Alexia Paganini

Alexia Paganini (born November 15, 2001) is a Swiss-American figure skater who currently represents Switzerland in ladies' singles. She is the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy bronze medalist, the 2018 Halloween Cup champion, the 2017 Slovenia Open champion, and a three-time Swiss national champion (2017-2019).

Alexia Paganini
Personal information
Country representedSwitzerland
Former country(ies) representedUnited States
Born (2001-11-15) November 15, 2001
Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
Home townHarrison, United States
Height1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in)
CoachStéphane Lambiel
Former coachIgor Krokavec, Craig Maurizi, Gilberto Viadana, Michela Boschetto
ChoreographerMisha Ge, Nikolai Morozov
Skating clubWinterthurer SC
Training locationsHackensack, New Jersey
Began skating2003
ISU personal best scores
Combined total192.88
2020 European Championships
Short program68.82
2020 European Championships
Free skate124.06
2020 European Championships

She placed 21st at the 2018 Winter Olympics and is currently the 17th highest ranked ladies' singles skater in world by the International Skating Union following the 2019-20 figure skating season.

Personal life

Alexia Paganini was born on November 15, 2001, in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States.[1] The second of three children, she has two brothers – Kevin and Mario.[2] She holds Swiss and U.S. citizenship.[3] Her father, Celso Paganini, is from Brusio, Switzerland.[4][5] Her mother, originally from the Netherlands,[2] lived for ten years in St. Moritz, Switzerland.[6]

Career

Early career

Paganini began learning to skate in 2003.[2] She skated at Westchester Skating Academy for a few years under her former coach, Gilberto Viadana. She represented the United States at two international events. In April 2016, she won the junior gold medal at the Gardena Spring Trophy in Italy. In August 2016, she finished sixth at an ISU Junior Grand Prix event in France.

In January 2017, Paganini placed fifth on the junior level at the U.S. Championships. Later that year, she became interested in competing for Switzerland after a suggestion by her coach, Igor Krokavec.[7] Swiss Ice Skating became aware of her interest in April 2017 and soon contacted her.[3]

2017–2018 season: PyeongChang Olympics

Paganini made her senior international debut and her first appearance for Switzerland at the Slovenia Open in August 2017; she outscored Australia's Kailani Craine by 2.31 points to win the gold medal. In late September, she competed at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, the final qualifying opportunity for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Ranked sixth in the short program and third in the free skate, she obtained the bronze medal (by a margin of 0.13 over Germany's Nathalie Weinzierl) in addition to a spot for Switzerland at the Olympics. In December, the Swiss Olympic Association confirmed that Paganini would represent Switzerland at the Olympics.[8]

In January, Paganini finished seventh at the 2018 European Championships in Moscow, Russia. The following month, she competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.[9] Ranked nineteenth in the short program, she advanced to the final segment and would finish twenty-first overall. She also qualified to the free skate at the 2018 World Championships, finishing twentieth at the March event in Milan, Italy.

2018–2019 season: Grand Prix debut

Alexia Paganini began her season with an eighth-place at the CS Autumn Classic. In October she won the International Halloween Cup, after placing second in the short program behind Ivett Tóth, but first in the free.

Paganini made her Grand Prix debut at the 2018 Rostelecom Cup. In the short program she scored a personal best (63.43) and was in third place. In the free skate she marked her personal best (119.07) and she placed fifth, to finish fourth overall with a total of 182.50 (her personal best score), behind Alina Zagitova, Sofia Samodurova, and Lim Eun-soo. Due to Carolina Kostner's withdrawal from the 2018 Internationaux de France because of injury, Paganini was chosen to replace her at the event, giving her a second Grand Prix assignment. She was eighth after the short program, tenth in the free, and finished tenth overall. In December, she won the Swiss Championships for the second time in a row.

In January 2019, she competed at the European Championships, held in Minsk, Belarus. Paganini scored a new personal best in the short program, 65.64, and won the bronze small medal, behind Zagitova and Samodurova. She said she was "really happy with my performance. I actually was nervous, but tried not to show it."[10] Paganini placed seventh in the free skate, and she finished sixth overall. She concluded the season at the 2019 World Championships, where she made multiple errors in the short program and placed thirty-third, failing to qualify for the free skate.

2019–2020 season

Paganini began the season with a sixth-place at the 2019 CS Autumn Classic International. At her first Grand Prix, the 2019 Skate Canada International, she placed ninth.[11] She was seventh at the 2019 Rostelecom Cup.[12] In December, she won her third straight Swiss national title and was named to the Swiss team for the European Championships. In January, she placed fourth at the championships.[13][14] She was also named to the Swiss 2020 Worlds team, but the competition was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[15]

In June, she announced she was changing coaches to train with Stéphane Lambiel in Champéry.[16] Paganini subsequently attributed the switch to the effects of the pandemic in the United States and her desire for "a change and for everything to be a bit more professional and organized."[15]

Programs
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2020–2021
[15]
2019–2020
[17]
2018–2019 [2]
2017–2018
[18]
2016–2017
[1][19]
2015–2016
[1]


Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

For Switzerland
Paganini at the 2018 Internationaux de France
International[20]
Event 17–18 18–19 19–20
Olympics21st
Worlds20th33rdC
Europeans7th6th4th
GP France10th
GP Rostelecom Cup4th7th
GP Skate Canada9th
CS Autumn Classic8th6th
CS Nebelhorn3rd
Halloween Cup1st
Slovenia Open1st
National
Swiss Champ.1st1st1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Event cancelled

For the United States
International: Junior[20]
Event 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17
JGP France6th
Gardena Trophy1st
National[1]
U.S. Champ.2nd I8th N2nd N5th J
Eastern Sectionals1st I1st N1st N1st J
North Atlantic Reg.14th V1st I2nd N2nd N
Levels: V = Juvenile; I = Intermediate; N = Novice; J = Junior

Detailed results

Senior level

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. Personal bests highlighted in bold, season bests in italic.

2019–20 season
Date Event SP FS Total
24-25 January 2020 2020 European Championships 4
68.82		 4
124.06		 4
192.88
15-17 November 2019 2019 Rostelecom Cup 4
65.12		 9
114.57		 7
179.69
25-27 October 2019 2019 Skate Canada 9
60.68		 9
105.52		 9
166.20
12–14 September 2019 2019 Autumn Classic International 4
58.87		 8
99.46		 6
158.33
2018–19 season
Date Event SP FS Total
18–24 March 2019 2019 World Championships 33
50.51		 - -
21–27 January 2019 2019 European Championships 3
65.64		 7
114.26		 6
179.90
23–25 November 2018 2018 Internationaux de France 8
56.88		 10
99.63		 10
156.51
16–18 November 2018 2018 Rostelecom Cup 3
63.43		 5
119.07		 4
182.50
19-21 October 2018 2018 International Halloween Cup 2
53.23		 1
103.90		 1
157.13
20–22 September 2018 2018 CS Autumn Classic 7
56.07		 8
101.75		 8
157.82
2017–18 season
Date Event SP FS Total
19–25 March 2018 2018 World Championships 19
57.86		 22
91.80		 20
149.66
14–25 February 2018 2018 Winter Olympics 19
55.26		 22
101.00		 21
156.26
15–21 January 2018 2018 European Championships 9
54.95		 9
106.67		 7
161.62
27-30 September 2017 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy 6
53.59		 3
102.39		 3
155.98
1–3 September 2017 2017 Slovenia Open 3
53.60		 1
108.67		 1
162.27

References
  1. "Alexia Paganini". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018.
  2. "Alexia PAGANINI: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019.
  3. "Alexia Paganini gagne son billet pour PyeongChang" [Alexia Paganini wins ticket to PyeongChang]. Swiss Telegraphic Agency (in French). Le Matin (Switzerland). September 30, 2017. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017.
  4. "Alexia Paganini si qualifica per le Olimpiadi invernali del 2018" [Alexia Paganini qualifies for the 2018 Winter Olympics]. Il Bernina (in Italian). October 4, 2017. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017.
  5. Meier, Sarah (22 February 2018). "Alexia Paganini - die neue Hoffnungsträgerin auf dem Eis". Schweizer Illustrierte (in German). Archived from the original on June 16, 2018.
  6. Gisi, Emanuel (February 20, 2018). "Alexia Paganini tanzt für die Schweiz". blick.ch (in German). Archived from the original on June 16, 2018.
  7. Kolb, Albert René (August 18, 2017). "Schweizer Hoffnung aus den USA" [Swiss hope from the United States]. Der Landbote (in German). Archived from the original on November 5, 2017.
  8. "Eiskunstläuferin Alexia Paganini vertritt die Schweiz in PyeongChang" [Figure skater Alexia Paganini to represent Switzerland in PyeongChang] (in German). Swiss Olympic Association. December 22, 2017. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017.
  9. "Athlete Profile - Alexia PAGANINI". pyeongchang2018.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2018.
  10. Slater, Paula (January 23, 2019). "Alina Zagitova: 'I need to be confident in myself'". Golden Skate.
  11. Slater, Paula (October 27, 2019). "Russia's Trusova snags gold in Grand Prix debut at 2019 Skate Canada". Golden Skate.
  12. Slater, Paula (November 16, 2019). "Trusova dominates ladies in Moscow for second consecutive Grand Prix gold". Golden Skate.
  13. Slater, Paula (January 24, 2020). "Kostornaia leads Russian sweep at Europeans". Golden Skate.
  14. Slater, Paula (January 25, 2020). "Kostornaia takes gold in Russian sweep at Europeans". Golden Skate.
  15. Flade, Tatjana (August 10, 2020). "Switzerland's Paganini sets new goals after coaching change". Golden Skate.
  16. "Instagram video by Lina Fedorova". June 24, 2020.
  17. "Alexia PAGANINI: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 17, 2019.
  18. "Alexia PAGANINI: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018.
  19. Lewis, Amber (January 14, 2017). "Paganini balances elegance with technical prowess in podium push". icemusings.com.
  20. "Competition Results: Alexia PAGANINI". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018.
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