ISU

The ISU Skating Awards 2023

WINNERS & NOMINEES

MOST ENTERTAINING PROGRAM

Winner – Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron (FRA)

The 2022 Olympic Champions brought with whacking a new contemporary style to the ice in their Rhythm Dance of the 2021/22 season to “Made To Love” and “U Move, I Move” by John Legend. The program showcased the creativity and originality of the multiple ISU World and European Champions and their team of coaches and choreographers. It was new, it was different, it was entertaining. Papadakis/Cizeron received the ISU Skating Award for the Most Entertaining Performance for the second time – in 2021 they got the prize for their Rhythm Dance of the 2019/20 season to “Fame”

NOMINEES

DONOVAN CARRILLO (MEX)

Donovan Carrillo loves to entertain as he takes the ice. His Short Program from the 2021/22 season to Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” and “Shake It” was no exception. It was fun, it was groovy, it was cool and fans all over the world fell in love with this young skater from Mexico.

YUZURU HANYU (JPN)

Yuzuru Hanyu always looks for programs with a special message and depth.  By carefully selecting the music and the themes, his programs become perfect vehicles to show off his qualities – soft and powerful, elegant and dramatic, as well as innovative and unique, all embodied at the same time.

MOST VALUABLE SKATER

Winner – Nathan Chen (USA)

The 2022 Olympic and three-time ISU World Champion Nathan Chen has promoted Figure Skating in the USA and worldwide with his unique achievements and engages hundred thousands of people online. The university student reaches an audience beyond the usual skating fans and recently has published his autobiography telling the story of his success.

At the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Chen struck gold with over 20 points to spare. He became the first skater to perform five quads in a Free Skating program and holds the highest score in the Short Program, Free Skating and in the total score.

NOMINEES

GABRIELLA PAPADAKIS & GUILLAUME CIZERON (FRA)

The French couple has dominated the Ice Dance discipline since they burst on the senior scene in 2014 and collected five World titles, six consecutive European titles, Olympic gold (2022) and silver (2018).

ANNA SHCHERBAKOVA (RUS)

Anna Shcherbakova won the World title in 2021, two silver medals at the European Championships as well as four gold at ISU Grand Prix events and silver at the ISU Grand Prix Final before stepping on the podium with a gold medal at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games". 

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Winner – Ilia Malinin (USA)

Ilia Malinin belongs to the athletes that are pushing the limits and opening new doors. At just 17, he wrote sports history when he became the first and so far only figure skater in the world to successfully perform a quadruple Axel in autumn 2022 at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. He has repeated the feat since then at other events.

Malinin received the first ISU Special Achievement Award for making history by successfully performing a new jump and pushing the boundaries of the sport.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Winner – Katarina Witt (GER)

The one and only Katarina Witt is a figure skating icon and well known beyond the sport even 29 years since her last competitive performance. As an athlete, a performer and a personality she has shaped the sport of Figure Skating and influenced generations of skaters.

Born in 1965 in Karl-Marx-Stadt (by now renamed Chemnitz) in what was then the German Democratic Republic or East Germany, Witt became one of the most successful skaters in modern times. She won her first Olympic gold when she was 18 years old in Sarajevo and then her second four years later in the legendary “battle of the Carmens” in Calgary.

The German skater collected a total of four World titles 1984-1988 and six consecutive European titles 1983-1988. Witt turned to show skating then and made headlines again when she returned to competitive skating for the 1994 Olympic Winter Games where she placed a respectable seventh.

As a competitor, Witt was fierce and delivered when it counted. She mesmerized crowds all over the world with her expressive and captivating performances. Witt is most famous for her “Carmen” program from 1988, but many other programs were memorable as well such as “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” (1994), “West Side Story” (1987), “Broadway Medley” (1988).

BEST COACH

Winner – Patrice Lauzon

Two-time ISU World Ice Dance silver medallist Patrice Lauzon and his wife and skating partner Marie-France Dubreuil founded the Ice Academy of Montreal which currently is the leading Ice Dance school of the World. At the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, 11 couples that Lauzon and his team coach competed and six of them placed in the top ten including gold medalists Papadakis/Cizeron and bronze medalists Hubbell/Donohue. Lauzon and his team continue to produce outstanding results in the current season: Four out of six qualifiers for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in the Ice Dance event are training in the Ice Academy.

NOMINEES

RAFAEL ARUTYUNYAN

A dedicated coach whose knowledge and approach have resulted in a scoreboard of successful championships skaters. Rafael Arutyunyan worked with Nathan Chen, Michal Brezina and Ashley Wagner.

STEPHANE LAMBIEL

Two-time World Champion (2005 and 2006) and the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, Stéphane Lambiel is an advocate for the art in the sport of Figure Skating as a coach and choreographer, and he is as passionate as he was as a skater. His current students include Shoma Uno, Deniss Vasiljevs and Koshiro Shimada. 

BEST CHOREOGRAPHER

Winner – Shae-Lynn Bourne

Shae-Lynn Bourne once again created masterpieces of programs and wins the ISU Skating Award for best choreographer for the second time. Among the programs she crafted in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 season were Jun-Hwan Cha’s “James Bond” Free Skating, Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier’s Short Program “Separate Ways”, Young You’s Free Skating “Four Seasons” and Ilia Malinin’s Free Skating “Euphoria”.

NOMINEES

BENOIT RICHAUD

Former competitive Ice Dancer, Benoit Richaud is known for unique and challenging choreographies with a message. He has worked with Kaori Sakamoto, Bradie Tennell, Daniel Grassl, Adam Siao Him Fa and many more. 

MARIE-FRANCE DUBREUIL

Her students include Olympic Champions Papadakis/Cizeron, Olympic medalists Hubbell/Donohue but she also choreographed for single skaters such as Olympic Champion Nathan Chen and World Champion Kaori Sakamoto. It is the second time she is nominated in this category.

BEST COSTUME

Winner – Madison Chock / Evan Bates (USA)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates once again stood out with their costumes for the 2021/22 Olympic season, especially for their Free Dance “Astronaut meets Alien”. Designing this costume for these characters allowed Chock to use all her creativity. She turned to nature and deep-sea creatures for inspiration as they have their own alien-like qualities. For her partner’s costume, she wanted to create a futuristic astronaut suit that evokes bravery and patriotism. The result was a unique, creative and just stunning outfit for the dancers. Madison Chock/Evan Bates won for the second time in the category “Best Costume”. In 2020, they received the ISU Skating Award for their “Snake Dance” costume.

NOMINEES

YUZURU HANYU (JPN)
Designed by: SATOMI ITO

Hanyu decided on most of his costume himself and shared with designer Satomi Ito what he had in mind. He asked for a “cold color” and Ito chose crystal blue and white for the top. It looks like sunshine sparkling on a frozen lake.

LOENA HENDRICKX (BEL)
Designed by: NATALIA KOMAR

Loena Hendrickx chose oriental music for the 2021/22 Olympic season and worked with Natalia Komar to design the costume. A wedding dress provided the inspiration for this unique costume that looks like it comes right out of 1001 Nights.

BEST NEWCOMER

Winner – Isabeau Levito (USA)

Coming fresh out of the junior ranks, 15-year-old Isabeau Levito took the skating world by storm and was the most successful newcomer of the post-Olympic season. With two silver medals on the ISU Grand Prix circuit the 2022 ISU World Junior Champion qualified for the ISU Grand Prix Final and took home another silver. Levito went on to claim her first National title at the senior level.

NOMINEES

NIINA PETROKINA (EST)

In 2022, Niina Petrokina celebrated a successful debut at the international senior level, placing 8th at the ISU European Championships and 16th at the World Championships. She is a powerful and dynamic skater that has landed the triple Axel in practice.

RINKA WATANABE (JPN)

In 2022, Niina Petrokina celebrated a successful debut at the international senior level, placing 8th at the ISU European Championships and 16th at the World Championships. She is a powerful and dynamic skater that has landed the triple Axel in practice.