by Matteo Morelli

After having hosted the event in 2010 and 2022, Estonia is welcoming back the European Figure Skating Championships on its 116th edition.

With a capacity of about 6,000 spectators, Tallinn’s Tondiraba Ice Hall is ready to host the 30 teams competing to win this year’s continental medals, which represent a total of 23 countries.

The Medal Hunt

Italy’s Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri enjoy two consecutive European titles, and are aiming to win a third one in Tallinn, continuing to show how this experienced team can stay at the top in ice dance upon entering their thirteenth European Championships. This season, despite of an uncharacteristic mistake at the Grand Prix de France that costed them the gold medal, they won a second consecutive silver medal at the Grand Prix Final and collected a seventh national title, with their eyes constantly focussed on the next Olympic Games to take place in Milan, Italy, where they live and train.

Their biggest competition are still Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson, who this season won an historic bronze medal for Great Britain at the Grand Prix Final, which they entered as the only ice dance team with two gold medals from the Grand Prix events. At their sixth European Championships, they will do their best to show how they continue to grow as a team that wants to upset the leading ice dance couples in the world.

The fight for a medal will also see other experienced teams facing each other to get on the top available spots.

Lithuania’s Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevičius are the bronze medallists from last year’s Europeans, which took place in Kaunas, Lithuania, their country and also Ambrulevičius’ birth place. With their hearts still full of emotions from that victory, and with Reed finally obtaining Lithuanian citizenship, the duo will try to replicate their success and win another medal.

France’s Evgeniia Lopareva & Geoffrey Brissaud are enjoying a very successful season, showing how they continue to grow in confidence and strength. With a first gold medal from a Grand Prix event and a Grand Prix Final attendance, they will try to show why they are worthy of a continental medal.

Also posing a threat will be Finland’s Juulia Turkkila & Matthias Versluis, who won a European bronze medal two years ago. So far this season, they have earned a bronze medal at Grand Prix of Espoo, Finland, and have reconfirmed themselves as national champions for a fifth consecutive time. 

Another team with big ambitions is Czech Republic’s Natálie Taschlerová & Filip Taschler, which will put up a strong fight to place as high up as possible at this event.

Interesting facts

In 2022, Tallinn also hosted the Four Continents event and the Junior World Championships.
At the age of 34, Charlene Guignard is the oldest female skater at these Europeans.
Two birthdays will be celebrated during the event: Loicia Demougeot turns 23 on Friday, and Marco Fabbri turns 37 on Sunday.
The Czech Republic has the only two ice dance teams that are also siblings: Natálie Taschlerová & Filip Taschler, and Kateřina Mrázková & Daniel Mrázek.
Two teams are married: Diana Davis & Gleb Smolkin, and Carolane Soucisse & Shane Firus.
Emilia Monika Ziobrowska & Shiloh Judd make history as the first Romanian ice dance team to compete at the European Championships.

Event info: Teams have official practices from Tuesday, January 28. The rhythm dance kicks off on Friday, January 31, at 12:30pm (EET); the free dance occurs on Saturday, February 1, at 13:00pm (EET).