Britschgi was born on February 17, 1998, in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.[1] Coming from a family of athletes, Britschgi's mother is a former competitive ice dancer and his brother is a soccer player.[2]
His figure skating idol is Stéphane Lambiel.[3] In addition to figure skating, Britschgi also enjoys playing tennis.[4]
Career
Early career
Britschgi began figure skating in 2005 at six or seven years old, having been introduced to the sport by his mother, who was a figure skating coach and would bring Britschgi and his brother to the rink while their father was at work.[4]
who was a former ice dancer. Initially skating only for fun, he did not decide to become a competitive figure skater until around the age of fourteen.[4][3][2][5]
Britschgi concluded his season at the World Championships, where he placed thirty-fourth in the short program, not qualifying for the free skate segment of the competition and finished thirty-fourth overall.[6]
Despite the 2020–21 Swiss Championships being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Britschgi was ultimately selected to compete at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden. He went on to place fifteenth at the event after placing seventeenth in the short program and sixteenth in the free skate. With this placement, Britschgi was able to secure one spot for Swiss men's singles skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[10][11]
At the 2021–22 Swiss Championships, Britschgi won his third national title and was subsequently named to the European, Olympic, and World team. He went on to place eleventh at the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, after placing thirteenth in the short program and eleventh in the free skate.[6]
At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, Britschgi managed to qualify for the free skate segment of the competition after placing twenty-fourth in the short program. In the free program, Britschgi placed twenty-third and moved up to twenty-third place overall.[6]
At the 2022 Warsaw Cup, Britschgi won the bronze medal after skating a clean short and free program, scoring personal bests in the process.[6] Following the event, however, he fell off his bicycle and broke his collar bone and had to five weeks off the ice to recover. As a result, Britschgi had to miss the 2022–23 Swiss Championships.[15]
Competing at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, Britschgi placed fifth in the short program after fall on his quad toe loop attempt.[15] However, he managed to perform a near perfect free skate, placing third in that segment of the competition and winning the bronze medal. His bronze medal was the highest finish for a Swiss skater of any discipline at the European Championships in over a decade. Following the event, Britschgi said he was "relieved" to have performed so well with only four weeks of post-accident training. This placement granted two spots for Swiss men's singles skaters at the 2024 European Championships.[16]
At the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Britschgi placed ninth in both the short and free program segments of the competition and finished in eighth place overall, scoring a new personal best free skate and combined total score in the process. 's top ten finish guaranteed two spots for Swiss men's singles skaters at the 2024 World Championships.[6][3]
Britschgi began the season with two appearances on the Challenger circuit, finishing fourth at the 2023 Finlandia Trophy before winning the silver medal the next week at the 2023 Budapest Trophy.[6] At the Grand Prix, he placed fourth at the 2023 Grand Prix de France, including a third-place finish in the free skate with a new personal best score. His total score of 263.43 would have been sufficient to win the gold medal at the 2023 Skate Canada International the prior week.[17] In between Grand Prix appearances, Britschgi competed at the 2023 Warsaw Cup, winning the gold medal, his first Challenger title.[18] At the 2023 NHK Trophy, he placed third in both segments to win the bronze medal, a result he described as "amazing."[19] This was the first Grand Prix medal for a Swiss skater since Sarah Meier and Stéphane Lambiel's silver medals on the 2007–08 circuit.[20]
After winning another Swiss national title, Britschgi was assigned to the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas. He finished second in the short program, but errors in the free skate dropped him to fifth overall.[21] At the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Britschgi came sixth, despite dealing with a left knee injury. Of finishing in the top six, he said "I never thought that would be possible."[22]
Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, Brischgi finished ninth at the 2024 Grand Prix de France. Following the event, he shared that his preparation for the competition was hindered by a knee injury he had sustained prior.[6][23] Two weeks later, Britsghi would deliver stronger performances at the 2024 Finlandia Trophy, where he would place fifth.[24]
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