Stefano Caruso (born 19 April 1987) is a former competitive ice dancer with dual German and Italian citizenship. Representing Germany with Tanja Kolbe, he won seven international medals and two German national silver medals. They placed eighth at the 2013 European Championships and competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics, finishing 19th. Earlier in his career, Caruso competed for Italy with Isabella Pajardi.
Stefano Caruso | |
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![]() Stefano Caruso in 2014 | |
Born | Rome, Italy | 19 April 1987
Hometown | Milan, Italy |
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
Figure skating career | |
Country | Germany |
Coach | Barbara Fusar-Poli, René Lohse, Martin Skotnický |
Skating club | TSC Berlin |
Began skating | 1996 |
Personal life
editStefano Caruso was born 19 April 1987 in Rome, Italy,[1] to a Hungarian mother and a father from Naples. He moved to Milan in 2000. He studied languages and communication in Bergamo.[2] In September 2013, he became a German citizen while retaining his Italian citizenship.[3][4] In January 2014, he began working for the Bundeswehr's sports group.[2]
Career
editEarly career
editCaruso started skating as an eight-year-old in Mentana, Rome. He trained in ice dance from the start and teamed up with Isabella Pajardi in 2000.[5][6] They won the 2008 Italian national junior title and placed 9th at the 2008 World Junior Championships. After they split up in 2010, Caruso had tryouts with an American, Isabella Tobias, and a Canadian.[2]
Partnership with Kolbe
editCaruso teamed up with Tanja Kolbe in 2010 to represent Germany.[7] In their first season together, they took bronze at the 2010 Ice Challenge and at the 2011 German Championships.
In their second season together, Kolbe/Caruso won two international medals, gold at the 2011 NRW Trophy and bronze at the Istanbul Cup. They took the silver medal at the German Championships and were assigned to the 2012 European Championships where they finished 12th. The duo split up after the event but teamed up again in July 2012.[8][9]
In the 2012–13 season, Kolbe/Caruso took silver again at the German Championships and earned another trip to the European Championships where they finished 8th. They won two international medals – bronze at both the New Year's Cup and Volvo Open Cup.
In the 2013–14 season, Kolbe/Caruso were invited to their first Grand Prix event, the 2013 Trophee Eric Bompard where they placed 7th. They added two more international medals to their collection – bronze at the 2013 Ondrej Nepela Trophy and Ice Challenge. In February 2014, Kolbe/Caruso competed at the Winter Olympics in Sochi and finished 19th.[1] They announced the end of their partnership in June 2014.[10]
Post-competitive career
editAfter ending his competitive career in 2014, Caruso began a coaching partnership with Barbara Fusar-Poli at Milan's Agorà ice rink.[11] In November 2021, Berliner Zeitung reported that Caruso was facing allegations of misconduct from multiple students.[12]
Programs
editWith Kolbe
editSeason | Short dance | Free dance |
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2013–2014 [13][1][14] |
|
Enchanted by Alan Menken:
|
2012–2013 [15][14] |
|
Beethoven's Last Night by Trans-Siberian Orchestra:
|
2011–2012 [16][14] |
|
|
2010–2011 [14] |
|
|
With Pajardi
editSeason | Original dance | Free dance |
---|---|---|
2009–2010 [17] |
Italian folk:
|
|
2008–2009 [18] |
|
|
2007–2008 [19] |
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Notre-Dame de Paris by Riccardo Cocciante:
|
Competitive highlights
editGP = Grand Prix; JGP = Junior Grand Prix
With Kolbe for Germany
editInternational[20] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Event | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 |
Winter Olympics | 19th | |||
World Champ. | 21st | |||
European Champ. | 12th | 8th | 11th | |
GP Trophee Bompard | 7th | |||
Bavarian Open | 4th | |||
Cup of Nice | 4th | |||
Finlandia Trophy | 6th | |||
Golden Spin | 7th | 6th | 5th | |
Ice Challenge | 3rd | 3rd | ||
Istanbul Cup | 3rd | |||
New Year's Cup | 3rd | |||
NRW Trophy | 8th | 1st | ||
Ondrej Nepela | 3rd | |||
Pavel Roman | 4th | |||
Volvo Open Cup | 3rd | |||
National[20] | ||||
German Champ. | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd |
With Pajardi for Italy
editInternational[21] | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Event | 02–03 | 03–04 | 04–05 | 05–06 | 06–07 | 07–08 | 08–09 | 09–10 |
Europeans | 16th | |||||||
GP NHK Trophy | 10th | |||||||
Nebelhorn | 10th | |||||||
Golden Spin | 5th | |||||||
Universiade | 9th | |||||||
International: Junior[21] | ||||||||
Junior Worlds | 9th | |||||||
JGP Final | 7th | |||||||
JGP Austria | 3rd | |||||||
JGP Bulgaria | 1st | |||||||
JGP Czech Rep. | 10th | 8th | ||||||
JGP France | 11th | |||||||
JGP Poland | 11th | |||||||
JGP Pavel Roman | 11th | 5th | ||||||
National[21] | ||||||||
Italian Champ. | 6th J | 4th J | 3rd J | 3rd J | 1st J | 3rd | ||
J = Junior level |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Stefano CARUSO". Sochi2014.com. Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.
- ^ a b c Wenck, Dietmar (16 February 2014). "Zwei Berliner, die ohne Liebe ihr Glück bei Olympia suchen" [Two skaters from Berlin hope for luck at the Olympics]. Berliner Morgenpost (in German). Archived from the original on 16 February 2014.
- ^ "Caruso erhält deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft" [Caruso receives German citizenship]. SID (in German). Handelsblatt.com. 4 September 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2014.
- ^ "Kolbe/Caruso trennen sich" [Kolbe/Caruso split up] (in German). Rheinische Post. Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 18 June 2014. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014.
- ^ Mittan, Barry (14 July 2009). "Italy Fields Another Strong Dance Team". SkateToday. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012.
- ^ Sanità, Nadia (28 December 2007). "Interview with Isabella Pajardi and Stefano Caruso". ArtOnIce.it. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
- ^ "Deutsch-italienische Leidenschaft" [German-Italian passion]. Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). 17 February 2014. Archived from the original on 5 April 2014.
- ^ "Kolbe und Caruso wieder vereint" [Kolbe and Caruso reunited]. Sport-Informations-Dienst (in German). Focus. 20 July 2012. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020.
- ^ "Kolbe & Caruso REUNITE!". ice-dance.com. 20 July 2012.
- ^ "Official statement". Facebook. 25 June 2014.
- ^ Elfman, Lois (9 March 2017). "Fusar-Poli, Caruso embrace teaching roles". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018.
- ^ Bühler, Karin (8 November 2021). "Fragwürdiges Training auf dem Eis: Das tat weh, nicht grad wenig". Berliner Zeitung (in German).
- ^ "Tanja KOLBE / Stefano CARUSO: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Programs". Official website of Kolbe/Caruso. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014.
- ^ "Tanja KOLBE / Stefano CARUSO: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
- ^ "Tanja KOLBE / Stefano CARUSO: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012.
- ^ "Isabella PAJARDI / Stefano CARUSO: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012.
- ^ "Isabella PAJARDI / Stefano CARUSO: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 31 May 2009.
- ^ "Isabella PAJARDI / Stefano CARUSO: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008.
- ^ a b "Competition Results: Tanja KOLBE / Stefano CARUSO". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014.
- ^ a b c "Competition Results: Isabella PAJARDI / Stefano CARUSO". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.