Matteo Rizzo (born 5 September 1998) is an Italian figure skater. He is the 2019 European bronze medalist, three-time Grand Prix bronze medalist, 2019 Winter Universiade champion, and 2018 Italian national champion. He has won several ISU Challenger Series medals, including gold at the 2017 CS Warsaw Cup and 2022 CS Budapest Trophy. He is also the 2018 World Junior bronze medalist and 2017 JGP Italy champion. Rizzo represented Italy at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics.
Matteo Rizzo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Rizzo in 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country represented | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | (1998-09-05) 5 September 1998 (age 24) Rome, Italy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home town | Sesto San Giovanni, Italy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coach | Lorenzo Magri, Valter Rizzo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former coach | Franca Bianconi, Ilaria Ponti, Angela Puglisi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Choreographer | Shae-Lynn Bourne, Corrado Giordano, Massimo Scali | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former choreographer | Valter Rizzo, Vakhtang Murvanidze | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Skating club | Young Goose Academy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former skating club | Icelab Bergamo, Sesto Ice Skate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Training locations | Egna, Italy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former training locations | Bergamo Sesto San Giovanni Courmayeur | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Began skating | 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
World standing | 9 (As of April 16, 2022[update])[1] 7 (2020–21) 8 (2019–20) 8 (2018–19) 24 (2017–18) 35 (2016–17) 40 (2015–16) 77 (2014–15) 106 (2013–14) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
ISU personal best scores | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Combined total | 260.53 2019 World Team Trophy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Short program | 93.37 2019 Worlds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Free skate | 176.18 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Matteo Rizzo was born on 5 September 1998 in Rome.[2] His parents, Brunilde Bianchi and Valter Rizzo,[3] and sister, Francesca Rizzo, all competed in ice dancing.[2]
Rizzo began learning to skate in 2006.[4] He competed internationally on the novice level in the 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 seasons, winning silver at the Triglav Trophy in April 2012. His junior international debut came in September 2012, at the Ice Star event in Belarus.
Rizzo debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series in September 2013, placing eleventh at an event in Slovakia, and won the Italian national junior title in December. In January–February 2014, making his senior international debut, he finished ninth at the Bavarian Open and fifth at the Dragon Trophy, before taking the silver medal at the Hellmut Seibt Memorial. He competed at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria but was eliminated after placing thirtieth in the short program.
Rizzo placed fifteenth at his sole JGP assignment, in Germany. Competing on the senior level from November to December, he won silver at the Merano Cup, bronze at the Warsaw Cup – his ISU Challenger Series (CS) debut – gold at the Denkova-Staviski Cup, and silver at the Italian Championships. In January 2015, he placed fourth at the 2015 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in Austria. His final event of the season was the 2015 World Junior Championships, held in March 2015 in Tallinn, Estonia. Rizzo qualified for the free skate by placing 20th in the short program and finished 22nd overall.
Rizzo continued on the JGP series, placing fifth at his assignments in Austria and Spain. He earned a bronze medal at the 2015 CS Denkova-Staviski Cup and finished fifth at the 2015 CS Warsaw Cup. He reached the free skate at two ISU Championships – the 2016 Europeans in Bratislava, and the 2016 Junior Worlds in Debrecen, Hungary. He placed thirteenth at both events.
Rizzo competed at JGP events in Germany and Spain, finishing twelfth and eighth, respectively. He placed eleventh at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Taipei and thirtieth at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki.
Rizzo began his season in September, at two senior-level competitions. After placing fifth at the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy with a new free skate personal best, he finished fourth at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, qualifying Italy a spot in the men's discipline at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
In October, Rizzo competed at two JGP events. He placed second in the short program at the JGP Poland in Gdańsk, but his placement in the free skate (tenth) dropped him to sixth overall. Ranked second in the short and first in the free, he won the gold medal at JGP Italy in Egna, setting new personal bests for the short program as well as his overall score.
Returning to the senior level, Rizzo won gold at the 2017 CS Warsaw Cup, having placed first in both segments ahead of Switzerland's Stéphane Walker and Canada's Liam Firus. In December, he won the national title and was selected to represent Italy at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Rizzo competed in both parts of the team event as part of the Italian team, placing fifth in the short program and fourth in the free skate, while Team Italy finished fourth overall.[5] He finished twenty-first in the men's event.
Returning to the junior level one final time, Rizzo competed at the 2018 World Junior Championships and won the bronze medal after placing sixth in both programs. This was the first World Junior medal for an Italian man.[6] At the 2018 World Championships in Milan, Rizzo placed seventeenth.
Beginning the season at the 2018 CS Lombardia Trophy, Rizzo ranked fourth in the short with a personal best score of 85.51 and fourth in the free, finishing fourth overall. He then competed at the 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy, where he finished sixth. In his Grand Prix debut event, he placed fourth at 2018 Skate America and third at 2018 NHK Trophy. Rizzo's bronze medal at the NHK Trophy was the first Grand Prix medal for an Italian male skater.[7] In December he took gold at the 2018 Denkova-Staviski Cup, and the silver medal at 2019 Italian Championships, behind Daniel Grassl.
Competing at the 2019 European Championships, Rizzo debuted a new free skate to a medley of Queen songs. He placed tenth in the short program and third in the free skate, winning the bronze medal overall with a personal best score of 247.08 points and achieving his first podium finish at a senior-level ISU Championship. In his free skate, he successfully landed a quad toe loop for the first time. Rizzo was the first Italian man to win a European medal since Samuel Contesti in 2009.[8][7]
Rizzo next participated in the 2019 Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Introducing the quad toe loop into the short program, he finished second there, and then place first in the free skate to win the gold medal with a total of 273.54 points.[9] At the World Championships in Japan, Rizzo placed fifth in the short program with a new personal best score, tenth in the free, and seventh overall. He concluded the season as part of Team Italy at the 2019 World Team Trophy, where he placed fourth among the men competing and Team Italy finished sixth overall.[10]
In the summer, Rizzo trained at the Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club under Brian Orser, working to acquire more quadruple jumps for the coming season.[7] Rizzo began the season with two Challengers, winning bronze at the 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy and silver at the 2019 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial. He attempted the quad loop in competition for the first time.
For his first Grand Prix assignment, Rizzo competed at the 2019 Skate Canada International. In the short program, he placed eighth after underrotating his quadruple toe loop and falling on his combination jump.[11] Despite a number of errors in the free skate, he moved up to finish in sixth place overall.[12] At the 2019 Cup of China, Rizzo placed third in the short program despite falling on his triple Lutz and consequently missing his combination.[13] Fourth in the free skate, he remained in third place overall and won the bronze medal.[14]
After winning the silver medal at the Italian Championships, Rizzo competed at the 2020 European Championships, where he placed seventh in the short program after some minor jump errors.[15] Fifth in the free skate, he rose to fifth place overall, but remarked that it had been "a tough season for me because it’s between the Olympics."[16] Rizzo was also assigned to compete at the 2020 World Championships, but these were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.[17]
With pandemic-related travel restrictions in place, Rizzo made his season debut at the 2020 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, an event attended by only skaters training in Europe. He was tipped as one of the pre-event favourites.[18] Third after the short program, he was seventh in the free and ended up fifth overall.[19] Following the competition, he announced that he was parting ways with longtime coach Franca Bianconi.[20] On October 20th, Rizzo announced on Instagram that he had relocated his training base to Egna, Italy to train under coach Lorenzo Magri, alongside main domestic rival Daniel Grassl.[21] He was assigned to compete at the 2020 Internationaux de France, but this event was cancelled due to the pandemic.[22]
After taking the silver medal at the Italian championships, Rizzo was assigned to compete at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, where he placed eleventh.[23] Rizzo and Grassl's placements qualified two berths for Italian men at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.[24] They were both subsequently named to the Italian team for the 2021 World Team Trophy.[25] He announced on April 11 that he had been unable to leave Italy for the event location in Osaka, and therefore withdrew from participation.[26] He subsequently stated that he had withdrawn after a positive COVID-19 test.[27]
Rizzo returned to his former coach Franca Bianconi, and also added retired pairs skater Ondřej Hotárek to his team.[28] He made his season debut at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy, where he overcame a poor short program to win the free skate and place sixth overall. The following weekend he won the 2021 Budapest Trophy.[29]
On the Grand Prix, Rizzo's first assignment was the 2021 NHK Trophy, where he placed sixth in the short program. He was third in the free skate, rising to fifth place overall despite popping one of his two planned quad jumps. Rizzo expressed satisfaction at having received a score over 170 points in the free segment with only one quad jump.[30] At the 2021 Rostelecom Cup, he was ninth in the short program, and rose to fifth place again after a second-place free skate.[31]
After winning a fourth consecutive silver medal at the Italian championships, Rizzo was named to the Italian Olympic team. He was first forced to withdraw from the 2022 European Championships due to equipment issues.[32] Competing in Beijing, Rizzo placed thirteenth in the short program of the Olympic men's event.[33] Seventeenth in the free skate, he finished sixteenth overall.[34]
Rizzo concluded his season at the 2022 World Championships, in a men's field considerably more open than usual due to the absences of Nathan Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu and the International Skating Union banning all Russian athletes due to their country's invasion of Ukraine.[35] He finished tenth overall.[36][37]
Rizzo began the season on the Challenger circuit, placing fourth at the 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy before winning the 2022 CS Budapest Trophy.[29] On the Grand Prix, he placed third in the short program at the 2022 Skate Canada International. He was fourth in the free skate, but narrowly held onto third overall over Canadian Keegan Messing and won the bronze medal. Rizzo successfully landed a quad loop in his free skate, and said that the result "means a lot." He said he hoped to perform a three-quad free skate later in the season.[38]
Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
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2022–2023 [39] |
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2021–2022 [40] |
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2020–2021 [41] |
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The Greatest Showman:
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2019–2020 [7] |
|
|
|
2018–2019 [42] |
|
|
|
2017–2018 [2] |
|
|
|
2016–2017 [4] |
|
|
|
2015–2016 [44] |
|
|
|
2014–2015 [45] |
|
|
|
2013–2014 [46] |
|
GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
International[29] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Event | 10–11 | 11–12 | 12–13 | 13–14 | 14–15 | 15–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 | 19–20 | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 |
Olympics | 21st | 16th | |||||||||||
Worlds | 30th | 17th | 7th | C | 11th | 10th | |||||||
Europeans | 13th | 9th | 3rd | 5th | WD | ||||||||
GP Cup of China | 3rd | ||||||||||||
GP France | C | ||||||||||||
GP NHK Trophy | 3rd | 5th | 6th | ||||||||||
GP Rostelecom Cup | 5th | ||||||||||||
GP Skate America | 4th | ||||||||||||
GP Skate Canada | 6th | 3rd | |||||||||||
CS Budapest | 1st | ||||||||||||
CS Denkova-Stav. | 3rd | ||||||||||||
CS Finlandia | 6th | 6th | |||||||||||
CS Lombardia | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 4th | |||||||||
CS Nebelhorn | 4th | 5th | |||||||||||
CS Ondrej Nepela | 4th | 2nd | |||||||||||
CS Warsaw Cup | 3rd | 5th | 6th | 1st | |||||||||
Bavarian Open | 9th | 5th | |||||||||||
Budapest Trophy | 1st | ||||||||||||
Cup of Tyrol | 2nd | ||||||||||||
Denkova-Staviski | 1st | 1st | |||||||||||
Dragon Trophy | 5th | ||||||||||||
Golden Bear | 4th | ||||||||||||
Hellmut Seibt | 2nd | 6th | 7th | ||||||||||
Merano Cup | 2nd | 2nd | |||||||||||
Shanghai Trophy | 1st | ||||||||||||
Toruń Cup | 1st | ||||||||||||
Winter Universiade | 1st | ||||||||||||
International: Junior[29] | |||||||||||||
Junior Worlds | 30th | 22nd | 13th | 11th | 3rd | ||||||||
JGP Austria | 5th | ||||||||||||
JGP Germany | 15th | 12th | |||||||||||
JGP Italy | 1st | ||||||||||||
JGP Poland | 6th | ||||||||||||
JGP Slovakia | 11th | ||||||||||||
JGP Slovenia | 8th | ||||||||||||
JGP Spain | 5th | ||||||||||||
EYOF | 4th | ||||||||||||
Bavarian Open | 4th | ||||||||||||
Crystal Skate | 6th | ||||||||||||
Ice Star | 4th | ||||||||||||
Lombardia | 3rd | 2nd | |||||||||||
Santa Claus Cup | 5th | ||||||||||||
International: Advanced novice[47] | |||||||||||||
Bavarian Open | 3rd | ||||||||||||
Gardena | 7th | ||||||||||||
NRW Trophy | 9th | ||||||||||||
Mont Blanc | 2nd | ||||||||||||
Triglav Trophy | 2nd | ||||||||||||
National[29] | |||||||||||||
Italian Champ. | 4th J | 5th J | 1st J | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | ||
Team events | |||||||||||||
Olympics | 4th T | ||||||||||||
World Team Trophy | 6th T 4th P | WD | |||||||||||
J = Junior level; TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Event cancelled T = Team result; P = Personal result; Medals awarded for team result only. |
Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only.
2022–23 season | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
November 18–20, 2022 | 2022 NHK Trophy | 7 78.57 |
TBD |
TBD | |
October 28–30, 2022 | 2022 Skate Canada International | 3 81.18 |
4 169.85 |
3 251.03 | |
October 14–16, 2022 | 2022 CS Budapest Trophy | 2 83.13 |
1 170.21 |
1 253.34 | |
September 16–19, 2022 | 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy | 5 77.72 |
2 148.95 |
4 226.67 | |
2021–22 season | |||||
Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
March 21–27, 2022 | 2022 World Championships | 8 91.67 |
10 164.08 |
10 255.75 | |
February 8–10, 2022 | 2022 Winter Olympics | 13 88.63 |
17 158.90 |
16 247.53 | |
December 4–5, 2021 | 2022 Italian Championships | 2 96.66 |
2 177.30 |
2 273.96 | |
November 26–28, 2021 | 2021 Rostelecom Cup | 9 77.45 |
2 173.02 |
5 250.47 | |
November 12–14, 2021 | 2021 NHK Trophy | 6 84.78 |
3 171.06 |
5 255.84 | |
October 14–17, 2021 | 2021 Budapest Trophy | 2 72.94 |
1 161.46 |
1 234.40 | |
October 7–10, 2021 | 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy | 19 62.57 |
1 176.18 |
6 238.75 | |
2020–21 season | |||||
Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
March 22–28, 2021 | 2021 World Championships | 11 83.30 |
11 162.07 |
11 245.37 | |
December 12–13, 2020 | 2020 Italian Championships | 3 74.81 |
2 174.13 |
2 248.94 | |
September 23–26, 2020 | 2020 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 3 77.15 |
7 136.99 |
5 214.14 | |
2019–20 season | |||||
Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
January 20-26, 2020 | 2020 European Championships | 7 79.07 |
5 157.94 |
5 237.01 | |
December 12–15, 2019 | 2019 Italian Championships | 1 82.08 |
2 161.68 |
2 243.76 | |
November 8–10, 2019 | 2019 Cup of China | 3 81.72 |
4 160.16 |
3 241.88 | |
October 25–27, 2019 | 2019 Skate Canada | 9 70.12 |
5 153.66 |
6 223.78 | |
October 3–5, 2019 | 2019 Shanghai Trophy | 1 87.76 |
3 160.77 |
1 248.53 | |
September 19–21, 2019 | 2019 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial | 4 75.87 |
1 156.83 |
2 232.70 | |
September 13–15, 2019 | 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy | 5 71.76 |
3 155.62 |
3 227.38 | |
2018–19 season | |||||
Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
April 11–14, 2019 | 2019 World Team Trophy | 6 87.64 |
5 172.89 |
6T/4P 260.53 | |
March 18–24, 2019 | 2019 World Championships | 5 93.37 |
10 164.29 |
7 257.66 | |
March 7–9, 2019 | 2019 Winter Universiade | 2 90.78 |
1 182.76 |
1 273.54 | |
January 21–27, 2019 | 2019 European Championships | 10 81.41 |
3 165.67 |
3 247.08 | |
December 13–16, 2018 | 2019 Italian Championships | 1 87.20 |
2 154.42 |
2 241.62 | |
Nov. 27 – Dec. 2, 2018 | 2018 Denkova–Staviski Cup | 1 85.52 |
1 139.86 |
1 225.38 | |
November 9–11, 2018 | 2018 NHK Trophy | 4 77.00 |
3 147.71 |
3 224.71 | |
October 19–21, 2018 | 2018 Skate America | 5 78.09 |
5 147.72 |
4 225.81 | |
October 4–7, 2018 | 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy | 6 76.53 |
7 141.15 |
6 217.68 | |
September 12–16, 2018 | 2018 CS Lombardia Trophy | 4 85.51 |
4 142.46 |
4 227.97 |
2017–18 season | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Level | SP | FS | Total |
March 19–25, 2018 | 2018 World Championships | Senior | 18 77.43 |
17 148.01 |
17 225.44 |
March 5–11, 2018 | 2018 World Junior Championships | Junior | 6 70.24 |
6 141.34 |
3 211.58 |
February 14–23, 2018 | 2018 Winter Olympics | Senior | 23 75.63 |
19 156.78 |
21 232.41 |
February 9–12, 2018 | 2018 Winter Olympics (team event) | Senior | 5 77.77 |
4 156.11 |
4T |
January 15–21, 2018 | 2018 European Championships | Senior | 6 78.26 |
9 141.17 |
9 219.43 |
December 13–16, 2017 | 2018 Italian Championships | Senior | 1 84.82 |
1 158.38 |
1 243.20 |
November 22–25, 2017 | 2018 Cup of Tyrol | Senior | 3 73.70 |
2 149.73 |
2 223.43 |
November 16–19, 2017 | 2017 CS Warsaw Cup | Senior | 1 75.64 |
1 157.34 |
1 232.98 |
October 10–14, 2017 | 2017 JGP Italy | Junior | 2 77.24 |
1 151.94 |
1 229.18 |
October 4–7, 2017 | 2017 JGP Poland | Junior | 2 74.51 |
10 118.28 |
6 192.79 |
September 27–30, 2017 | 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | Senior | 5 72.97 |
2 150.30 |
4 223.27 |
September 14–17, 2017 | 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy | Senior | 6 71.67 |
3 155.35 |
5 227.02 |
2016–17 season | |||||
Date | Event | Level | SP | FS | Total |
Mar. 29 – Apr. 2, 2017 | 2017 World Championships | Senior | 30 63.14 |
- | 30 63.14 |
March 15–19, 2017 | 2017 World Junior Championships | Junior | 13 68.53 |
11 128.94 |
11 197.47 |
February 14–19, 2017 | 2017 Bavarian Open | Senior | 5 65.39 |
3 129.79 |
5 195.18 |
December 14–17, 2016 | 2017 Italian Championships | Senior | 2 74.47 |
2 142.27 |
2 216.74 |
November 17–20, 2016 | 2016 CS Warsaw Cup | Senior | 3 66.55 |
6 129.48 |
6 196.03 |
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