Valentina Plazas
Plazas/Fernandez at the 2023 Four Continents Championships
Born (2000-04-18) 18 April 2000
Bogotá, Colombia
HometownPembroke Pines, Florida, US
Figure skating career
Country United States
PartnerMaximiliano Fernandez
CoachJim Peterson, Amanda Evora, Lisa Kirby
Skating clubPanthers FSC

Valentina Plazas (born April 18, 2000) is a Colombian–American figure skater who currently competes in pairs. With her skating partner, Maximiliano Fernandez, she is the 2022 CS U.S. Classic bronze medalist and the 2023 CS Golden Spin silver medalist.

Personal life

Plazas was born on April 18, 2000, in Bogotá, Colombia, to parents Diego Plazas and Lina Medina. She has a younger sister, Natalia. Plazas immigrated to the United States from Colombia with her family when she was six years old.[1]

Plazas is a graduate of Charles W. Flanagan High School, and Florida International University with a degree in criminal justice.[2]

Career

Early years

Plazas began learning how to skate at age 12. Before transitioning to pair skating, she was a two-time national medalist on the U.S. collegiate level. For a time, she considered representing her native Colombia internationally as a single skater, but ultimately chose to partner with Fernandez for the United States in February 2020.[1]

2020–21 season

Plazas/Fernandez debuted together at the 2021 U.S. Championship Series on the junior level, winning the bronze medal. They went on to win the bronze medal at the 2021 U.S. Junior Championships.[3]

2021–22 season

Plazas/Fernandez began their season by winning the silver medal at both the 2021 USCS Nevada and USCS Massachusetts. Debuting as a senior pair team at the 2022 U.S. Championships, Plazas/Fernandez finished sixth.[3]

2022–23 season

Plazas/Fernandez began the season at the 2022 John Nicks Pairs Challenge and the 2022 CS U.S. Classic, winning bronze at both events. They then went on to place fifth at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy.[4]

Making their debut on the Grand Prix series, Plazas/Fernandez competed at 2022 Skate America, where they finished sixth. Additionally, following they were called up to compete at 2022 Skate Canada International following the withdrawal of U.S. pair team McBeath/Bartholomay. They placed fifth at the event.[4]

At the 2023 U.S. Championships, Plazas/Fernandez placed fifth. Plazas/Fernandez were then selected to compete at the 2023 Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they finished fifth, scoring a personal best combined total score in the process.[3][5][4]

2023–24 season

Beginning the season at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Plazas/Fernandez were seventh.[4] On the Grand Prix, they were fourth at the 2023 Skate America.[6] They finished fourth as well at the 2023 Grand Prix de France.[7] At the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, Plazas/Fernandez placed second, earning their second ISU Challenger Series medal.[4]

Programs

With Fernandez

Season Short program Free skating
2023–2024
[8][9]		 Top Gun: Maverick:
2022–2023
[10]
2021–2022
[3]
2020–2021
[3]

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series

Pairs with Fernandez

International[4]
Event 20–21 21–22 22–23 23-24
Four Continents5thTBD
GP France4th
GP Skate America6th4th
GP Skate Canada5th
CS Finlandia5th
CS Golden Spin2nd
CS Nebelhorn7th
CS U.S. Classic3rd
John Nicks Challenge3rd3rd
National[4]
U.S. Champs.3rd J6th5th
Championship Series3rd J
USCS Massachusetts2nd
USCS Nevada2nd

Singles career

National
Event 17–18 18–19 19–20
U.S. Collegiate Champ.2nd J
South Atlantic Reg.28th I15th J
Levels: I = Intermediate; J = Junior

Detailed results

Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE system 
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS169.372023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy
Short program TSS60.402022 CS Finlandia Trophy
TES34.452022 CS Finlandia Trophy
PCS27.942023 Four Continents
Free skating TSS114.442023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy
TES58.772023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy
PCS55.942023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb

With Fernandez

Senior results

2023–24 season
Date Event SP FS Total
6-9 December 2023 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 2
58.11		 2
110.03		 2
168.14
3–5 November 2023 2023 Grand Prix de France 4
58.46		 4
109.74		 4
168.20
20–22 October 2023 2023 Skate America 7
49.51		 4
107.57		 4
157.08
September 20–23, 2023 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy 7
54.93		 7
114.44		 7
169.37
2022–23 season
Date Event SP FS Total
7–12 February 2023 2023 Four Continents Championships 5
60.07		 6
109.02		 5
169.09
23–29 January 2023 2023 U. S. Championships 4
63.45		 6
112.89		 5
176.34
4–9 October 2022 2022 Skate Canada International 5
55.70		 5
108.44		 5
164.14
21–23 October 2022 2022 Skate America 8
47.32		 4
96.23		 6
143.55
4–9 October 2022 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy 4
60.40		 6
101.58		 5
161.98
12–16 September 2022 2022 CS U.S. Classic 3
56.20		 3
110.05		 3
166.25
8–9 September 2022 2022 John Nicks Pairs Challenge 4
57.20		 3
108.48		 3
165.68
2021–22 season
Date Event SP FS Total
3–9 January 2022 2022 U. S. Championships 7
49.80		 6
98.57		 6
148.37
8–13 November 2021 2021 USCS Massachusetts 2
54.13		 2
93.56		 2
147.69
11–16 October 2021 2021 USCS Nevada 3
54.03		 2
92.82		 2
146.85

Junior results

2020–21 season
Date Event SP FS Total
11–21 January 2021 2021 U. S. Championships 4
47.07		 3
90.22		 3
137.29
28 December 2020 2020 U.S. Championship Series – 3
90.39		 3
90.39

References

  1. 1 2 Cloutier, Claire (September 9, 2022). "Plazas and Fernandez take different path in skating". U.S. Figure Skating.
  2. ↑ "2022–23 Figure Skating Roster: Valentina Plazas / Maximiliano Fernandez". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Valentina Plazas / Maximiliano Fernandez". US Figure Skating Fanzone. U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Valentina PLAZAS / Maximiliano FERNANDEZ: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  5. ↑ "2022-23 International Assignments and Results". U.S. Figure Skating. U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  6. ↑ Slater, Paula (October 22, 2023). "Germany's Hocke and Kunkel secure pairs gold at Skate America". Golden Skate. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Pereira/Michaud (CAN) claim first ISU Grand Prix crown at Grand Prix de France". International Skating Union. October 21, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Valentina PLAZAS / Maximiliano FERNANDEZ: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "2023-24 FP Announcement". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "Valentina PLAZAS / Maximiliano FERNANDEZ: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.