Manuel Piazza

Manuel Piazza
Born (1999-10-13) 13 October 1999 (age 25)
Bolzano, Italy
HometownUrtijëi, Italy
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Figure skating career
Country Iceland (since 2024)
 Italy (2015–24)
DisciplinePair skating (since 2018)
Men's singles (2015–18)
PartnerJúlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir (since 2024)
Anna Valesi (2021–24)
Alyssa Montan (2018–20)
CoachOndřej Hotárek
Rosanna Murante
Benjamin Naggiar
Skating clubIceLab Bergamo
Began skating2006
Medal record
Representing  Iceland
Icelandic Championships
Gold medal – first place 2025 Reykjavik Pairs
Representing  Italy
Italian Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Pinerolo Pairs

Manuel Piazza (born 13 October 1999) is an Italian pair skater. With his former partner, Anna Valesi, he is the 2024 Italian national bronze medalist and has won seven senior international medals, including silver at the 2022 Bavarian Open.

As of August 2024, he is competing for Iceland with Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir.

Career

Early years

Piazza began learning to skate in 2006.[1] He placed sixth in junior men's singles at the Italian Championships in December 2016 and again in December 2017.

In 2018, he teamed up with Alyssa Montan to compete in junior pairs. Making their international debut, Montan/Piazza won silver at the Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy in November 2018. The following month, they took silver in the junior event at the Italian Championships.

In their second and final season together, Montan/Piazza won the Italian national junior title and placed 16th at the 2020 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. The two were coached by Ondřej Hotárek, Luca Demattè, and Franca Bianconi in Bergamo, Italy.[2]

2021–22 season

In the 2021–22 season, Piazza began competing in the senior ranks with Anna Valesi. Making their international debut, Valesi/Piazza took bronze at the Tayside Trophy in November 2021. The following month, they placed fourth at the Italian Championships.[3]

In January 2022, Valesi/Piazza were awarded silver medals at two events – the Icelab International Cup and Bavarian Open.[3]

2022–23 season

In September 2022, Valesi/Piazza won bronze at the Lombardia Trophy and placed seventh at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy.[3] In October, they were invited to their first Grand Prix event, the 2022 Skate America, where they finished fifth.[4] They were seventh at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo.[3]

2023–24 season

Beginning the international season at the John Nicks Pairs Challenge, where they won the silver.[3] They continued to the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Valesi/Piazza finished ninth. They next competed at the 2023 Diamond Spin, where they won the bronze.[3]

On the Grand Prix, they came sixth at their lone assignment, the 2023 Grand Prix de France.[5] They were subsequently invited to the 2023 Cup of China, following the withdrawal of Americans Chan/Howe.[6][7] They were sixth at that event as well.[8]

Valesi / Piazza continued to the 2024 Italian Figure Skating Championships, where they won the bronze medal.[3] They were assigned to the 2024 Bavarian Open, but withdrew prior to the competition. It June, it was confirmed that the pair had split.[9]

2024-25 season

In August, it was announced that Piazza had teamed up with Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir to compete for Iceland, the first ever pair to compete internationally for Iceland.[10]

Programs

With Valesi

Season Short program Free skating
2023–24
[11]
2022–23
[1]

With Montan

Season Short program Free skating
2019–20
[12]

Competitive highlights

Pair skating with Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir (for Iceland)

Competition placements at senior level [13]
Season 2024-25
European Championships TBD
Icelandic Championships 1st
CS Warsaw Cup 12th
NRW Trophy 3rd

Pair skating with Anna Valesi (for Italy)

Competition placements at senior level [14]
Season 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Italian Championships 4th 3rd
GP Cup of China 6th
GP Finland 7th
GP France 6th
GP Skate America 5th
CS Nebelhorn Trophy 7th 9th
CS Warsaw Cup 5th
Bavarian Open 2nd
Challenge Cup 8th
Diamond Spin 3rd
IceLab Cup 2nd
John Nicks Pairs 2nd
Lombardia Trophy 3rd
Tayside Trophy 3rd 3rd

Pair skating with Alyssa Montan (for Italy)

Competition placements at junior level [15]
Season 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21
World Junior Championships 16th
Italian Championships 2nd 1st 1st
Alpen Trophy 2nd
Bavarian Open 8th 3rd
Egna Spring Trophy 1st

Single skating (for Italy)

Competition placements at junior level [16]
Season 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18
Italian Championships 6th 6th
Cup of Tyrol 3rd 8th
Egna Spring Trophy 7th 6th
Merano Cup WD

Detailed results

Pair skating with Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir (for Iceland)

Results in the 2024-25 season [13]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 13-17, 2024 Germany 2024 NRW Trophy 3 47.04 3 93.46 3 140.50
Nov 20-24, 2024 Poland 2024 CS Warsaw Cup 14 41.93 11 87.42 12 129.35
Nov 29 – Dec 1, 2024 Iceland 2025 Icelandic Championships 1 42.30 1 95.31 1 137.61

Pair skating with Anna Valesi (for Italy)

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [17]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 160.65 2023 Cup of China
Short program TSS 55.55 2023 Cup of China
TES 30.67 2023 Grand Prix de France
PCS 26.79 2023 Cup of China
Free skating TSS 105.10 2023 Cup of China
TES 56.59 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy
PCS 51.40 2023 Cup of China

Pair skating with Alyssa Montan (for Italy)

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [18]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 116.22 2020 World Junior Championships
Short program TSS 44.69 2020 World Junior Championships
TES 24.26 2020 World Junior Championships
PCS 20.43 2020 World Junior Championships
Free skating TSS 71.53 2020 World Junior Championships
TES 34.22 2020 World Junior Championships
PCS 39.31 2020 World Junior Championships

References

  1. ^ a b "Anna Valesi / Manuel Piazza: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Competition Results: Alyssa Montan / Manuel Piazza". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Competition Results: Anna Valesi / Manuel Piazza". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Slater, Paula (October 23, 2022). "Knierim and Frazier reclaim Skate America pairs' title". Golden Skate.
  5. ^ "Figura, bel secondo posto per Beccari-Guarise al Nebelhorn Trophy!" [Look, nice second place for Beccari-Guarise at the Nebelhorn Trophy!]. Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio. September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  6. ^ @AnythingGOE (October 19, 2023). "🇺🇸 Emily Chan / Spencer Akira Howe have withdrawn from Cup of China" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 21, 2023 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ @AnythingGOE (October 23, 2023). "🇮🇹 Anna Valesi / Manuel Piazza have been assigned to Cup of China" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 29, 2023 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Slater, Paula (November 11, 2023). "Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps score another victory in China". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  9. ^ @AnythingGOE (June 7, 2024). "🇮🇹 Anna Valesi / Manuel Piazza have confirmed the end of their partnership" (Tweet). Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ @skatingicelandofficial (August 15, 2024). "Skautasamband Íslands tilkynnir með stolti að Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir og Manuel Piazza (ITA) munu keppa fyrst allra í parakeppni á listskautum fyrir hönd ÍSS!" – via Instagram.
  11. ^ "Anna Valesi / Manuel Piazza: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Alyssa Montan / Manuel Piazza: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020.
  13. ^ a b "ISL-Júlía Sylvía GUNNARSDÓTTÍR/Manuel PIAZZA". SkatingScores.com.
  14. ^ "ITA–Anna Valesi/Manuel Piazza". SkatingScores.com.
  15. ^ "ITA–Alyssa Montan/Manuel Piazza". SkatingScores.com.
  16. ^ "ITA–Manuel Piazza". SkatingScores.com.
  17. ^ "Couple Records Anna Valesi/Manuel Piazza (ITA)". International Skating Union.
  18. ^ "Couple Records Alyssa Montan/Manuel Piazza". International Skating Union.