Zuzanna Szwed (; 19 born July 1977) is a Polish 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 ...

. She is the 1994 Karl Schäfer Memorial champion, 1995

Finlandia Trophy The Finlandia Trophy is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Since 1995, it is held annually in Finland in Greater Helsinki region, including Helsinki, Vantaa, and Espoo. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014� ...

silver medalist, and a five-time Polish national champion. She competed at the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

in Albertville.

Personal life

Zuzanna Szwed was born on 19 July 1977 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland. She married American pair skater Aaron Parchem in Chicago in 2004. They have a daughter, Sofie (born 2011).

Career

Szwed began skating in 1983 and was coached by Lucja Rylska early in her career. Making her first ISU Championship appearance, she placed 15th at the 1991 Junior Worlds in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary. Szwed competed at the

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

, France. She qualified for the final segment by placing 23rd in the short program and went on to finish 19th overall. She was the first skater to represent Poland in ladies' single skating at the Olympics. In the 1993–94 season, Szwed finished eighth at the World Junior Championships in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

and second at the Polish Championships, both times finishing behind Anna Rechnio, who was selected to compete at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

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 municip ...

. In the 1994–95 season, Szwed won gold at the 1994 Karl Schäfer Memorial ahead of

Krisztina Czakó Krisztina Czakó (born 17 December 1978) is a Hungarian former figure skater. She is the 1997 European silver medalist and 1994 Skate Canada International champion. Career Czakó was born in Budapest, Hungary. Her mother Klara was a speed ska ...

and

Maria Butyrskaya Maria Viktorovna Butyrskaya (russian: Мария Викторовна Бутырская, links=no, born 28 June 1972) is a Russian retired figure skater. She is the 1999 World champion and a three-time European champion — becoming the oldes ...

. Ranked 15th in the short and second in the free, she finished seventh overall at the 1995 World Junior Championships in Budapest. In the 1997–98 season, Szwed took bronze at the Polish Championships behind Rechnio and

Sabina Wojtala Sabina Wojtala (Polish pronunciation: ; born 12 September 1981) is a Polish former competitive figure skater. She won eight senior international medals and six Polish national titles. She reached the free skate at nine ISU Championships – fou ...

. She was coached by Craig Maurizi in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. In total, Szwed reached the free skate at thirteen ISU Championships – three Worlds, seven Europeans, and three Junior Worlds. She finished in the top ten at four Europeans and two Junior Worlds and in the top fourteen at two Worlds. She works as a coach and choreographer at the Detroit Skating Club in

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a small city (5.04 sq. miles) in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is approximately northwest of Downtown Detroit. Except a small southern border with the city of Bir ...

Programs

Results

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szwed, Zuzanna Figure skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Poland Polish female single skaters 1977 births Living people Figure skaters from Warsaw Polish emigrants to the United States