sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Matthias Versluis (born 18 July 1994) is a Finnish figure skater. Competing in ice dancing with Juulia Turkkila, he has won multiple international medals and is a two-time Finnish national champion. As a single skater, he is the 2014 Finnish national champion and competed in the final segment at two ISU Championships.

Matthias Versluis
Turkkila/Versluis in 2018
Personal information
Country represented	Finland
Born	(1994-07-18) 18 July 1994 (age 28) Genolier, Switzerland
Residence	Helsinki, Finland
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Partner	Juulia Turkkila
Coach	Maurizio Margaglio
Former coach	Stefan Zins, Tiiu Valgemäe
Choreographer	Pasquale Camerlengo, Massimo Scali
Former choreographer	Maurizio Margaglio, Neil Brown, Luca Lanotte, Sini Parkkinen, Tamara Selin, Sergei Atashev, Maria McLean
Skating club	SC Helsinki
Former skating club	Myllypuron taitoluisteluklubi
Training locations	Helsinki
Former training locations	Espoo
Began skating	2002
World standing	34 (2020–21) 40 (2019–20) 40 (2018–19) 69 (2017–18)
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	186.30 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy
Short program	74.35 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy
Free skate	113.27 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy

Personal life

Versluis was born on 18 July 1994 in Genolier, Switzerland,[1] to a Finnish mother and Dutch father.[2] He moved to Finland with his family when he was six months old.[2] As of 2018, he is studying physiotherapy.[3]

Career

Early career

Versluis began learning to skate in 2002.[1] Tiiu Valgemäe coached him early in his career.[4] In 2008, he debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, coached by Virpi Horttana, Sara Lindroos, and Arja Veijola.[4] He competed at the 2012 and 2013 World Junior Championships, qualifying for the free skate at both events.[5]

In December 2013, Versluis won the senior men's title at the 2014 Finnish Championships.[6] He was selected to compete at the 2014 European Championships but withdrew due to a knee injury, sustained in training on 9 January 2014.[7] His coaches were Virpi Horttana, Kati Perokorpi, and Henna Hietala.[8] By 2015, he was being coached by Stefan Zins.[9]

On 1 April 2016, the Finnish Figure Skating Association reported that Versluis had teamed up with Juulia Turkkila to compete in ice dancing.[10]

2016–2017 season: Debut of Turkkila/Versluis

Making their international debut, Turkkila/Versluis placed sixth at the NRW Trophy in November 2016. Later that month, they finished 13th at their first ISU Challenger Series assignment, the 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy. In December, they took the silver medal behind Törn/Partanen at the 2017 Finnish Championships. In February, they represented Finland at the 2017 Winter Universiade, finishing eighth.[11]

2017–2018 season

Turkkila/Versluis competed at a pair of Challenger Series competitions – placing tenth at the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy and fifteenth at the 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy – and then finished thirteenth at the International Cup of Nice. In November, they won bronze at the Ice Challenge in Austria. In December, they repeated as national silver medalists, again finishing second to Törn/Partanen.[11]

2018–2019 season: First national title and Worlds debut

Turkkila/Versluis began their season with three Challenger Series events – they finished sixth at the 2018 CS Lombardia Trophy, seventh at the 2018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy, and sixth at the 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy. In October, the duo won silver at the Minsk-Arena Ice Star. In November, they debuted on the Grand Prix series, placing sixth at the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki, and then took bronze at the Warsaw Cup. The following month, they became the Finnish national champions and were selected to compete at the 2019 European Championships in Minsk, Belarus, where they placed eleventh. They then competed at their first World Championships, placing sixteenth.[11]

2019–2020 season

Turkkila sustained a neck injury in a practice session at the 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy, compelling the team to withdraw from the competition. They subsequently also withdrew from the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy and the 2019 Rostelecom Cup, their Grand Prix assignment for the year.[12] They were assigned to compete at the World Championships in Montreal, but these were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.[13]

2020–2021 season

Returning to competition for the first time in two years, Turkkila/Versluis represented Finland at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, placing twenty-first after a fluke error on the rotational lift.[14]

2021–2022 season: Beijing Olympics

Turkkila/Versluis began the Olympic season at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy, where they placed sixth.[15] They were assigned to the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, seeing to qualify a place for Finland at the 2022 Winter Olympics. They placed first in both programs, setting three new personal bests to take both their first Challenger gold and the first of four available dance spots.[16] At their third Challenger event of the season, the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy, Turkkila/Versluis came sixth, notably managing fourth place in the free dance.[11] They competed at the 2021 Cup of Nice, also known as Trophée Métropole Nice, where they won gold, before going on to make their Grand Prix appearance at the 2021 Internationaux de France, where they finished in seventh.[17]

After winning their second Finnish national title, Turkkila/Versluis were named to the Finnish Olympic team. Turkkila had a mild case of COVID-19 in late December and recovered, but due to the fact that she continued to test positive, the team was unable to participate in the 2022 European Championships.

Making their appearance at the Beijing Olympics dance event, Turkkila/Versluis were the first Finnish ice dancers to appear in the Winter Olympics since Rahkamo/Kokko in 1994. They placed sixteenth in the rhythm dance, qualifying to the free dance.[18] They moved up one place in the free dance, finishing fifteenth.[19]

Turkkila and Versluis concluded the season at the 2022 World Championships, held in Montpellier. They finished twelfth.[11]

2022–2023 season

Turkkila/Versluis won the bronze medal at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy, before taking the gold medal at the 2022 Cup of Nice.[11] They were considered medal contenders going into the Grand Prix, but placed eighth in the rhythm dance after Turkkila fell at the beginning of her twizzle sequence. They were fifth in the free dance, rising to seventh overall.[20]

Programs

Ice dancing with Turkkila

Season	Rhythm dance	Free dance	Exhibition
2022–2023 [21]	Samba: Rebelado by Watazu Rhumba: Wicked Game by Ursine Vulpine, Annaca Samba: Jao Geralderry by Watazu Samba: Banto by Kaoma, Loalwa Braz, Michel Abihssira	4 Impromptus, Op. 90, D. 899: No. 3 in G-Flat Major: Andante by Franz Schubert Piano Sonata No. 20 In A Major, D.959: IV. Rondo (Allegretto) by Franz Schubert 4 Impromptus, Op. 90, D. 899: No. 3 in G-Flat Major: Andante by Franz Schubert	Smiles for Y by Ezio Bosso Unconditioned (Following, A Bird) by Ezio Bosso Fortitude by Haevn choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo, Massimo Scali
2021–2022 [22]	Blues: Breathe You In My Dreams by Trixie Whitley Hip Hop: River by Bishop Briggs choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo, Maurizio Margaglio, Neil Brown, Luca Lanotte, Sini Parkkinen	Wild Side by Roberto Cacciapaglia Bruises by Lewis Capaldi choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo, Maurizio Margaglio, Neil Brown, Luca Lanotte, Sini Parkkinen
2019–2021 [23][24]	Quickstep: Overture Swing: What Do I Need With Love? Forget About the Boy (from Thoroughly Modern Millie) by Jeanine Tesori & Dick Scanlan choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo, Massimo Scali	Smiles for Y by Ezio Bosso Unconditioned (Following, A Bird) by Ezio Bosso Fortitude by Haevn choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo, Massimo Scali
2018–2019 [1][3]	Coco Before Chanel by Alexandre Desplat Tango: Verano Porteño performed by Mario & Daniel Celaro Flamenco: Poeta en Mar by Vicente Amigo choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo, Massimo Scali	Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart I. Allegro II. Romance choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo, Massimo Scali
	Short dance
2017–2018 [25]	Beautiful Maria Of My Soul by Arne Glimcher, Robert Kraft Afro Bongo by Watazu De Donde Soy performed by Thalía	Ghost the Musical by David A. Stewart, Glen Ballard Overture Unchained Melody Sam's Murder With You
2016–2017	Bei Mir Bistu Shein by Sholom Secunda	Romeo & Juliet by Abel Korzeniowski

Single skating

Season	Short program	Free skating
2013–2014 [8]	Infiltrado by Bajofondo Grand Guignol by Bajofondo	Medley by Nuttin' But Stringz
2012–2013 [26]	Infiltrado by Bajofondo Grand Guignol by Bajofondo	Two Weeks Notice by John Powell
2011–2012 [27]	Still Got the Blues by Gary Moore Feeling Good by Michael Bublé	Two Weeks Notice by John Powell
2009–2010 [28]	Primavera Tango by Antonio Vivaldi Concerto in E major, Op. 8 La Primavera III Allegro by Antonio Vivaldi	Tidor by Trevor Morris Gamade by Cirque du Soleil
2008–2009 [4]	Primavera Tango by Antonio Vivaldi Concerto in E major, Op 8 La Primavera III Allegro by Antonio Vivaldi	Kashmir performed by Bond Alexander by Vangelis Anone (Arabic-style music)

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

Ice dancing with Turkkila

International[11]
Event	16–17	17–18	18–19	19–20	20–21	21–22	22–23
Olympics						15th
Worlds			16th	C	21st	12th
Europeans			11th			WD
GP Finland			6th				TBD
GP France						7th	7th
CS Finlandia		15th	6th	WD		6th	3rd
CS Lombardia		10th	6th	WD		6th
CS Nebelhorn						1st
CS Ondrej Nepela			7th
CS Tallinn Trophy	13th
Universiade	8th		4th
Bavarian Open	11th	6th	3rd
Cup of Nice		13th				1st	1st
Egna Trophy		5th		1st
Ice Challenge		3rd
Ice Star			2nd
NRW Trophy	6th
Open d'Andorra		5th
Warsaw Cup			3rd
National
Finnish Champ.	2nd	2nd	1st		C	1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Cancelled

Single skating

International[5]
Event	06–07	07–08	08–09	09–10	10–11	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15	15–16
CS Finlandia										11th
CS Golden Spin										20th
CS Nepela Trophy										6th
Challenge Cup									7th
Finlandia Trophy						14th	12th	10th
Golden Bear										1st
Lombardia Trophy										4th
Nordics						5th	8th			4th
NRW Trophy							23rd	7th	16th
Printemps									5th
Volvo Open Cup								13th
International: Junior[5]
Junior Worlds						21st	19th
JGP Austria							13th
JGP Belarus								9th
JGP Czech Rep.			20th
JGP Estonia								12th
JGP Germany							11th
JGP Latvia						17th
JGP Poland						9th
JGP U.K.					11th
Challenge Cup			7th
Cup of Nice	14th
EYOF					4th
Gardena					5th
Nordics			3rd	5th
NRW Trophy					3rd	2nd
International: Novice[5][29]
Copenhagen		1st
Nordics		1st
Warsaw Cup		1st
National[5]
Finnish Champ.	3rd J	4th J	2nd J	5th J	1st J	2nd	2nd	1st	4th	3rd
J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

References

External links

• Juulia Turkkila / Matthias Versluis at the International Skating Union
• Matthias Versluis at the International Skating Union
• Matthias Versluis at Tracings

На других языках

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- [en] Matthias Versluis

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[ru] Верслуйс, Маттиас

Маттиас Верслуйс (фин. Matthius Versluis; родился 18 июля 1994, Женолье) — финский фигурист. В начале своей спортивной карьеры выступал в одиночном разряде. Он — чемпион Финляндии (2014), двукратный серебряный призёр чемпионатов Финляндии (2012 и 2013).

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