Arlet Levandi (born 28 November 2005) is an Estonian figure skater. He is the 2022 Tallink Hotels Cup champion and a two-time Estonian national silver medalist. At the junior level, he is the 2022 European Youth Olympic Festival champion, the 2021 JGP France II silver medalist, the 2021 JGP Slovenia silver medalist, and a 2020 Winter Youth Olympic champion in the team event. Levandi is the first men's singles skater from Estonia to win a Junior Grand Prix medal.[1]

Arlet Levandi
Born (2005-11-28) 28 November 2005 (age 18)
Tallinn, Estonia
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9+12 in)
Figure skating career
Country Estonia
DisciplineMen's singles
CoachAnna Levandi
Skating clubAnna Levandi FSC Tallinn
Began skating2009
Estonian Championships
Silver medal – second place 2021 Tallinn Singles
Silver medal – second place 2022 Tallinn Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Tallinn Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Tallinn Singles
Winter Youth Olympics
Gold medal – first place 2020 Lausanne Team

Personal life edit

Levandi was born on 28 November 2005, in Tallinn, Estonia, to Anna (née Kondrashova) and Allar Levandi. He has two older brothers.[2] His mother competed in singles for the Soviet Union and is a two-time Olympian, the 1984 World silver medalist, and a four-time European bronze medalist (1984, 1986–88). His father is the 1988 Olympic bronze medalist and a 1987 World team bronze medalist in Nordic combined.[3] Levandi attends school at the Old Town Education College and speaks fluent English.[4][2]

He has cited Florent Amodio, Jason Brown, and Deniss Vasiljevs as his figure skating idols.[4]

Career edit

Early career edit

Levandi began skating in 2009. He is coached by his mother, Anna Levandi, a former Soviet figure skater, at her eponymous club in Tallinn.[3]

Levandi is the 2017 Estonian national advanced novice bronze medalist and the 2018 Estonian national advanced novice silver medalist. At the advanced novice level Internationally, he is the 2018 Prague Riedell Ice Cup champion and a two-time Tallink Hotels Cup champion. Levandi did not compete during most of the 2018–19 season, including the 2019 Estonian Championships.[5]

2019–20 season edit

Levandi made his junior international debut at the 2019 Halloween Cup in Budapest, where he finished fourth overall. He then earned fifth-place finishes at the Volvo Open Cup and the Tallinn Trophy before winning the bronze medal at the Golden Spin of Zagreb. Having missed the prior season, Levandi skipped the junior level entirely to compete at the senior level at the 2020 Estonian Championships. He finished fourth and was chosen to represent Estonia at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics.

At the Winter Youth Olympics, Levandi was thirteenth in the short program after issues with his blades, but scored eleventh in the free skate to finish twelfth overall.[6] In the team event, he was chosen by draw as part of Team Courage alongside ladies' singles skater Kseniia Sinitsyna of Russia, pairs team Alina Butaeva and Luka Berulava of Georgia, and ice dancers Utana Yoshida and Shingo Nishiyama of Japan. Levandi finished seventh in the men's portion of the event, while Team Courage won the gold medal overall. He reflected on the event: "I was very happy with the draw, and now we are Youth Olympic champions."[7]

2020–21 season edit

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing the cancellation of the Junior Grand Prix series, junior skaters had limited international competitive opportunities. Levandi began the season at the Tallinn Open Championships before he competed at the inaugural Budapest Trophy, where he won the gold medal. He then won the gold medal at the Tallinn Trophy. Competing at the senior level at the 2021 Estonian Championships, Levandi was third in the short program and second in the free skate to win the silver medal.[8] He finished his season with another gold medal win at the Tallink Hotels Cup.

2021–22 season edit

Levandi began his season on the Junior Grand Prix. He won the silver medal at the 2021 JGP France II, becoming the first Estonian man to medal at an ISU Junior Grand Prix event.[1] With his teammates Solène Mazingue and Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko winning bronze in ice dance, it was Estonia's first multi-medal performance on the JGP since the 2006 JGP Czech Republic.[9] At his second JGP event in Slovenia, Levandi rebounded from sixth after the short program to finish second in the free skate and overall to win his second silver medal of the series.[10] However, he did not qualify for the 2021–22 Junior Grand Prix Final due to the unique qualification procedure implemented as a result of the pandemic.

Levandi also made his senior international debut this season at the 2021 Lombardia Trophy, earning personal bests in the short program and combined total to finish seventh overall.[11] At his second Challenger Series event, the 2021 Finlandia Trophy, he again scored new personal bests to place seventh overall. Levandi again improved his short program personal best at the 2021 Cup of Austria en route to a sixth-place finish.[12]

Levandi won the silver medal at the Estonian Championships in December. The following month, he qualified to the free skate at the 2022 European Championships in his hometown of Tallinn, where he finished in fourteenth place.[12] Levandi was not selected for the Olympic or the World Championships teams, but was named to the 2022 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival and the 2022 World Junior Championships teams.

Levandi returned to the junior level at the 2022 European Youth Olympic Festival, where he finished first in both segments to comfortably win the gold medal by over 20 points.[13] He concluded his season at the 2022 World Junior Championships, again in front of a home crowd in Tallinn, where he finished in twelfth place.[12]

2022–23 season edit

Levandi competed in several Challenger Series events to begin the season, finishing seventh at the 2022 U.S. International Classic, tenth at the 2022 Finlandia Trophy, and fourteenth at the 2022 Warsaw Cup. Making his Grand Prix debut, he finished seventh at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo.[12]

At the 2023 Estonian Championships, Levandi won the bronze medal at the senior level and the gold medal at the junior level. He then went on to win gold medals at both the 2023 Volvo Open Cup and the 2023 Tallink Hotels Cup.[12]

Selected to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Canada, Levandi finished in ninth place.[12]

2023–24 season edit

Levandi began the season by finishing eighth at both the 2023 Lombardia Trophy and the 2023 Finlandia Trophy, before finishing fourth at the 2023 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge.[12] He was invited to compete on the Grand Prix at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo, where he finished in tenth place.[14]

At the 2024 World Junior Championships, Levandi finished in seventh place. He said that he felt he had made progress that season by landing more difficult jumps in practice, though not yet in competition, and this would be his focus during the off-season.[15]

Programs edit

Season Short program Free skate Exhibition Ref.
2019–20 [16]
2020–21
  • "La terre vue du ciel"
    By Armand Amar
    Choreo. by Vakhtang Murvanidze
[17]
2021–22 [3]
2022–23
  • "Papaoutai"
    By Stromae
    Choreo. by Arlet Levandi
[18]
  • "Andrei"
  • "La terre vue du ciel"
    By Armand Amar
    Choreo. by Benoît Richaud
  • "Quand c'est?"
    By Stromae
    Choreo. by Arlet Levandi
2023–24 [19][20][21]

Competitive highlights edit

 
Levandi (center) on the podium at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics
Competition placements at senior level [12]
Season 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
European Championships 14th
Estonian Championships 4th 2nd 2nd 3rd 3rd
GP Finland 7th 8th
CS Cup of Austria 6th
CS Denis Ten Memorial 4th
CS Finlandia Trophy 7th 10th 8th
CS Lombardia Trophy 7th 8th
CS U.S. Classic 7th
CS Warsaw Cup 14th
Tallink Hotels Cup 1st 1st
Volvo Open Cup[a] 2nd
Volvo Open Cup[b] 1st 1st
  1. ^ 47th Volvo Cup Open
  2. ^ 48th Volvo Cup Open
Competition placements at junior level [12][5]
Season 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Winter Youth Olympics 12th
Winter Youth Olympics –
Team event
1st
World Junior Championships 12th 9th 7th
Estonian Championships 3rd 2nd 1st 1st
JGP France 2nd
JGP Slovenia 2nd
Budapest Trophy 1st
European Youth Olympic Festival 1st
Golden Spin of Zagreb 3rd
Halloween Cup 4th
Kurbada Cup WD
Tallink Hotels Cup 1st 1st 1st
Tallinn Trophy 5th
Volvo Open Cup 5th

Detailed results edit

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System 
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 222.61 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy
Short program TSS 75.43 2024 World Junior Championships
TES 39.00 2024 World Junior Championships
PCS 37.83 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo
Free skating TSS 152.47 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy
TES 73.47 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy
PCS 79.00 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy

Senior level edit

Results in the 2019–20 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Dec 13–15, 2019   2020 Estonian Championships 4 60.01 4 92.80 4 152.81
Results in the 2020–21 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Dec 30–31, 2020   2021 Estonian Championships 3 65.36 2 133.28 2 198.64
Results in the 2021–22 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 9–12, 2021   2021 CS Lombardia Trophy 11 63.67 6 135.00 7 198.67
Oct 7–10, 2021   2021 CS Finlandia Trophy 9 70.14 6 152.47 7 222.61
Nov 11–14, 2021   2021 CS Cup of Austria 5 75.10 3 144.73 6 219.83
Dec 4–5, 2021   2022 Estonian Championships 2 71.55 1 151.97 2 223.52
Jan 10–16, 2022   2022 European Championships 17 70.04 13 138.48 14 208.52
Mar 4–6, 2022   2022 Tallink Hotels Cup 2 68.48 1 153.06 1 221.54
Results in the 2022–23 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 12–16, 2022   2022 CS U.S. International Classic 7 70.02 7 132.27 7 202.29
Oct 4–9, 2022   2022 CS Finlandia Trophy 11 65.97 10 131.31 10 197.28
Nov 3–4, 2022   2022 Volvo Open Cup (47th) 4 65.97 2 131.31 2 206.66
Nov 17–20, 2022   2022 CS Warsaw Cup 12 69.45 14 126.27 14 195.72
Nov 25–27, 2022   2022 Grand Prix of Espoo 6 72.67 7 136.83 7 209.50
Dec 15–17, 2022   2023 Estonian Championships 3 63.31 3 141.00 3 204.31
Jan 19–22, 2023   2023 Volvo Open Cup (48th) 1 76.82 1 142.52 1 219.34
Feb 16–19, 2023   2023 Tallink Hotels Cup 2 76.34 1 149.45 1 225.79
Results in the 2023–24 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 8–10, 2023   2023 CS Lombardia Trophy 7 64.75 10 120.98 8 185.73
Oct 4–8, 2023   2023 CS Finlandia Trophy 8 70.22 9 140.19 8 210.41
Nov 2–5, 2023   2023 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge 3 74.47 6 141.65 4 216.12
Nov 17–19, 2023   2023 Grand Prix of Espoo 11 61.82 8 134.91 10 195.83
Dec 16–17, 2023   2024 Estonian Championships 2 74.75 3 144.78 3 219.53
Jan 18–21, 2024   2024 Volvo Open Cup 1 70.18 1 137.31 1 207.49

Junior level edit

Results in the 2019–20 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 17–20, 2019   2019 Halloween Cup 5 51.49 4 94.98 4 146.47
Nov 5–10, 2019   2019 Volvo Open Cup 4 55.86 6 101.05 5 156.91
Nov 11–17, 2019   2019 Tallinn Trophy 7 41.08 3 100.33 5 141.41
Dec 4–7, 2019   2019 Golden Spin of Zagreb 3 49.95 4 79.11 3 129.06
Jan 10–15, 2020   2020 Winter Youth Olympics 13 49.87 11 104.78 12 154.65
Jan 10–15, 2020   2020 Winter Youth Olympics – Team event 7 97.63 1 (7)
Feb 1–2, 2020   2020 Estonian Championships (Junior) 3 54.47 3 118.32 3 172.79
Feb 13–16, 2020   2020 Tallink Hotels Cup 1 62.87 1 97.18 1 160.05
Results in the 2020–21 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 15–17, 2020   2020 Budapest Trophy 1 50.65 1 115.04 1 165.69
Feb 18–21, 2021   2021 Tallink Hotels Cup 1 64.57 1 115.28 1 179.85
Results in the 2021–22 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 25–28, 2021   2021 JGP France II 3 61.73 1 135.20 2 196.93
Sep 22–25, 2021   2021 JGP Slovenia 6 59.60 2 134.75 2 194.35
Feb 5–6, 2022   2022 Estonian Championships (Junior) 2 75.29 1 146.48 2 221.77
Mar 20–25, 2022   2022 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival 1 70.55 1 138.99 1 209.54
Apr 8–10, 2022   2022 Kurbada Cup 1 73.65 WD
Apr 13–17, 2022   2022 World Junior Championships 14 65.31 10 134.79 12 200.10
Results in the 2022–23 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Feb 4–5, 2023   2023 Estonian Championships (Junior) 1 77.55 1 147.10 1 224.65
Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2023   2023 World Junior Championships 12 71.01 7 133.72 9 204.73
Results in the 2023–24 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Feb 3–4, 2024   2024 Estonian Championships (Junior) 1 70.94 1 141.81 1 212.75
Feb 15–18, 2024   2024 Tallink Hotels Cup 2 75.07 1 136.71 1 211.78
Feb 26 – Mar 3, 2024   2024 World Junior Championships 8 75.43 6 136.55 7 211.98

References edit

  1. ^ a b "USA and Canada strike gold as ISU Junior Grand Prix continues in Courchevel". International Skating Union. 31 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b Herodes, Regina; Lensment, Jaanus (22 September 2019). "Allar ja Anna Levandi: Lapsevanema eeskujust sõltub lapse liikumis- ja spordiarmastus!" [Allar and Anna Levandi: The child's love of movement and sports depends on the parent's example!]. Delfi Sport (in Estonian).
  3. ^ a b c "Arlet LEVANDI: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Arlet Levandi ready for double duty". YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Arlet LEVANDI". RinkResults.
  6. ^ "Anna innustus Arletit Allari eeskujuga: Levandite tiimitöö päädis särtsaka vabakava ja 12. kohaga" [Anna inspires Arlet with Allar's example: the Levandi teamwork ended with a lively free program and 12th place]. Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 12 January 2020.
  7. ^ Barker, Philip (15 January 2020). "Team Courage wrap up Lausanne 2020 figure skating in style". Inside the Games.
  8. ^ Kallaste, Kristjan (1 February 2021). "Eva-Lotta Kiibus crowned Estonian champion". ERR.
  9. ^ Wong, Jackie [@rockerskating] (August 29, 2021). "In addition to Arlet Levandi's silver in the men's event, Mazingue/Gaidajenko's bronze in dance gave Estonia 🇪🇪 their first multi-medal #JGPFigure since 2006" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Arlet Levandi saavutas juunioride GP-l ajaloolise teise koha" [Arlet Levandi took a historic second place at the Junior GP]. Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 25 September 2021.
  11. ^ Värv, Maarja (25 September 2021). "Levandi sai Itaalias Selevkost jagu" [Levandi defeats Selevko in Italy]. ERR (in Estonian).
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Competition Results: Arlet LEVANDI". International Skating Union.
  13. ^ Burke, Patrick (24 March 2022). "Levandi dominates boys' event to claim figure skating gold at Winter EYOF". Inside the Games.
  14. ^ Slater, Paula (November 18, 2023). "Kao Miura captures first Grand Prix gold in Espoo". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  15. ^ Slater, Paula (March 2, 2024). "Minkyu Seo clinches men's title at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  16. ^ "Arlet LEVANDI: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Arlet LEVANDI: 2020/2021". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Arlet LEVANDI: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022.
  19. ^ "Arlet LEVANDI: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Arlet Levandi: 2023/24 SP". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  21. ^ "Arlet Levandi: 2023/24 FP". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 14 August 2023.

External links edit

  Media related to Arlet Levandi at Wikimedia Commons