Saulius Ambrulevičius

Saulius Ambrulevičius (born 10 June 1992) is a Lithuanian ice dancer. With current ice dance partner Allison Reed, they are the 2024 European bronze medalists, three-time ISU Grand Prix bronze medalists, and seven-time ISU Challenger Series medalists (two golds, five silvers). They have finished in the top ten at three World Championships (2022, 2023, 2024).

With former ice dance partner Taylor Tran, he is the 2015 Pavel Roman Memorial silver medalist and 2015 Lithuanian national champion. They qualified to the free dance at the 2017 European Championships. As a single skater, he is the 2007 and 2008 Lithuanian national champion.

Career

Single skating

Ambrulevičius was born in Kaunas and began learning to skate in 1998. He won the Lithuanian senior title for the first time in 2007. His first major international competition was the 2007 Junior Worlds; he placed 45th in the short program and did not qualify for the free skate.

In the 2007–08 season, Ambrulevičius won his second national title. He competed in the 2008 Junior Worlds and placed 47th. He competed at the 2008 World Championships, where he finished 45th.

Partnership with Tran

Around July 2014, Ambrulevičius teamed up with American skater Taylor Tran to compete in ice dancing for Lithuania. Their international debut came at the Tallinn Trophy in December 2014. At the Estonian event, they finished 5th and earned the minimum scores to appear at the 2015 European Championships in Stockholm. They missed the cut for the free dance in Sweden and at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Tran/Ambrulevičius qualified to the final segment at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic; they ranked 20th in the short dance, 17th in the free, and 18th overall. They announced the end of their partnership in April 2017, following the 2017 World Championships.

Partnership with Reed

2017–18 season

In spring 2017, it was announced that Ambrulevičius had teamed up with American-born ice dancer, Allison Reed, and that they would represent Lithuania while coached by Marina Zueva, Johnny Johns, Massimo Scali, and Oleg Epstein.

They made their competitive debut at the 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy, where they finished sixth. They then went on to place seventh at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, fifth at the 2017 Santa Claus Cup, and eighth at the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy.

Reed/Ambrulevičius won the gold medal at the 2017–18 Lithuanian Championships. Selected to compete at the 2018 World Championships in Milan, Italy, they finished twentieth overall.

2018–19 season

Reed/Ambrulevičius began their season at the 2018 Halloween Cup, where they won the silver medal, before going on to finish fifth at the 2018 Volvo Open Cup.

Debuting on the Grand Prix series, Reed/Ambrulevičius placed sixth at the 2018 Rostelecom Cup and ninth at the 2018 Internationaux de France. They then went on to win their second consecutive national title at the 2018–19 Lithuanian Championships.

Selected to compete at the 2019 European Championships in Minsk, Belarus, Reed/Ambrulevičius finished thirteenth, before going on to finish seventeenth at the 2019 World Championships in Saitama, Japan.

2019–20 season

Reed/Ambrulevičius opened their season at the 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy, finishing sixth. They then went on to place seventh at the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and fifth at the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy. Competing on the 2019–20 Grand Prix series, Reed/Ambrulevičius placed tenth at the 2019 Internationaux de France and fifth at the 2019 Rostelecom Cup.

After winning their third national title at the 2019–20 Lithuanian Championships, Reed/Ambrulevičius went on to finish eleventh at the 2020 European Championships in Graz, Austria and win the gold medal at the 2020 Bavarian Open.

Although selected to compete at the 2020 World Championships, the event was ultimately cancelled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020–21 season

Reed/Ambrulevičius switched coaches from Marina Zueva to Maurizio Margaglio prior to the season. They began the season with a seventh-place finish at the 2020 Rostelecom Cup, before going on to win their fourth national title at the 2020–21 Lithuanian Championships.

At the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Reed/Ambrulevičius placed fifteenth.

2021–22 season

Prior to the season, Reed/Ambrulevičius relocated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada to train under Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, and Romain Haguenauer. Despite Reed/Ambrulevičius qualifying a spot for a Lithuanian dance team at the 2022 Winter Olympics with their place at the 2021 World Championships, it was announced in October 2021 that Reed's application for Lithuanian citizenship was denied, thus ending their bid for the Winter Olympics.

Reed/Ambrulevičius nonetheless began their season at the 2021 Budapest Trophy, where they took the silver medal. On the Grand Prix series, Reed/Ambrulevičius placed eighth at the 2021 Internationaux de France and seventh at the 2021 Rostelecom Cup. They then won the silver medal at the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb as well as their fifth national title at the 2021–22 Lithuanian Championships.

At the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Reed/Ambrulevičius finished eighth, before going on to finish tenth at the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier, France.

2022–23 season

Reed/Ambrulevičius opened their season by winning silver at both the 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy and the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. Although they withdrew from the 2022 Skate America, they did compete at the 2022 NHK Trophy, where they finished fourth.

Reed/Ambrulevičius went on to win the silver medal at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, before competing at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, where they achieved a career-best fourth-place finish. They were only 2.54 points out of third place. They ended their season at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, where they finished seventh.

2023–24 season

Beginning the season at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Reed/Ambrulevičius won the silver medal at the event for the second consecutive season. Given two assignments on the Grand Prix, they began at the 2023 Skate Canada International, this time held in Vancouver. They finished third in both segments, winning the bronze medal, their first on the circuit. It was the first Grand Prix medal for Lithuania since Drobiazko/ Vanagas's silver at the 2001 NHK Trophy. Ambrulevičius said afterward that "despite all the sticks that were put in our wheels, we kept going and we got our reward." They won another bronze medal at their second event, the 2023 NHK Trophy. He said afterward that the season "brings a lot of joy but also responsibility," looking ahead to Lithuania hosting the European Championships. Reed/Ambrulevičius were named as first alternates to the Grand Prix Final.

Reed/Ambrulevičius concluded the first half of the season at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they won the gold medal, their first Challenger title. Reed hailed it as a "truly wonderful way to end the year."

With the 2024 European Championships being hosted on home ice in Kaunas, Reed/Ambrulevičius entered the event as the medal hopes of the nation. They finished third in the rhythm dance, before setting new personal bests in the free dance and total score to come third there as well, taking the bronze medal, their first time on an ISU championship podium. The free dance occurred on Lithuania's Day of the Defenders of Freedom, which Ambrulevičius noted as significant, saying "we fought for our freedom and today we fought for our country again and we did it." The duo's success brought renewed attention to the issue of Reed's Lithuanian citizenship application. On February 9, Reed announced that she was renew her bid for citizenship.

The 2024 World Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the location of the team's training base. Reed/Ambrulevičius finished a career-best sixth overall, an end to what Reed called an "incredible, incredible season".

2024–25 season

During summer preparations, Reed's skate blade injured Ambrulevičius' hand twice, as a result delaying their start by a month. They discarded their initial plan to compete at the 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. Reed/Ambrulevičius instead began their season on the Challenger series at the 2024 CS Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur, where they won the gold medal. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, Reed/Ambrulevičius finished fourth at the 2024 Grand Prix de France, having struggled with level issues. The following week they competed at their second event, the 2024 NHK Trophy, where they won the bronze medal, despite lost twizzle levels in the free dance. Reed said afterward regarding their goals for the season and Olympic qualification, "we're just really looking forward to performing at Worlds and hopefully getting that spot from Lithuania. Hopefully we'll be the ones to go this time."

Following the Grand Prix, the issue of Reed's bid for Lithuanian citizenship came to a head, following an October recommendation by Lithuania's citizenship committee that she be granted citizenship, with her sporting achievements cited as "special merits to the country." On November 18, Reed met with President Gitanas Nausėda at the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, and told reporters afterward that it had "been a long journey to this moment, but now I'm very happy. I think it went very well." On November 21, Nausėda decreed that her request be granted. Reed took the oath of allegiance in a ceremony at the Lithuanian embassy to Canada in Ottawa on December 17.

At the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Reed and Ambrulevičius finished in sixth place. At the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, they skated in the penultimate group of the rhythm dance, and performed shortly after the Finnish team of Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis had unexpectedly fallen and appeared poised to miss qualification for the free dance by one ordinal. However, Reed also fell in the segment, and as a result, Reed and Ambrulevičius finished twenty-first, missing the free dance. The Finns, who thereby reached the free dance, said afterward that they had "shared their grief," adding: "We're all good friends, and we really felt for them."

Programs

Ice dance with Allison Reed

Ice dance with Taylor Tran

Single skating

Competitive highlights

Ice dance with Allison Reed

Ice dance with Taylor Tran

Single skating

Detailed results

Ice dance with Allison Reed

References

External links

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Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevicius
at SkatingScores
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambrulevicius, Saulius
Lithuanian male ice dancers
Lithuanian male single skaters
1992 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Kaunas
Competitors at the 2011 Winter Universiade
European Figure Skating Championships medalists