Stéphane Lambiel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stéphane Lambiel
Lambiel at the 2010 European Championships
Personal information
Country represented	Switzerland
Born	(1985-04-02) 2 April 1985 (age 40) Martigny, Valais, Switzerland
Home town	Saxon
Height	1.75 m
Coach	Peter Grütter, Viktor Petrenko, Galina Zmievskaya, Cédric Monod
Choreographer	Salome Brunner, Antonio Najarro
Skating club	Patineurs de Genève
Began skating	1992
Retired	9 March 2010
World standing	16 (2009–10) 9 (2008–09) 3 (2007–08) 5 (2006–07) 5 (2005–06) 15 (2004–05) 17 (2003–04)

Stéphane Lambiel, born on April 2, 1985, is a famous Swiss former figure skater. He is now a coach and a choreographer, helping other skaters create their routines. Stéphane won the World title twice, in 2005 and 2006. He also earned a silver medal at the 2006 Olympic Games.

Stéphane is well-known for his amazing spins. He even helped make some spin positions more popular in the sport. He also won the Grand Prix Final twice and was the Swiss national champion nine times!

About Stéphane Lambiel

Stéphane was born in Martigny, Valais, Switzerland, and grew up in Saxon, Switzerland. His mother is from Lisbon, Portugal, and his father is from Isérables, Switzerland. He has an older sister, Silvia, and a younger brother, Christophe. His parents divorced in 1999. Stéphane lives in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 2004, he finished his studies in biology and chemistry.

Stéphane's first language is French. He also speaks Portuguese, High German, and English. He is currently learning Italian.

Stéphane's Skating Journey

Stéphane Lambiel is quite unique because he can spin and jump in both directions (clockwise and counter-clockwise). This is rare for figure skaters! He used to practice doing double Axels while changing his spin direction, but he stopped training that move. Stéphane had some knee injuries that sometimes kept him from practicing or performing. However, these issues were fixed by 2009. He also helped design his own skating costumes.

Starting to Skate

Stéphane began skating at age seven in Saxon, Switzerland, following his sister. His mom wanted him to play hockey, but he loved jumping more. Around 1995, he started training in Geneva with coach Peter Grütter. When there was no ice in Geneva, he would train in Germany. Salomé Brunner became his main choreographer in 1996.

Stéphane landed his first triple toe loop jump when he was ten. As the Swiss novice national champion, he performed at the 1997 World Championships. He won the junior national title for the next two years. He also competed in the junior Grand Prix circuit for three years, winning two medals. Skating can be expensive, so his village created a fan club to help him raise money after his parents divorced in 1999. Stéphane won his first senior national title in 2001 when he was 15. He made his first senior appearance at the 2001 European Championships, finishing ninth. He was fifth at the 2001 World Junior Championships.

In the next season, Stéphane moved up to senior competitions. He finished sixth in his first senior Grand Prix event, the 2001 Trophée Lalique. The Swiss skating federation told him he could go to the 2002 Winter Olympics if he placed in the top twelve at the 2002 European Championships. Stéphane placed fourth, so he went to the Olympics and finished 15th. He was 18th at the 2002 Worlds.

Stéphane had knee surgery in November 2002. He placed fifth at the 2003 European Championships and moved up to tenth at Worlds. In the 2003-2004 season, he was sixth at the 2004 European Championships and fourth at the 2004 World Championships.

Becoming a World Champion

Stéphane at the 2005 World Championships.

In autumn 2004, Stéphane had another surgery on his left knee. Around October, he started training in Lausanne with coach Cédric Monod. His physical trainers, Majda and Jean-Sébastien Scharl, joined him in November 2004.

Stéphane missed the 2004–05 ISU Grand Prix season. But he returned for the 2005 European Championships, where he placed fourth. At the 2005 World Championships in Moscow, Russia, Stéphane was ahead of Evgeni Plushenko after the first two rounds. Plushenko then had to withdraw because of an injury. Skating to music from the King Arthur movie, Stéphane landed two quadruple toe loops. He skated very well and won his first World championship title! This was also his first medal at an ISU championship. He was the first Swiss man to win this event since 1947.

Olympic Silver Medal

Stéphane trained mostly in Geneva with Peter Grütter. He and Monod decided to stop working together in September 2005.

Stéphane won silver medals at two Grand Prix events and then won the Grand Prix Final. He placed second at the 2006 European Championships in Lyon, France, behind Plushenko. Stéphane went to the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, with a good chance to win a medal. He was third after the short program. Even though he placed fourth in the long program, he won the silver medal because other top skaters made mistakes. Stéphane did not complete a triple Axel at the Olympics, but he landed a clean quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop-double loop combination. He became the first Swiss figure skater since 1948 to win an Olympic medal.

Plushenko decided not to go to the 2006 World Championships. This made Stéphane a favorite to win again. He was first after the qualifying round, fourth in the short program, and first in the long program. He became the first Swiss skater ever to be a two-time World Champion. After the 2005–06 season, Stéphane joined the Champions on Ice tour.

Later Competitive Seasons

Stéphane started the 2006–2007 season by winning Skate Canada. He was seventh in the short program but first in the free skate. He was supposed to compete at the 2006 NHK Trophy but pulled out due to health reasons. He recovered in time for the Swiss Championships, where he won his seventh national title.

On January 16, Stéphane withdrew from the 2007 European Championships. He said he was feeling tired from all the training. He returned to compete at the 2007 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. In the short program, he fell on his triple Axel. He finished sixth. He did better in the long program, landing two quadruple toe loops and a triple Axel. He earned high scores for his artistic performance and his spins. Stéphane finished second in the long program and third overall, behind Brian Joubert and Daisuke Takahashi.

Stéphane at the 2007-2008 Grand Prix Final.

In 2007, Stéphane finished third at the Cup of China and second at the Cup of Russia. This qualified him for the Grand Prix Final. He won this event for the second time in his career, scoring 239.10 points. This was just 0.16 points more than Daisuke Takahashi.

At the 2008 European Championships in Zagreb, Stéphane had a difficult short program. He fell on his triple Axel and only managed a triple toe loop-double loop combination. He placed fourth. He finished second in the long program after landing a quadruple toe loop-double toe loop-double loop combination. He earned a very high score for his artistic Flamenco program. He won his second European silver medal, behind Czech skater Tomáš Verner.

At the 2008 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, Stéphane fell on his triple Axel and touched the ice with his hand on a quadruple toe loop in the short program. He was in fifth place. In the free skate, he had more issues with his jumps. He finished in fifth place overall.

Stéphane changed coaches in June 2008. He moved to the United States to work with Viktor Petrenko and Galina Zmievskaya.

Retirement and Comeback

Stéphane was supposed to compete in Grand Prix events in Canada and France but withdrew from both. He announced his retirement from competitive skating on October 16, 2008. He explained that he had a thigh muscle injury that caused him pain and made it impossible to train properly. He said he couldn't reach his goals with the pain. After retiring, he performed in many ice shows in Switzerland, France, Italy, South Korea, and Japan.

On July 25, 2009, Stéphane announced he would return to competitive skating. He wanted to try and qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He said his injury was under control, even though it still affected his training a little. He rejoined his former coach, Peter Grütter, in Switzerland.

Stéphane started his comeback season at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy. This competition was for countries that didn't have Olympic spots yet. Stéphane finished first in the short program, even though he fell on his quadruple toe-loop. He also won the free skate, landing a quadruple toe loop-double toe loop-double toe loop combination. He won the competition and qualified Switzerland for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Stéphane won his ninth national title at the 2010 Swiss Championships. He won both the short program and the free skate, scoring 244.23 points. He was 44.78 points ahead of Jamal Othman. He then competed in the 2010 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. He placed fifth in the short program after having problems with his quadruple toe-loop. He did much better in the free skate, earning 160.79 points and winning the silver medal. His artistic score was the highest of the night. Overall, he scored 238.54 points, behind Evgeni Plushenko.

Stéphane was the flag bearer for Switzerland at the 2010 Winter Olympics. At the Olympics, he was fifth in the short program and third in the free skate, which was his personal best score. He finished fourth overall, behind medalists Evan Lysacek, Plushenko, and Daisuke Takahashi.

A day after the long program, Stéphane announced that he had planned not to compete in the 2010 World Championships. On March 9, 2010, he officially announced his retirement from competitive skating.

After Competitive Skating

Ice Shows

After retiring from competition, Stéphane performed in a new ABC skating series called Thin Ice. He was paired with Shizuka Arakawa, and they finished third. Because he participated in this show, he lost his eligibility to compete in ISU events. However, after discussions, the ISU allowed him to perform in the exhibition gala at the 2011 European Championships in Switzerland.

Stéphane has performed in many ice shows around the world. These include the Kings On Ice tour in Russia, and shows in Sweden, Germany, Japan, China, South Korea, and Kazakhstan. He also performed in All That Skate, led by Yuna Kim, and Opera On Ice.

Stéphane was a main performer in the Art on Ice show for many years. This show is often held in Lausanne and Zurich, Switzerland. In 2012, he skated a duet with Carolina Kostner. In 2019, he announced that it was his last time performing at Art on Ice after 17 years. Stéphane is also a main cast member in the yearly touring show Fantasy on Ice in Japan. He has been part of every show since it started in 2010.

In 2014, he created his own show called Ice Legends. This show celebrated 150 years of friendly relations between Japan and Switzerland.

Coach and Choreographer

Stéphane Lambiel started working as a choreographer, creating skating routines for other athletes. He has choreographed for many famous skaters, including:

Around 2011, Stéphane also began coaching. In 2014, he opened the Skating School of Switzerland in Champéry. He has mentioned that coaches like Peter Grütter and Jacques Gerschwiler influenced his own coaching style.

His current students include:

• Koshiro Shimada
• Shoma Uno - Stéphane coached Shoma to win the bronze medal at the 2022 Olympics (men's singles), a bronze team medal at the 2022 Olympics, and the 2022 World champion title.
• Deniss Vasiļjevs - Stéphane coached Deniss to win the bronze medal at the 2022 European Championships.

His former students include:

• Matilda Algotsson
• Paolo Bacchini
• Noah Bodenstein
• Noémie Bodenstein
• Rika Kihira
• Alexia Paganini

Other Activities

Stéphane has many sponsors in Switzerland. In 2007, he designed a Swiss watch called the Spin Master. His sponsors included Ford Motor Company, Hublot, and Swisscom. In 2007, he appeared in a TV commercial for Fuji Xerox in Japan and a campaign for the Swiss Farmers Union. He even voiced himself for a small appearance in the 2016 figure skating anime series Yuri on Ice.

Stéphane supports Moi pour Toit, a group that builds homes and schools for children in need in Colombia. He has also worked as an ambassador for SOS Children's Villages, visiting their villages in Korea and Vietnam.

Competitive Highlights

Stéphane (center) at the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final.

This table shows Stéphane Lambiel's results in major skating competitions. GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

Images for kids

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  Stéphane Lambiel performing at the 2007-2008 Grand Prix Final exhibition.

See also

In Spanish: Stéphane Lambiel para niños