Luc Maierhofer

Luc Maierhofer (born 24 May 2002) is an Austrian figure skater. He is the 2019 Golden Bear of Zagreb silver medalist and the 2019 Austrian national silver medalist.

On the junior level, he is the 2016 Dragon Trophy champion, the 2016 Skate Helena silver medalist, and a two-time Austrian junior national champion (2016, 2019).

Maierhofer was born on 24 May 2002 in Vienna, Austria. His brother, Johannes Maierhofer, and half-sister Belinda Schönberger, have also competed in figure skating.

Early career

Maierhofer began learning to skate in 2008. Early in his career, he was coached by Sergei Gromov. He competed in the advanced novice ranks from autumn 2012 through March 2015.

Coached by Julia Lavrenchuk in Vienna, Maierhofer made his junior international debut in August 2015, at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Slovakia. In March 2016, he competed at his first ISU Championship – the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Ranked 30th in the short program, he did not advance to the final segment. Following that season, Maierhofer relocated to Egna, Italy, to be coached by Lorenzo Magri.

2017–2018 season

Maierhofer's senior international debut came in September, at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. He finished 26th at the competition, which served as the final qualifying opportunity for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Ranked 41st, he was eliminated after the short program at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

2018–2019 season

Maierhofer began his season on the JGP series, placing within the top ten at both of his assignments. At the Austrian Championships in December, he won the junior men's title and finished second to Maurizio Zandron in the senior category. He was assigned to the 2019 European Championships because Zandron was not yet eligible to represent Austria in ISU events. Maierhofer qualified to the final segment at the European Championships, which took place in January in Minsk, Belarus. He placed 21st in the short program, 19th in the free skate, and 20th overall.

In March, Maierhofer advanced to the free skate at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. He finished 18th after placing 14th in the short and 21st in the free. Later that month, he competed at the 2019 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. Ranked 26th in the short, he did not reach the free skate.

CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix