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Nikolaj Memola

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Nikolaj Memola
Memola at the 2024 World Championships
Born (2003-11-18) 18 November 2003 (age 20)
Monza, Italy
Height1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Figure skating career
Country Italy
DisciplineMen's singles
CoachOlga Romanova
Skating clubFiammo Oro Moena
Began skating2008
Medal record
Italian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Pinerolo Singles
Silver medal – second place 2023 Brunico Singles
Junior Grand Prix Final
Gold medal – first place 2022–23 Turin Singles

Nikolaj Memola (born 18 November 2003) is an Italian figure skater. He is the 2023 World University Games bronze medalist, a two-time bronze medalist in the ISU Challenger Series (at the 2022 Budapest Trophy and the 2022 Lombardia Trophy), and the 2024 Italian national champion.

Memola is also the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, a two-time ISU Junior Grand Prix medalist (including gold at the 2022 JGP Latvia), and a top-ten finisher at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics and the 2022 and 2023 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Personal life

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Memola was born on November 18, 2003, in Monza, Italy, to an Italian father and a Russian mother.[1][2]

He is a student at the University of Milan and is able to speak English fluently.[3][1][4]

Career

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Early years

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Memola began learning to skate in 2008.[1] He is coached by his mother, Olga Romanova.[5]

He debuted in the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series in October 2018, placing nineteenth in Slovenia. Memola competed at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland, placing eighth.[6]

2021–22 season

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Memola finished fourth at the 2021 JGP Austria in October 2021. He made his senior international debut later that month, placing fourth at Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur. In November, he finished ninth at the 2021 Warsaw Cup, his first appearance in the Challenger series. He stepped onto his first senior international podium in December, taking gold at the Santa Claus Cup in Hungary.[6]

Following the withdrawal of Matteo Rizzo, Italy selected Memola to skate at the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.[7] Competing in his first ISU Championship, he qualified for the final segment by placing twelfth in the short program and finished fifteenth overall.[6] He ended the season by making his debut appearance at the World Junior Championships, where he placed seventh.[8]

2022–23 season

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Planning a second split season between junior and senior, Memola had two assignments on the Junior Grand Prix circuit, winning silver at his first assignment, the 2022 JGP Czech Republic.[9] The following week at the 2022 JGP Latvia in Riga, he won the gold medal. Memola's results qualified him for the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final, which he stated he was particularly "happy" about as the event was being held in Italy that year. He said that he hoped to introduce a quad into the free skate in time.[10] Returning to the Challenger series, Memola won bronze medals at both the Lombardia and Budapest Trophies.[6]

Competing at the Junior Grand Prix Final on home ice in Turin, Memola finished second in the short program, saying afterward that it was "very important to me that I did such a good skate at home, in Italy, and on the Olympic ice."[11] He went on to win the free skate and the gold medal, albeit without attempting a quadruple jump as he had earlier hoped. This was the first Junior Grand Prix Final title for an Italian man and the first for Italy in any discipline since the ice dance team Faiella/Milo in the inaugural 1997–98 edition. Memola admitted afterward, "I started the season with the goal in mind coming here to Torino, but the first place was not my goal, and then the medal came, and I'm extremely happy."[12]

Shortly after the Junior Grand Prix Final, Memola attended his first senior national championships and won the silver medal. He finished first in the free skate at the event.[13] He was then assigned to compete at the 2023 Winter World University Games, where he won the bronze medal.[14]

In his final assignment of the season, Memola competed at the 2023 World Junior Championships. After stepping out of his jump combination in the short program, he finished sixth in that segment.[15] He placed fourth in the free skate and rose to fourth overall, 1.35 points back of bronze medalist Nozomu Yoshioka. Memola did not attempt any quadruple jumps during the free program, having found them insufficiently secure in practice that day and not wanting to risk it.[16]

2023–24 season

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Over the summer, Memola trained at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club in Toronto, Ontario.[17] In his first competition, he finished eighth at the 2023 Autumn Classic International, before finishing sixth at the 2023 Finlandia Trophy.[6] He was invited to make his Grand Prix debut at the 2023 Grand Prix de France, where he came eleventh.[18] He improved to sixth place at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo. He expressed his appreciation for competing in such a men's field, saying "they show me what is humanly possible."[19]

Memola won the Italian national title for the first time.[6] He went on to place tenth at the 2024 European Championships.[20] He was then assigned to make his senior World Championship debut at the 2024 edition in Montreal, where he came ninth. Memola called it "amazing" to reach the top ten in his first appearance at the championships, and cited the importance of having done so to retain Italy's second entry in the men's event for the following year.[21]

2024–25 season

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During the summer off-season, Memola sustained a series injuries including two broken ligaments and a broken ankle. As a result, he was only able to begin jumping again in September.[22]

Memola would begin the season by competing at the 2024 Shanghai Trophy in early October, finishing fourth. He then competed on the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series, winning silver at the 2024 CS Nepela Memorial. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, Memola finished tenth in the short program at the 2024 Grand Prix de France but second in the free skate, climbing up to sixth place overall.[23]

Programs

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Season Short program Free skate Exhibition Ref.
2018–19
  • Sarabande Suite
    By Globus
    Choreo. by Andrea Gilardi
[24]
2019–20
  • Fly
    By Ludovico Einaudi
  • Experience
    By Ludovico Einaudi
    Choreo. by Andrea Gilardi
[25]
2020–21
2021–22 [1]
2022–23
  • Le Corsaire
 [26]
2023–24 [27][28]
2024–25 [29]

Competitive highlights

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Competition placements at senior level [23]
Season 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
World Championships 9th
European Championships 15th 10th
Italian Championships 2nd 1st
GP Cup of China TBD
GP Finland 5th
GP France 11th 6th
CS Autumn Classic 8th
CS Budapest Trophy 3rd 1st
CS Finlandia Trophy 6th
CS Lombardia Trophy 3rd
CS Nepela Memorial 2nd
CS Warsaw Cup 9th
Merano Ice Trophy 1st
Santa Claus Cup 1st
Shanghai Trophy 4th
Trophée Métropole Nice 4th
World University Games 3rd
Competition placements at junior level [23]
Season 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Winter Youth Olympics 8th
World Junior Championships 7th 4th
Junior Grand Prix Final 1st
Italian Championships 4th 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st
JGP Austria 4th
JGP Czech Republic 2nd
JGP Italy 16th
JGP Latvia 18th 1st
JGP Slovenia 19th
Crystal Skate of Romania 1st
Cup of Tyrol 3rd
Dragon Trophy 4th
Egna Spring Trophy 3rd 1st 1st
European Youth Olympic Festival 11th
IceLab Cup 2nd
Merano Cup 6th
Skate Celje 3rd
Skate Victoria 2nd
Sofia Trophy 2nd

Detailed results

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ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [23]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 253.12 2024 World Championships
Short program TSS 93.10 2024 World Championships
TES 53.38 2024 World Championships
PCS 39.72 2024 World Championships
Free skating TSS 161.38 2023 CS Budapest Trophy
TES 84.62 2023 CS Budapest Trophy
PCS 80.39 2024 World Championships

Senior level

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Results in the 2021–22 season [23]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 20–24, 2021 France 2021 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur 3 72.36 2 130.73 4 203.09
Nov 17–20, 2021 Poland 2021 CS Warsaw Cup 12 69.59 7 142.00 9 211.59
Dec 6–12, 2021 Hungary 2021 Santa Claus Cup 1 78.00 1 150.35 1 228.35
Jan 10–16, 2022 Estonia 2022 European Championships 12 73.98 14 132.55 15 206.53
Results in the 2022–23 season [23]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 16–19, 2022 Italy 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy 4 81.68 3 148.84 3 230.52
Oct 13–16, 2022 Hungary 2022 CS Budapest Trophy 3 78.78 4 152.69 3 231.47
Dec 15–18, 2022 Italy 2023 Italian Championships 3 80.32 1 161.37 2 241.69
Jan 13–15, 2023 United States 2023 Winter World University Games 4 78.96 4 152.37 3 231.33
Results in the 2023–24 season [23]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 14–17, 2023 Canada 2023 CS Autumn Classic International 8 70.27 7 129.11 8 199.38
Oct 4–8, 2023 Finland 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy 3 82.03 8 140.95 6 222.98
Oct 13–15, 2023 Hungary 2023 CS Budapest Trophy 1 88.99 2 161.38 1 250.37
Nov 3–5, 2023 France 2023 Grand Prix de France 12 70.92 9 143.71 11 214.63
Nov 17–19, 2023 Finland 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo 7 72.11 5 149.14 5 221.25
Dec 22–23, 2023 Italy 2024 Italian Championships 2 90.70 1 157.98 1 248.68
Jan 10–14, 2024 Lithuania 2024 European Championships 12 72.78 9 153.10 10 225.88
Feb 23-25, 2024 Italy 2024 Merano Ice Trophy 1 89.41 1 166.83 1 256.24
Mar 18–24, 2024 Canada 2024 World Championships 6 93.10 12 160.02 9 253.12
Results in the 2024–25 season [23]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 3–5, 2024 China 2024 Shanghai Trophy 6 74.47 3 156.44 4 230.91
Oct 25–27, 2024 Slovakia 2024 CS Nepela Memorial 4 76.27 2 157.15 2 233.42
Nov 1–3, 2024 France 2024 Grand Prix de France 10 68.71 2 158.91 6 227.62

Junior level

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Results in the 2017–18 season [23]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 24–28, 2017 Romania 2017 Crystal Skate 1 31.06 1 76.55 1 107.61
Nov 15–19, 2017 Italy 2017 Merano Cup 7 40.01 6 78.76 6 118.77
Nov 22–26, 2017 Slovenia 2017 Skate Celje 2 48.33 4 77.08 3 125.41
Dec 13–16, 2017 Italy 2018 Italian Championships (Junior) 4 49.34 4 99.01 4 148.35
Feb 8–11, 2018 Slovenia 2018 Dragon Trophy 4 41.25 4 72.86 4 114.11
Apr 4–8, 2018 Italy 2018 Egna Spring Trophy 5 42.72 3 81.43 3 124.15
Results in the 2018–19 season [23]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 3–6, 2018 Slovenia 2018 JGP Slovenia 18 41.71 20 69.20 19 110.91
Dec 13–16, 2018 Italy 2019 Italian Championships (Junior) 2 53.08 3 84.15 2 137.23
Feb 13–14, 2019 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival 11 46.73 10 90.98 11 137.71
Feb 26 – Mar 3, 2019 Austria 2019 Cup of Tyrol 3 51.93 3 93.75 3 145.68
Mar 28–31, 2019 Italy 2019 Egna Spring Trophy 1 54.30 2 96.70 1 151.00
Apr 9–14, 2019 Bulgaria 2019 Skate Victoria 2 59.69 2 109.99 2 169.68
Results in the 2019–20 season [23]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 4–7, 2019 Latvia 2019 JGP Latvia 18 48.82 18 86.37 18 135.19
Oct 2–5, 2019 Italy 2019 JGP Italy 15 55.39 17 103.12 16 158.51
Nov 1–3, 2019 Italy 2019 IceLab International Cup 2 56.91 2 101.16 2 158.07
Dec 12–15, 2019 Italy 2020 Italian Championships (Junior) 2 64.23 2 94.58 2 158.81
Jan 10–15, 2020 Switzerland 2020 Winter Youth Olympics 7 62.18 8 114.37 8 176.55
Feb 12–18, 2020 Bulgaria 2020 Sofia Trophy 2 56.20 2 115.40 2 171.60
Results in the 2020–21 season [23]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Apr 9–11, 2021 Italy 2021 Italian Championships (Junior) 1 62.33 2 111.82 2 174.15
Apr 29 – May 2, 2021 Italy 2021 Egna Spring Trophy 1 68.23 2 113.87 1 182.10
Results in the 2021–22 season [23]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 6–9, 2021 Austria 2021 JGP Austria 4 71.05 7 126.58 4 197.63
Feb 12–13, 2022 Italy 2022 Italian Championships (Junior) 1 78.75 1 140.96 1 219.71
Apr 13–17, 2022 Estonia 2022 World Junior Championships 10 71.42 6 141.52 7 212.94
Results in the 2022–23 season [23]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 31 – Sep 3, 2022 Czech Republic 2019 JGP Czech Republic 4 71.56 2 142.55 2 214.11
Sep 7–10, 2022 Latvia 2022 JGP Latvia 1 83.04 1 142.72 1 225.76
Dec 8–11, 2022 Italy 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final 2 79.84 1 150.66 1 230.50
Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2023 Canada 2023 World Junior Championships 6 76.72 4 139.72 4 216.44

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Nikolaj MEMOLA: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Nikolaj Memola – 2022 Lombardia Trophy". YouTube. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Nikolaj MEMOLA ITA SP 2023 FISU Winter University Games". YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Nikolaj Memola – 2022 Lombardia Trophy". YouTube. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Nikolaj Memola – 2022 Lombardia Trophy". YouTube. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Competition Results: Nikolaj MEMOLA". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Figura Europei di Tallinn: Nikolaj Memola sostituisce Matteo Rizzo" [Nikolaj Memola replaces Matteo Rizzo] (in Italian). Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio. 9 January 2022. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  8. ^ Slater, Paula (16 April 2022). "USA's Ilia Malinin takes gold in Tallinn". Golden Skate.
  9. ^ "Newcomers dominate at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Ostrava (CZE)". International Skating Union. 5 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Memola (ITA), Smith/Deng (USA) sealing spots in Junior Final with win at ISU JGP Riga". International Skating Union. 12 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Lucas Broussard (USA) takes Short Program at Junior Grand Prix Final". International Skating Union. 8 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Memola (ITA) delights home crowd with Italy's first Junior Final single skating gold medal". 10 December 2022.
  13. ^ Contino, Maurizio (31 December 2022). "'Saranno Campioni': Nikolaj Memola, l'atipico gigante del pattinaggio artistico dalla eleganza innata" ['They will be Champions': Nikolaj Memola, the atypical giant of figure skating with an innate elegance]. OA Sport (in Italian).
  14. ^ "Figura, Nikolaj Memola medaglia di bronzo ai FISU Games! Settima Marina Piredda" [Figure skating, Nikolaj Memola wins the bronze medal at the FISU Games! Marina Piredda seventh.] (in Italian). Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio. 16 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Kao Miura (JPN) wins Men's Short Program at ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships". International Skating Union. 3 March 2023.
  16. ^ Slater, Paula (5 March 2023). "Japan's Kao Miura takes World Junior title". Golden Skate.
  17. ^ Memola, Nikolaj. "Toronto Cricket Club". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  18. ^ Slater, Paula (4 November 2023). "Siao Him Fa edges out Malinin for Grand Prix gold in France". Golden Skate. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  19. ^ Slater, Paula (18 November 2023). "Kao Miura captures first Grand Prix gold in Espoo". Golden Skate. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  20. ^ Slater, Paula (12 January 2024). "Adam Siao Him Fa defends European title". Golden Skate. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  21. ^ Slater, Paula (24 March 2024). "Ilia Malinin soars to new heights in Montreal". Golden Skate. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  22. ^ "Nikolaj Memola 🇮🇹 158.91 / 227.62". Instagram. Golden Skate. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "ITA–Nikolaj Memola". SkatingScores.com.
  24. ^ "Nikolaj MEMOLA: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019.
  25. ^ "Nikolaj MEMOLA: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020.
  26. ^ "Nikolaj MEMOLA: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022.
  27. ^ "Nikolaj MEMOLA: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023.
  28. ^ "2023-24 Programs". Instagram. 24 May 2023.
  29. ^ Memola, Nikolaj. "2024/25 Programs". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
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