Viktor Pfeifer (born May 16, 1987) is an Austrian former competitive figure skater. An eight-time Austrian national champion, he has placed as high as eighth at the European Championships (2013) and has competed three times at the Winter Olympics, placing 22nd in 2006, 21st in 2010 and 26th in 2014.
| Viktor Pfeifer | |
|---|---|
 Viktor Pfeifer at the 2010 Skate America | |
| Born | May 16, 1987 Graz, Austria |
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country | Austria |
| Began skating | 1995 |
| Retired | May 27, 2014 |
Career edit
In the 2002–03 season, Pfeifer won Austria's senior national men's title for the first time. The following season, he began competing on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series.
In 2004–05, Pfeifer competed in his second JGP season and finished 12th at the 2005 World Junior Championships. He also made his senior international debut at the 2005 European Championships, where he was 18th. He then placed 23rd at his first senior World Championships.
In 2005–06, Pfeifer again began his season on the junior level, placing fifth in both of his JGP events. He then competed on the senior level at the 2005 Karl Schäfer Memorial, the final opportunity for countries to qualify an Olympic entry. His placement, fifth, gave Austria a spot in the 2006 Olympic men's event. Pfeifer won his third senior national title and was sent to the Olympics where he placed 22nd. He ended his season at the 2006 World Championships, finishing 26th.
In 2006, Pfeifer moved from Austria to train in Aston, Pennsylvania.[1] Two years later, he began training under Priscilla Hill at the Skating Club of Wilmington in Wilmington, Delaware.[1] He stated that Austrian skating officials disagreed with his decision to train abroad and his funding dried up, leading him to consider no longer competing for the country.[1] He was not sent to any ISU Championships in 2007 and 2008.
Pfeifer returned to international competition in autumn 2008. He placed tenth at the 2008 Nebelhorn Trophy and fifth at the 2008 Karl Schäfer Memorial before taking his fourth national title. He was 29th at both the 2009 European Championships and 2009 World Championships.
The final opportunity to qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics was the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy in September. Pfeifer placed fifth and earned a spot for Austria in the men's event in Vancouver. Austria consequently resumed funding his training.[1] After winning his fifth national title, Pfeifer was sent to the 2010 European Championships where he placed 17th. He then competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics, placing 21st. His final event of the season was the 2010 World Championships where he was 20th.
In the 2012–13 season, Pfeifer was eighth at the European Championships, the best European result of his career. He then placed 20th at the 2013 World Championships, earning a spot for Austria in the 2014 Olympic men's event.
Pfeifer began coaching at The Skating Club of Wilmington when he was still a competitive skater.[2] He retired from competition on May 27, 2014.[3][4]
Personal life edit
Pfeifer began playing the cello as a child and attended a music conservatory in Austria before deciding to focus on skating.[5] He studied business management and economics at the University of Delaware.[1][6]
Programs edit
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2014 [7] |
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| 2012–2013 [8] |
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| 2011–2012 [9] |
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| 2010–2011 [10] |
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| 2009–2010 [11] |
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| 2008–2009 [12][13] |
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| 2007–2008 |
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| 2006–2007 [14] |
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| 2005–2006 [15] |
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| 2004–2005 [16] |
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| 2003–2004 [17] |
Results edit
GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
2003–2014 edit
| International[18] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 03–04 | 04–05 | 05–06 | 06–07 | 08–09 | 09–10 | 10–11 | 11–12 | 12–13 | 13–14 |
| Olympics | 22nd | 21st | 26th | |||||||
| Worlds | 23rd | 26th | 29th | 20th | 26th | 22nd | 20th | 30th | ||
| Europeans | 18th | 18th | 29th | 17th | 18th | 18th | 8th | 14th | ||
| GP Skate America | 12th | |||||||||
| Golden Spin | 4th | |||||||||
| Ice Challenge | 13th | 3rd | 11th | 2nd | ||||||
| Schäfer Memorial | 5th | 14th | 5th | |||||||
| Nebelhorn Trophy | 10th | 5th | 13th | |||||||
| Nepela Memorial | 2nd | 5th | ||||||||
| Triglav Trophy | 2nd | |||||||||
| International: Junior[18] | ||||||||||
| Junior Worlds | 12th | 15th | ||||||||
| JGP Bulgaria | 5th | |||||||||
| JGP Estonia | 5th | |||||||||
| JGP Romania | 10th | |||||||||
| JGP Slovakia | 22nd | |||||||||
| JGP Ukraine | 9th | |||||||||
| Montfort Cup | 2nd J | 1st J | 1st J | |||||||
| National, domestic, or club events | ||||||||||
| Austrian Champ. | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| Austrian Junior | 1st | 1st | ||||||||
| OQ Kapfenberg | 2nd | |||||||||
| U.S. Eastern | 8th | |||||||||
| U.S. South Atlantic | 3rd | |||||||||
| Chesapeake Open | 1st | |||||||||
| Liberty Summer | 12th | |||||||||
| J = Junior level; OQ = Olympia-Qualifikation | ||||||||||
1998–2003 edit
| International[18] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 98–99 | 99–00 | 00–01 | 01–02 | 02–03 |
| Copenhagen Trophy | 4th N | 2nd J | |||
| Euro. Youth Olympic Festival | 11th J | ||||
| Golden Bear of Zagreb | 1st N | ||||
| National | |||||
| Austrian Champ. | 4th | 1st | |||
| Austrian Junior Champ. | 2nd | 1st | |||
| Austrian Novice Champ. | 1st | 1st | |||
| Austrian Debutant Champ. | 1st | ||||
| Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior | |||||
References edit
- ^ a b c d e Steinberg, Lisa (March 23, 2010). "University home to international ice skating champ". The Review. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011.
- ^ Tresolini, Kevin (February 2, 2014). "Shifting younger, but Delaware still helps breed top figure skating talent". The News Journal.
- ^ "Eiskunstlauf: Viktor Pfeifer beendete 27-jährig seine Karriere" [Viktor Pfeifer ends his career]. Austria Press Agency (in German). Tiroler Tageszeitung. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014.
- ^ "Viktor Pfeifer hört mit dem Eiskunstlauf auf" [Viktor Pfeifer ends his figure skating career] (in German). Vorarlberger Nachrichten. May 28, 2014.
- ^ Mittan, Barry (December 4, 2005). "Pfeifer Plans to Compose His Own Music for Programs". SkateToday.
- ^ Golinsky, Reut; Geikhman, Tatiana (2010). "Viktor Pfeifer: "You shouldn't take anything for granted"". AbsoluteSkating.com. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ "Viktor PFEIFER: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014.
- ^ "Viktor PFEIFER: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013.
- ^ "Viktor PFEIFER: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012.
- ^ "Viktor PFEIFER: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011.
- ^ "Viktor PFEIFER: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 25, 2009.
- ^ "Viktor PFEIFER: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 5, 2009.
- ^ "Viktor PFEIFER: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008.
- ^ "Viktor PFEIFER: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 2, 2007.
- ^ "Viktor PFEIFER: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 15, 2006.
- ^ "Viktor PFEIFER: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 5, 2005.
- ^ "Viktor PFEIFER: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004.
- ^ a b c "Competition Results: Viktor PFEIFER". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014.
External links edit
Media related to Viktor Pfeifer at Wikimedia Commons