Ondřej Hotárek (born 25 January 1984) is a Czech-Italian

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 ...

and coach who began competing for Italy in 2006. He competed with

Valentina Marchei Valentina Marchei (born 23 May 1986) is an Italian retired pair and single figure skater. As a singles skater, she is a five-time Italian Figure Skating Championships, Italian national champion (2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014). Her highest ISU Cha ...

until the end of their partnership in 2018. With former partner

Stefania Berton Stefania Berton (born 19 July 1990) is an Italian competitive pair skater. With partner Ondřej Hotárek, she is the 2013 European bronze medalist, the 2013 Skate Canada International champion, and a three-time Italian national champion. Bert ...

, he is the 2013

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

bronze medalist, the

2013 Skate Canada International The 2013 Skate Canada International was the second event of six in the 2013–14 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Harbour Station in Saint John, New Brunswick on Oct ...

champion, and a three-time

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

national champion. Berton/Hotárek are the first Italian pair skaters to win European and Grand Prix medals. Earlier in his career, Hotárek competed as a

single skater Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Men's singles and women's singles are governed by the International Skating Union (ISU). Figure skating is the oldest winter sport contested ...

and pair skater for the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Personal life

Ondřej Hotárek was born 25 January 1984 in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. He moved from the Czech Republic to Italy in 2005 and became an Italian citizen in September 2010. In January 2012, he became a member of the sports group of the Italian police. Hotárek's engagement to his girlfriend, Italian ice dancer

Anna Cappellini Anna Cappellini (born 19 February 1987) is an Italian ice dancer. With partner Luca Lanotte, she is the 2014 World Figure Skating Championships, 2014 World champion, the 2014 European Figure Skating Championships, 2014 European champion, the 2015 ...

, was announced in August 2014. The couple married on June 20, 2015, in Breccia, Italy. Figure skater

Michal Březina Michal Březina (; born 30 March 1990) is a retired Czech figure skater. He is the 2013 European bronze medalist, 2011 Skate America champion, 2009 World Junior silver medalist and four-time Czech national champion. He also won the 2014-15 IS ...

was the

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...

at their wedding. On July 2, 2021, Hotárek and Cappellini's first child was born.

Early career

Hotárek began learning to skate in 1989. He competed in men's singles for the Czech Republic. He became the 2003 and 2004 Czech national bronze medalist and appeared in international events. Hotárek found the jump elements difficult, and believed his skill set would be better suited to pair skating. His first partner was Veronika Havlíčková. In January 2006, he teamed up with Laura Magitteri to compete for Italy. They were the 2007 and 2008 Italian national champions. Their partnership ended in January 2009.

Partnership with Berton

Hotárek teamed up with

in early 2009. They won the silver medal at 2010 Italian Nationals and were selected 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 ...

. They placed 11th in their debut at the event. During the 2010–11 season, Berton/Hotárek won silver at the

Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union () and held in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition debuted in 1969 and is na ...

and also debuted on the Grand Prix circuit, finishing sixth at

Cup of Russia The Rostelecom Cup () – originally known as the Cup of Russia () – was an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Figure Skating Federation of Russia. The first i ...

. They won their first Italian national title and were sent to the 2011 European Championships. They placed fourth in the short program and fifth in the free program, setting personal bests in both, and finished fifth overall with their best combined total to date, 164.83 points. Berton/Hotárek began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 Ondrej Nepela Memorial, where they won the silver medal. In the Grand Prix season, they placed 4th at

2011 NHK Trophy The 2011 NHK Trophy was the fourth event of six in the 2011–12 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena in Sapporo from November 10–13 ...

and then won bronze at

2011 Rostelecom Cup The 2011 Cup of Russia, Rostelecom Cup was the final event of six in the 2011–12 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Megasport Arena, Ice Palace Megasport in Moscow ...

, making them the first Italian pair to medal on the Grand Prix circuit. At the 2012 European Championships, they placed 4th, historically the highest Italian result in pairs. In the 2012–13 season, Berton/Hotárek were assigned to the 2012 Skate Canada International and 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard. After taking bronze at both events, they won bronze at the 2013 European Championships, becoming the first Italian pair skaters to medal at Europeans. Berton/Hotárek started the 2013–14 Grand Prix season at the

2013 Skate America The 2013 Hilton HHonors Skate America was the first event of six in the 2013–14 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on October ...

and finished 5th. They won their first GP title at the 2013 Skate Canada and then finished 4th at the 2014 European Championships, behind

Vera Bazarova Vera Yevgenyevna Bazarova (, born 28 January 1993) is a Russian pair skater. With former partner Yuri Larionov, she is the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a three-time European medalist (silver in 2012; bronze in 2011 and 2014), t ...

Yuri Larionov Yuri Yuryevich Larionov (, born 19 August 1986) is a Russian pair skater. With former partner Vera Bazarova, he is the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a three-time European medalist (silver in 2012; bronze in 2011 and 2014), the 2 ...

. Berton/Hotárek finished 11th in the pairs event at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, Russia. For the 2014-15 season, Berton/Hotarek were assigned to

2014 Skate America The 2014 Hilton HHonors Skate America was the first event of six in the 2014–15 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on Oct ...

and the

2014 Rostelecom Cup The 2014 Cup of Russia, Rostelecom Cup was the fourth event of six in the 2014–15 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Luzhniki Small Sports Arena in Moscow on Novembe ...

. On 2 July 2014, ''

La Gazzetta dello Sport (; English: "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any type in Italy (in 2018). History and profile was fou ...

'' reported that their partnership had ended.

Partnership with Marchei

On 2 July 2014, ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' wrote that Hotárek and

, a single skater, were considering a partnership.

Bruno Marcotte Bruno Marcotte (born September 10, 1974) is a Canadian figure skating coach and former competitor in pair skating, pairs. He is the 1993 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, 1993 World Junior bronze medallist with Isabelle Coulombe and the ...

confirmed on 26 July 2014 that the two were training together. They are coached by Marcotte in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and by

Franca Bianconi Franca Anna Bianconi Manni (born 3 March 1962) is an Italian figure skating coach and former competitor. She competed at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Personal life Bianconi was born on 3 March 1962 in Milan, Italy. She is the mother of Italian ic ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

2014–15 season

Marchei/Hotárek began the season by winning the bronze medal at the

2014 CS Warsaw Cup The 2014 Warsaw Cup was a senior international figure skating competition held in November 2014 in Warsaw, Poland. It was part of the 2014–15 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair s ...

as well as the silver medal at the

2014 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb The 2014 Golden Spin of Zagreb () was the 47th edition of the annual senior-level international figure skating competition held in Zagreb, Croatia. A part of the 2014–15 ISU Challenger Series, event was held at the Dom sportova on December 4–6 ...

. They then went on to win the 2015 Italian Championships. Selected to compete 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 ...

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Marchei/Hotárek finished fourth. At the

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, they finished eleventh.

2015–16 season

Marchei/Hotárek started the season by winning gold at the 2015 Lombardia Trophy. Debuting on the

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

series, Marchei/Hotárek competed in the short program at

2015 Skate Canada International The 2015 Skate Canada International was the second event of six in the 2015–16 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the ENMAX Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta on October 30 ...

but withdrew on the day of the free skate due to Hotárek sustaining a concussion while practicing a triple twist. They went on to compete at the

2015 Rostelecom Cup The 2015 Rostelecom Cup was the fifth event of six in the 2015–16 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Luzhniki Small Sports Arena in Moscow on November 20–22. Meda ...

, finishing sixth. At the

Italian Figure Skating Championships The Italian Figure Skating Championships () are an annual figure skating competition organized by the Italian Ice Sports Federation () to crown the national champions of Italy. Skaters compete in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, a ...

, Marchei/Hotárek won the silver medal behind

Nicole Della Monica Nicole Della Monica (born 3 June 1989) is a retired Italian pair skater. With her former partner Matteo Guarise, she is a seven-time Italian Figure Skating Championships, Italian national champion (2016–22) and has represented Italy at the Fig ...

Matteo Guarise Matteo Guarise (born 15 September 1988) is an Italian pairs figure skater and roller skater. Currently competing in pair skating with partner Lucrezia Beccari, he is the 2024 European champion, a two-time ISU Grand Prix medalist, 2023 CS Nebel ...

. Going on to compete at the 2016 European Championships in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, Marchei/Hotárek finished fifth. They went on to compete at the 2015 Hellmut Seibt Memorial, where they won the gold medal. At the

2016 World Figure Skating Championships The 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships took place March 28 – April 3, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. Figure skaters competed for the title of World champion in Single skating, men's singles, ladies' singles, Pair skating, pairs and ice ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, Marchei/Hotárek finished fourteenth.

2016–17 season

Marchei/Hotárek began the season by winning the silver medal at the

2016 CS Lombardia Trophy The 2016 CS Lombardia Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition held in September 2016 in Bergamo, Italy. It was part of the 2016–17 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' sin ...

. They then competed on the

series, finishing eighth at

2016 Skate America The 2016 Skate America was the first event of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Sears Centre in Chicago, Illinois, on October 21–23. Medals we ...

and fourth at the

2016 Rostelecom Cup The 2016 Rostelecom Cup was the third event of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Megasport Arena in Moscow on November 4–5. Medals were award ...

. They went on to also win the gold medal at the

2016 CS Warsaw Cup The 2016 CS Warsaw Cup was a senior international figure skating competition, held in November 2016 in Warsaw, Poland. It was part of the 2016–17 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, p ...

. At the 2017 Italian Championships, Marchei/Hotárek won the silver medal for the second consecutive year. Selected to compete at the 2017 European Championships in

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

, Marchei/Hotárek finished sixth. Competing at the 2017 World Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, Marchei/Hotárek placed ninth.

2017–18 season

Marchei/Hotárek began the season with winning the bronze medal at the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy. They then competed on the 2017–18 Grand Prix series, finishing fifth at the

2017 Cup of China Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number) * One of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017, 2117 Science * Chlorine, a halogen in the periodic table * 17 Thetis, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American maga ...

and fourth at the

2017 Rostelecom Cup The 2017 Rostelecom Cup was the first event of six in the 2017–18 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Megasport Arena in Moscow on October 20–22. Medals were awar ...

. They also won the gold medal at the 2017 CS Warsaw Cup. At the 2018 Italian Championships, Marchei/Hotárek won the silver medal for the third year in a row. Competing at the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburg ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, Marchei/Hotárek finished fifth. Selected to compete at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

in both the

Team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

and

Pair Pair or PAIR or Pairing may refer to: Government and politics * Pair (parliamentary convention), matching of members unable to attend, so as not to change the voting margin * ''Pair'', a member of the Prussian House of Lords * ''Pair'', the Fren ...

events, Marchei/Hotárek placed second in the free program segment of the team event, helping Team Italy finish in fourth place overall. In the pairs event, Marchei/Hotárek placed seventh in the short program and sixth in the free skate, finishing in sixth place overall. At the 2018 World Championships in

, Italy, Marchei/Hotárek finished in tenth place. They ended their partnership in September 2018.

Post-competitive career

Following his retirement from competitive figure skating, Hotárek became a figure skating coach and currently coaches in

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

at the S.S.D. S.r.l. Icelab alongside his former coach,

. His current and former students include: * Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo Ambrosini *

Annika Hocke Annika Maria Hocke (born 16 July 2000) is a German pair skater. With her skating partner, Robert Kunkel, she is the 2023 European Figure Skating Championships, 2023 European bronze medalist, the 2023 Skate America champion, 2022 Grand Prix de Fr ...

/ Robert Kunkel * Barbora Kuciánová /

Martin Bidař Martin Bidař (born 24 February 1999) is a Czech pair skater. With former partner Anna Dušková, they are the 2016 World Junior champions, 2016 Youth Olympic silver medalists (both individually and in the team event), and 2015 Junior Grand ...

Matteo Rizzo Matteo Rizzo (born 5 September 1998) is an Italian figure skater. He is a three-time European Figure Skating Championships, European Championship medalist (silver in 2023 European Figure Skating Championships, 2023, bronze in 2019 European Figure ...

* Kristen Spours * Milania Väänänen /

Filippo Clerici Filippo Clerici (born 7 March 2001) is an Italian pair skating, pair skater who currently competes for Finland. With his former skating partner, Milania Väänänen, he is the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, 2023 Golden Spin of Zagreb gold medalist ...

* Anna Valesi / Manuel Piazza

Programs

With Marchei

With Berton

Single skating

Competitive highlights

''GP:

; CS: Challenger Series; 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 ...

Pairs with Marchei for Italy

Pairs with Berton for Italy

Pairs with Magitteri for Italy

Men's singles for the Czech Republic

Detailed results

Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.

With Marchei

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hotarek, Ondrej 1984 births Living people Figure skaters from Brno Czech male single skaters Czech male pair skaters Italian male pair skaters Italian people of Czech descent Czech emigrants to Italy Naturalised citizens of Italy Figure skaters of Fiamme Azzurre European Figure Skating Championships medalists Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Italy 21st-century Italian sportsmen