Nathalie Péchalat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nathalie Péchalat |
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Péchalat and Bourzat at 2009 Skate Canada
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| Personal information | |
| Country represented | France |
| Born | 22 December 1983 Rouen, France |
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) |
| Partner | Fabian Bourzat |
| Former partner | Julien Deheinzelin, Michael Zenezini |
| Former coach | Igor Shpilband, Anjelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo, Alexander Zhulin, Oleg Volkov, Maxim Staviski, Muriel Zazoui, Romain Haguenauer, Anne Sophie Druet |
| Former choreographer | Julien Cottereau, Laurie May Ayivigan, Kader Belmoktar, Pasquale Camerlengo, Ilia Constantin, Alexander Zhulin, Antonio Najarro, Mourad Merzouki |
| Former skating club | Les Francais Volants Paris-Bercy Castres SG |
| Former training locations | Novi, Michigan Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Moscow Lyon |
| Began skating | 1990 |
| Retired | 2014 |
| ISU personal best scores | |
| Combined total | 177.22 2014 Winter Olympics |
| Short dance: | 72.78 2014 Winter Olympics |
| Free dance | 107.17 2014 Worlds |
Nathalie Péchalat (born 22 December 1983) is a French retired ice dancer. After her skating career, she became a skating official. From 2020 to 2022, she was the president of the French Federation of Ice Sports.
Nathalie competed with her partner Fabian Bourzat. Together, they won many important medals. They earned two bronze medals at the World Figure Skating Championships in 2012 and 2014. They were also two-time European champions in 2011 and 2012. The pair won the French national title five times. They also won five medals at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.
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About Nathalie's Life
Nathalie Péchalat was born in Rouen, France, on December 22, 1983. She has an older brother and two sisters. Nathalie studied sports management at university. She also took graduate classes at a business school. While training in Russia, she studied economics and finance. She planned to work in sports business after she stopped competing.
Nathalie is married to the French actor Jean Dujardin. They started their relationship in 2014. Their first daughter, Jeanne, was born on December 5, 2015. They got married on May 19, 2018. Their second daughter, Alice, was born on February 18, 2021.
Starting Her Skating Journey
Nathalie Péchalat began skating when she was seven years old. At first, she was a singles skater. When she was ten, her coach suggested she try ice dancing. Her coach's son was looking for a partner, so Nathalie switched to ice dancing.
Nathalie competed with Julien Deheinzelin in 1997 and 1998. She broke her arm in 1998, which stopped her from skating for six weeks. She then skated with Michael Zenezini in the 1999–2000 season. Their partnership ended after that season.
Skating with Fabian Bourzat
In March 2000, Nathalie teamed up with Fabian Bourzat. They did not get along well at first. But over time, they became good friends. Nathalie once said that Fabian was the perfect skating partner for her. She said he was very talented and worked from his feelings. Fabian said Nathalie always pushed them to work hard and wanted everything to be perfect.
Nathalie and Fabian trained with coaches Muriel Boucher-Zazoui and Romain Haguenauer in Lyon, France. They also worked with Pasquale Camerlengo early on. They competed as junior skaters for two years. Then, they moved up to the senior level in the 2002–03 season.
Early Senior Competitions
Péchalat and Bourzat won bronze medals at the Winter Universiade in 2003 and 2005. They first competed at the World Championships in 2004, finishing 20th. Their first European Championships was in 2005, where they placed 12th. The duo also competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics, finishing 18th.
Winning First Grand Prix Medals
In the 2006–07 season, Nathalie and Fabian won their first senior Grand Prix medal. It was a bronze at the 2006 Skate America. Nathalie broke her hand that winter, so they missed some training. They could not compete at the 2007 European Championships. However, they did compete at the 2007 World Championships, finishing 12th.
In the 2007–08 season, they won silver medals at Skate America and the Cup of Russia. This helped them qualify for their first Grand Prix Final, where they placed 6th. Fabian had knee surgery, so they missed the 2008 French National Championships. But they recovered in time for the 2008 Europeans, finishing 5th. They were 7th at the 2008 Worlds.
In July 2008, Péchalat and Bourzat moved to Moscow to train. Their new coach was Alexander Zhulin. They said it was hard at first because they did not know Russian. But they felt it was a good move for their skating.
Reaching the Podium
For the 2009–10 season, they competed at the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard and 2009 Skate Canada. They finished second at both events, behind Canadian skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. These results qualified them for their second Grand Prix Final. Fabian had an ankle injury before the final. Still, they skated well and won their first Grand Prix Final medal, a bronze.
The 2010–11 season started with wins at the 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy and the 2010 Finlandia Trophy. These were their first international gold medals. They won the 2010 Cup of China and the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard. Their strong results sent them to the 2010–2011 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, where they won a silver medal. They then won the French nationals for the second time. Péchalat and Bourzat went on to win the 2011 European Figure Skating Championships. This was their first medal at an ISU Championship. They were the fifth French ice dance team to win a European title.
After the 2011 Worlds, they decided to move to Michigan to train with new coaches.
Moving to Michigan and World Medals
In May 2011, Péchalat and Bourzat moved to the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. They trained with Pasquale Camerlengo and Anjelika Krylova. They trained three hours a day on the ice. They also did off-ice training.
They won a silver medal at 2011 Skate America. They had to withdraw from Skate Canada because Fabian was sick. They finished second at the Trophee Eric Bompard. These results qualified them for their third Grand Prix Final, where they won a bronze medal. They then won their third French national title.
At the 2012 European Figure Skating Championships, they won their second European title in a row. Nathalie broke her nose during training in March. She decided to compete at the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships anyway. At the World Championships, they won the bronze medal. This was their first World medal.
Final Seasons and Retirement
Péchalat and Bourzat won gold at the 2012 Cup of China and 2012 Trophee Eric Bompard in the 2012–13 season. They qualified for their fourth Grand Prix Final and won bronze. Fabian had a leg injury in January 2013, so they missed the European Championships. They still competed at the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships and finished 6th.
In May 2013, they changed coaches again, moving to Igor Shpilband in Novi, Michigan. For their last season, 2013–14, they won gold at the 2013 Cup of China. They won a bronze medal at the 2013 Trophée Eric Bompard. At the 2013–14 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, they won another bronze medal. This was their fifth medal at the event. They ended 2013 by winning their fifth national title. They chose to skip the 2014 European Championships to focus on the Olympics.
Péchalat and Bourzat placed fourth at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. They had planned to retire after the Olympics. However, they decided to compete one last time at the 2014 World Figure Skating Championships in Japan. There, they won their second World bronze medal. After this, they officially retired from competitive skating.
After Skating: New Roles
After retiring in 2014, Nathalie Péchalat stayed very involved in the skating world. She became a commentator and consultant for Eurosport France. She covered Grand Prix, Championship, and Olympic events. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, she worked as a commentator.
In July 2018, Nathalie hosted a training camp for young ice dancers and figure skaters. Other famous skaters joined her as guest coaches.
Leading French Ice Sports
In February 2020, the president of the French Federation of Ice Sports (FFSG) resigned due to issues. Nathalie Péchalat then announced she would run for president of the FFSG. She was elected to the position on March 14, 2020. Other candidates withdrew because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Nathalie set new rules for how long a president could serve. This was to prevent one person from staying in power for too long. When she ran for reelection in 2022, she was defeated by Gwenaëlle Noury.
Images for kids
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Péchalat and Bourzat during the medal ceremony at the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships
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Péchalat and Bourzat after winning their first Grand Prix, the 2010 Cup of China
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Péchalat and Bourzat at the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard gala.
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Péchalat and Bourzat with Brian Joubert and Florent Amodio at the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships
See also
In Spanish: Nathalie Péchalat para niños
