Sarah Abitbol facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sarah Abitbol
Sarah Abitbol and Stéphane Bernadis in 2001
Personal information
Country represented	France
Born	(1975-06-08) 8 June 1975 (age 50) Nantes, France
Home town	Paris
Height	1.50 m (4 ft 11 in)
Began skating	1981
Retired	2003

Sarah Abitbol (born June 8, 1975) is a French former competitive pair skater. She is famous for her partnership with Stéphane Bernadis. Together, they won a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2000. They also earned a silver medal at the Grand Prix Final in 2000.

Sarah and Stéphane won seven medals at the European Championships. They also became French national champions ten times!

Early Life and Skating Career

Sarah Abitbol was born in Nantes, France. She started skating when she was six years old. She chose skating over swimming, which was her other option.

In 1992, when Sarah was 17, she teamed up with Stéphane Bernadis. They became a pair skating team. Their first coaches were Jean-Roland Racle, and later Stanislav Leonovich in Paris.

Winning a World Medal

At the World Championships in Nice, France, in 2000, Sarah and Stéphane won a bronze medal. This was a big achievement! They were the first French pair skaters to win a World medal since 1932.

Challenges and Injuries

Sarah and Stéphane faced some challenges during their career. In 2001, they had to stop competing at the World Championships because Stéphane got injured.

They qualified for the 2002 Olympics by winning the 2001 Golden Spin of Zagreb competition. However, they had to withdraw from the 2002 Olympics. This happened because Sarah hurt her Achilles tendon during practice. She needed surgery and couldn't skate for six months.

After the 2003 European Championships, they changed coaches. They started working with Jean-Christophe Simond. Sarah and Stéphane also worked on difficult moves like throw triple Axels.

Life After Skating

Sarah Abitbol married Jean-Louis Lacaille in 2009. Their daughter, Stella, was born in June 2011.

In January 2020, Sarah Abitbol published a book called Such A Long Silence (Un si long silence). In her book, she shared her experiences. Her story led to important discussions and changes within the French Federation of Ice Sports (FFSG). This helped bring about a broader investigation into safety in French sports.

Skating Programs

(with Stéphane Bernadis)

Here are some of the music programs Sarah and Stéphane used for their skating routines:

Competition Results

Here are some of Sarah Abitbol and Stéphane Bernadis's results from their competitions:

with Bernadis

GP: Champions Series / Grand Prix

See Also

• List of select Jewish figure skaters