Valentina Plazas
| Valentina Plazas | |
|---|---|
 Plazas/Fernandez at the 2023 Four Continents Championships | |
| Born | 18 April 2000 Bogotá, Colombia |
| Hometown | Pembroke Pines, Florida, US |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  United States |
| Partner | Maximiliano Fernandez |
| Coach | Jim Peterson, Amanda Evora, Lisa Kirby |
| Skating club | Panthers FSC |
Valentina Plazas (born April 18, 2000) is a Colombian–American figure skater who currently competes in pairs. With her skating partner, Maximiliano Fernandez, she is the 2024 U.S. national bronze medalist, 2022 CS U.S. Classic bronze medalist and the 2023 CS Golden Spin silver medalist.
Personal life
[edit]Plazas was born on April 18, 2000, in Bogotá, Colombia, to parents Diego Plazas and Lina Medina. She has a younger sister, Natalia. Plazas immigrated to the United States from Colombia with her family when she was six years old.[1]
Plazas is a graduate of Charles W. Flanagan High School, and Florida International University with a degree in criminal justice.[2]
Career
[edit]Early years
[edit]Plazas began learning how to skate at age 12. Before transitioning to pair skating, she was a two-time national medalist on the U.S. collegiate level. For a time, she considered representing her native Colombia internationally as a single skater, but ultimately chose to partner with Fernandez for the United States in February 2020.[1]
2020–21 season
[edit]Plazas/Fernandez debuted together at the 2021 U.S. Championship Series on the junior level, winning the bronze medal. They went on to win the bronze medal at the 2021 U.S. Junior Championships.[3]
2021–22 season
[edit]Plazas/Fernandez began their season by winning the silver medal at both the 2021 USCS Nevada and USCS Massachusetts. Debuting as a senior pair team at the 2022 U.S. Championships, Plazas/Fernandez finished sixth.[3]
2022–23 season
[edit]Plazas/Fernandez began the season at the 2022 John Nicks Pairs Challenge and the 2022 CS U.S. Classic, winning bronze at both events. They then went on to place fifth at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy.[4]
Making their debut on the Grand Prix series, Plazas/Fernandez competed at 2022 Skate America, where they finished sixth. Additionally, following they were called up to compete at 2022 Skate Canada International following the withdrawal of U.S. pair team McBeath/Bartholomay. They placed fifth at the event.[4]
At the 2023 U.S. Championships, Plazas/Fernandez placed fifth. Plazas/Fernandez were then selected to compete at the 2023 Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they finished fifth, scoring a personal best combined total score in the process.[3][5][4]
2023–24 season
[edit]Beginning the season at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Plazas/Fernandez were seventh.[4] On the Grand Prix, they were fourth at the 2023 Skate America.[6] They finished fourth as well at the 2023 Grand Prix de France.[7] At the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, Plazas/Fernandez placed second, earning their second ISU Challenger Series medal.[4]
In advance of the 2024 U.S. Championships, Plazas/Fernandez were preemptively named to the American team for the 2024 Four Continents Championships, which were to be held in Shanghai the weekend after the national championships.[8] At the national championships, they came fourth in both segments and won the bronze medal. Fernandez called it "surreal" and "a very humbling experience" to finally reach the national championship podium.[9] They were ninth at the Four Continents Championships.[10]
Plazas/Fernandez concluded the season by making their World Championship debut at the 2024 edition in Montreal. They finished thirteenth.[11]
2024–25 season
[edit]Although the pair was scheduled to compete on the Grand Prix circuit at the 2024 NHK Trophy and the 2024 Cup of China, they announced via their shared Instagram account in early October that they had withdrawn from both events due to an ongoing injury.[12]
Programs
[edit]With Fernandez
[edit]Competitive highlights
[edit]GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series
Pairs with Fernandez
[edit]| International[4] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 | 23–24 | 24–25 |
| World Championships | 13th | ||||
| Four Continents | 5th | 9th | |||
| GP Cup of China | WD | ||||
| GP France | 4th | ||||
| GP NHK Trophy | WD | ||||
| GP Skate America | 6th | 4th | |||
| GP Skate Canada | 5th | ||||
| CS Finlandia | 5th | ||||
| CS Golden Spin | 2nd | ||||
| CS Nebelhorn | 7th | ||||
| CS U.S. Classic | 3rd | ||||
| John Nicks Challenge | 3rd | 3rd | |||
| National[4] | |||||
| U.S. Championships | 3rd J | 6th | 5th | 3rd | |
| TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew Levels: J = Junior | |||||
Singles career
[edit]| National | |
|---|---|
| Event | 18–19 |
| U.S. Collegiate Champ. | 2nd J |
| Levels: J = Junior | |
Detailed results
[edit]Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 174.15 | 2024 World Championships |
| Short program | TSS | 61.64 | 2024 World Championships |
| TES | 34.45 | 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy | |
| PCS | 29.22 | 2024 World Championships | |
| Free skating | TSS | 114.44 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| TES | 58.77 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | |
| PCS | 55.94 | 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |
With Fernandez
[edit]Senior results
[edit]| 2023–24 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| 18–24 March 2024 | 2024 World Championships | 13 61.64 |
14 112.51 |
13 174.15 |
| 30 Jan. – 4 Feb. 2024 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | 9 57.38 |
9 103.78 |
9 161.16 |
| 22–28 January 2024 | 2024 U. S. Championships | 4 63.18 |
4 117.85 |
3 181.03 |
| 6–9 December 2023 | 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 2 58.11 |
2 110.03 |
2 168.14 |
| 3–5 November 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix de France | 4 58.46 |
4 109.74 |
4 168.20 |
| 20–22 October 2023 | 2023 Skate America | 7 49.51 |
4 107.57 |
4 157.08 |
| September 20–23, 2023 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 7 54.93 |
7 114.44 |
7 169.37 |
| 2022–23 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| 7–12 February 2023 | 2023 Four Continents Championships | 5 60.07 |
6 109.02 |
5 169.09 |
| 23–29 January 2023 | 2023 U. S. Championships | 4 63.45 |
6 112.89 |
5 176.34 |
| 4–9 October 2022 | 2022 Skate Canada International | 5 55.70 |
5 108.44 |
5 164.14 |
| 21–23 October 2022 | 2022 Skate America | 8 47.32 |
4 96.23 |
6 143.55 |
| 4–9 October 2022 | 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy | 4 60.40 |
6 101.58 |
5 161.98 |
| 12–16 September 2022 | 2022 CS U.S. Classic | 3 56.20 |
3 110.05 |
3 166.25 |
| 8–9 September 2022 | 2022 John Nicks Pairs Challenge | 4 57.20 |
3 108.48 |
3 165.68 |
| 2021–22 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| 3–9 January 2022 | 2022 U. S. Championships | 7 49.80 |
6 98.57 |
6 148.37 |
Junior results
[edit]| 2020–21 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11–21 January 2021 | 2021 U. S. Championships | 4 47.07 |
3 90.22 |
3 137.29 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Cloutier, Claire (September 9, 2022). "Plazas and Fernandez take different path in skating". U.S. Figure Skating.
- ^ "2022–23 Figure Skating Roster: Valentina Plazas / Maximiliano Fernandez". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Valentina Plazas / Maximiliano Fernandez". US Figure Skating Fanzone. U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Valentina PLAZAS / Maximiliano FERNANDEZ: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- ^ "2022-23 International Assignments and Results". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ Slater, Paula (October 22, 2023). "Germany's Hocke and Kunkel secure pairs gold at Skate America". Golden Skate. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ "Pereira/Michaud (CAN) claim first ISU Grand Prix crown at Grand Prix de France". International Skating Union. October 21, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ "Eighteen Athletes Named to Four Continents Team". U.S. Figure Skating. January 9, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ Flett, Ted (January 28, 2024). "Kam and O'Shea snag gold at U.S. Nationals". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ Slater, Paula (February 3, 2024). "Stellato-Dudek claims Four Continents title". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ Schwindt, Troy (March 21, 2024). "Malinin third after short program at Worlds, with Brown close behind". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
- ^ "Hello everyone, We are extremely saddened to announce that we have made the tough decision to withdraw from the Grand Prix series, NHK and Cup of China". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ "Valentina PLAZAS / Maximiliano FERNANDEZ: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 17 September 2024.
- ^ "Valentina PLAZAS / Maximiliano FERNANDEZ: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 March 2024.
- ^ "2023-24 FP Announcement". Instagram. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "Valentina PLAZAS / Maximiliano FERNANDEZ: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023.