Alban Préaubert (born 20 September 1985) 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, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. He won six ISU Grand Prix medals and five French national bronze medals (2006, 2008–11).

Personal life

Alban Préaubert was born on 20 September 1985 in

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, France. His studies focused on economy and management. He graduated with an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

ESCP Europe ESCP Business School (; ) is a French business school and ''grande école'' founded in Paris and based across Europe with campuses in Paris, Berlin, London, Madrid, Turin, and Warsaw. Established in 1819, it is considered the world's oldest busi ...

in May 2010. He expressed interest in sports management. As of 2011, he works for an asset management company in Paris. He has a red belt in judo.

Skating career

Préaubert began skating in 1991. He was immediately attracted to skating after his father brought him to an ice rink to improve his balance for skiing. Early in his career, he trained with Elena Issatchenko, champion of the USSR in 1965 and 1966, at Charleville-Mezieres. He later moved to work with coach Annick Dumont. Préaubert won the French junior national title and a medal on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. He skated at both junior and senior events in 2004–05.

2005–06 season

Préaubert had a successful season in his first full year as a senior, with a podium finish at the 2006 French nationals, a 6th place showing at his first

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

, and an 8th place in his World Championships debut.

2006–07 season

For the 2006–07 Grand Prix season, Préaubert was assigned to 2006 Skate America and the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard; he won the bronze and silver medals, respectively, qualifying him for the Grand Prix Final, where he finished fourth. He again finished sixth at the

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 ...

, but dropped out of the top ten at Worlds.

2007–08 season

In 2007–08, Préaubert was again assigned to Skate America and the Trophée Eric Bompard; a fifth-place finish at Skate America dropped him out of contention for the Grand Prix final. He was tenth at the European Championships and was forced to withdraw from Worlds due to a back injury.

2008–09 season

Préaubert began the 2008–09 season by defeating his countryman

Brian Joubert Brian Joubert (; born 20 September 1984) is a French figure skating coach and former competitor. He is the 2007 World champion, a three-time (2004, 2007 & 2009) European champion, and the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final champion. On the domestic le ...

at the French Masters and winning his third

Trophée Eric Bompard The Grand Prix de France is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the French Federation of Ice Sports () (FFIS). The first iteration of the Grand Prix de France was held ...

medal, a bronze. He also won the bronze at the Cup of Russia and was an alternate for the Grand Prix Final. He finished third at French Nationals and was selected to go to Europeans, where he finished in fifth place, but was only third among the French skaters. As a result, Préaubert was not chosen to compete at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

2009–10 season

In the 2009–10 season, Préaubert again medalled on the Grand Prix circuit, winning bronze at

Skate Canada Skate Canada (Canadian French: ''Patinage Canada'', lit. "Skating Canada") is the national governing body for figure skating in Canada, recognized by the International Skating Union and the Canadian Olympic Committee. It organizes the annual C ...

. He again finished third at French nationals. The French men were competing for only two spots at the Olympics, and Préaubert, along with runner-up

Yannick Ponsero Yannick Ponsero (born 17 October 1986) is a French former competitive figure skater. He won two medals at the World Junior Championships (silver in 2005, bronze in 2006) and two medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, including gold in France ...

, were selected for the European Championships only. There, Préaubert came in 7th. In March 2010, he participated in a French federation test skate to determine the second entry for the World Championships;

was eventually chosen.

2010–11 season

Préaubert finished fifth and sixth at his two Grand Prix assignments in 2010–11, and followed this with his fifth bronze medal at French nationals. It was his final competitive season.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Preaubert, Alban French male single skaters Sportspeople from Grenoble Living people 1985 births World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Winter World University Games medalists in figure skating FISU World University Games bronze medalists for France Competitors at the 2005 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2009 Winter Universiade French male judoka 21st-century French sportsmen