Florent Amodio

Florent Amodio (born 12 May 1990) is a French figure skater. He is the 2011 European champion, a four-time French national champion (2010, 2013-2015), and the 2008 JGP Final champion. He has represented France at two Winter Olympics.

Personal life

Florent Amodio was born in Sobral, Ceará, Brazil. A French couple adopted him as an infant, along with his sister. He was raised in Fremainville, Val-d'Oise. He holds both French and Brazilian citizenship.

In addition to competing, Amodio has also studied for a coaching diploma. In 2012, he took on a starring role in the movie Programme Libre, in which he portrays a teenaged skater named Gauthier. Amodio intends to study journalism and pursue a career in that field.

Career

Early years

Amodio began skating at the age of four and was coached by Bernard Glesser for more than fifteen years. At the age of 12, he was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter disease, causing knee pain and edema. It left him unable to skate for 18 months. He returned to competition in 2004 and first represented France internationally in 2005.

After finishing third and first at his 2008–09 JGP events, Amodio won the 2008–2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final in his fourth and final season on the circuit. He later had a disappointing 15th place showing at Junior Worlds. Amodio was part of the French team that competed at the inaugural World Team Trophy in April 2009, and finished 10th in the men's field.

2009–2010 season: Senior debut

Amodio turned senior prior to the 2009–10 season, which he began by winning the French Masters. He later made his senior Grand Prix debut at the 2009 Cup of Russia, where he placed 9th, and came in 4th at the 2009 Skate America, missing out on a medal by less than a point. Amodio won the French national title in December 2009 and was selected for the Olympic and World team. He finished 12th at the Vancouver Olympics and was 15th at his first senior Worlds.

In May 2010 Amodio made a coaching change, leaving Bernard Glesser, who had trained him since childhood, to work with Nikolai Morozov in Russia and Latvia. When in France, he trained with Annick Dumont in Champigny-sur-Marne.

2010–2011 season

Amodio won the bronze medal at the 2010 NHK Trophy – his first senior Grand Prix medal. At the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard, he won the silver medal with a career-best score. Based on these results, Amodio's was the sixth and final qualifier for the Grand Prix Final. He finished in sixth place in the short program and fifth in the free skate to place sixth overall at the Final. At the 2011 French Nationals he had a disappointing short program but moved up to win silver behind Brian Joubert after a strong showing in the free skate.

Amodio had a strong short program at the 2011 European Championships and placed first in this part of the competition. He was third in the free program and finished with a combined total of 226.86 points, 3.85 ahead of Joubert, to win gold in his European debut. It was the first time since 1961 that the French took the top two spots in the European men's event.{ At the 2011 World Championships, Amodio was fifth after the short program, but dropped to seventh after the free skate. He performed his free skate to music with lyrics, which are not allowed in competition except in ice dance, explaining that it "turned the performance even more into a party". There were reports that Amodio would train only part-time with Morozov in 2011–2012, due to Russia not wanting foreign skaters to use Russian-funded coaches and facilities in the run-up to the Sochi Olympics, but Morozov rejected the reports. In the off-season, Amodio skated in shows in Korea, saying that it was a good source of income: "Finally, I could start making a living with what I loved! Wasn't that just beautiful?" Amodio and Morozov stated that they intended to continue testing the system by using music with words.

2011–2012 season

Amodio continued working with Morozov, as well as Dumont whenever he was in France. He also worked with Alexei Yagudin on quad toes in the U.S. He won the 2011 French Masters event in October. In the 2011–12 Grand Prix season, Amodio finished 9th at his first event, the 2011 Skate America. He said it was a turning point for him and he was glad it happened. He was fifth at 2011 Trophée Eric Bompard. He announced that he would return to training with former coach Bernard Glesser when he was in France, and spent the time after the Grand Prix Series reworking his programs. In December, Amodio competed at the 2012 French Championships with a new short program to music from the film Tears of the Sun and a reworked free program. He placed 2nd after injuring his back during the free program.

Amodio then competed at the 2012 European Championships and won the bronze medal. At the World Championships in Nice, he placed 6th after the short program, and rose to finish 5th overall with a free skate score of 163.07. His placement combined with Brian Joubert's 4th-place finish earned France three spots in the men's competition for 2013.

2012–2013 season

In the 2012–13 Grand Prix season, Amodio was assigned to 2012 Skate Canada International and 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard, finishing 4th and 2nd. At Trophée Eric Bompard he announced that he would drop his Farracus short program and replace it with his reworked free program from the previous season. He won his second national title at the 2013 French Championships in December.

At the 2013 European Championships, Amodio led after the short program with a personal best score of 89.82. In the free program, he landed two quads for the first time in his career and was awarded the silver medal. After the event, he skated in twelve shows in two weeks as part of the Art on Ice tour in Switzerland, Finland, and Sweden. During the tour, he developed a back injury and severely strained muscles. Amodio finished 12th at the 2013 World Championships in London, Ontario, Canada.

2013–2014 season

In June 2013, Amodio flew to Palm Springs, California for a month of training with Morozov but a few days later returned to France and trained for two weeks without a coach. On 23 July 2013, he confirmed the end of his collaboration with Morozov and that he was training in Paris with Katia Krier as a temporary arrangement. On 13 September 2013, it was announced that Amodio would remain at Paris-Bercy, with Krier and Shanetta Folle as his coaches. Amodio stated, "[T]hey coach me in an almost military way. You know, I am rather foolish at times and still a little bit of an artist. I need to be given some limits." On costumes, Amodio said "They're there simply to accompany the music. [...] What counts most is the work on the skates. And I have to be comfortable."

Amodio finished sixth and seventh at his two Grand Prix event assignments, the 2013 Cup of China and the 2013 Trophée Eric Bompard. After winning his fourth national title, he competed at the 2014 European Championships. At the event in Budapest, Hungary, he ranked seventh in the short program and 20th in the free skate, finishing 13th overall and the lowest-placed of the three French men. Amodio's next competition was the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He came in 18th overall after placing 14th in the short and 18th in the free skate. He elected not to compete at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, citing his lack of form.

2014–2015 season

For the 2014–15 Grand Prix season, Amodio was assigned to the 2014 Skate Canada International, where he finished 6th, and the Trophée Éric Bompard, where he finished 11th after a difficult free skate. Amodio made a mid-season coaching change, and at the suggestion of his coach Bernard Glesser, he moved Bercy to work with Claude Péri. He successfully defended his national title and was assigned to the 2015 Europeans and 2015 World. He finished ninth at both events, with a season's best score at the World Championships.

2015–2016 season

For the 2015–16 Grand Prix season, Amodio was assigned to Skate America and the Trophée Eric Bompard. He finished 11th at Skate America and withdrew from the Trophée Eric Bompard due to an injury. On 19 November 2015 Amodio announced that he would retire from competitive skating after the 2016 Europeans. Amodio was 8th in the short program and 2nd in the free skate to finish 4th overall at the Europeans, his best showing since 2013. Following the event, he confirmed his intention to retire from competitive skating, stating that he was proud of the impression he left in skating.

Coaching career

His current students include:

• Luc Economides
• Petr Kotlarik
• Maïa Mazzara

Programs

Competitive highlights

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