kelemen placed a career-best 14th at the 2012 European Championships. In August 2012, he decided to train in Switzerland with Gheorghe Chiper; he also works in Switzerland as he receives little support from the Romanian skating association. Kelemen earned another Olympic berth for Romania at 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 ...

. At the

, he qualified for the free skate and finished 23rd.

Programs

Results

''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 ...

2004–05 to 2013–14

1998–99 to 2003–04

References

External links

*
Zoltan Kelemen
at Tracings

at Rinkresults {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelemen, Zoltan Romanian sportspeople of Hungarian descent Romanian male single skaters Sportspeople from Miercurea Ciuc 1986 births Living people Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Romania Székely people