Sarah Meier (figure skater)

Sarah Meier

Meier at the 2011 European Championships
Personal information
Full name	Sarah Meier
Country represented	Switzerland
Born	May 4, 1984 (1984-05-04) Bülach
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Coach	Eva Fehr Mark Pepperday
Choreographer	Salome Brunner
Former choreographer	Tatiana Druchinina
Skating club	Bülacher Eislaufclub
Retired	January 2011
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	171.88 2008 Worlds
Short program	60.87 2006 Europeans
Free skate	113.00 2008 Europeans
Medal record Ladies' Figure Skating Competitor for Switzerland European Championships Gold 2011 Bern Ladies' singles Silver 2008 Zagreb Ladies' singles Silver 2007 Warsaw Ladies' singles Grand Prix Final Bronze 2006–07 St. Peters.. Ladies' singles World Junior Championships Bronze 2000 Oberstdorf Ladies' singles

Sarah Meier (born May 4, 1984 in Bülach, Switzerland) is a Swiss figure skater. She is the 2011 European champion, 2007 & 2008 European silver medalist, the 2006–2007 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist and an eight-time (2000–2001, 2003, 2005–2008, 2010) Swiss national champion.

Biography

Meier in 2010

Early career

Sarah Meier first stepped on the ice at the age of two years. She liked it so much that her mother sent her to children's courses at the age of four. When Meier was five years old she began taking private lessons and soon started to compete. She landed her first double axel at the age of ten and performed her first triple lutz when she was twelve. By the age of thirteen, she could land all of the triple jumps in practice. During the summers, there was no ice in her home town of Bulach so she moved around to Oberstdorf, Germany and Flims in Switzerland.

Meier's family has been involved in skating and other ice sports for many years. Her mother is an international figure skating judge and her sister is involved in synchronized skating. Her aunt, Eva Fehr, a former figure skater, was her coach. Her father, uncle and two cousins are ice hockey players.

Meier made her first junior Grand Prix appearance in 1997, finishing 10th at JGP Slovakia. She continued to skate primarily in the junior ranks through the 1999–2000 season, when she won the bronze medal at Junior Worlds.

Senior career

In 2000-2001, Meier skated in both junior and senior events; she medalled in two JGP events, including a gold medal in the Czech Republic, and finished in 5th place at her second Europeans. She was 12th in her World Championship debut.

During the 2001–02 season, Meier twisted her left ankle and tore ligaments, resulting in the loss of three months of training. She competed in few events that year and dropped out of the top ten at the Europeans. She was 13th in her first appearance at the Olympics. In 2002-3, she finished 5th and 7th in her two Gran Prix assignments and was only 19th at Worlds. Prior to the 2003–4 season, Meier developed tendonitis in her right foot due to new boots and was unable to train from July to December. Consequently, she could only compete at the Europeans and Worlds, finishing 10th and 13th, respectively. She repeated her tenth place showing at the 2005 Europeans and dropped one spot at the 2005 Worlds.

Meier's 2005–6 season was more successful; she came in fourth at the Europeans, her best showing yet, and finished in the top eight at both the Olympics and the World Championships. She continued to move up the standings in 2006-7, winning the 2006 Cup of Russia and getting her first podium finish at the European Championships. Her silver medal was the first medal by a Swiss woman at the event since Denise Biellmann won in 1981. She won a second silver medal at the 2008 Europeans.

Meier competed in few events in her final three seasons due to a string of injuries. She missed much of 2008–09 due to spinal disc herniation and muscle problems, although she was able to compete at the 2009 World Championships and earned an Olympic spot for Switzerland with her ninth place showing. In 2009–10, she struggled with an Achilles tendon inflammation. Meier withdrew from the 2009 NHK Trophy because she was unable to put too much pressure on her toe pick. She finished 15th at the Olympics and failing to qualify for the free skate at the 2010 Worlds after a bad fall in the short program.

The many injuries Meier had suffered during the latter part of her career led her to consider retirement after the 2009–2010 season, but she eventually decided to remain in the eligible ranks for one last season, mainly in order to compete in her home country at the 2011 Europeans in Bern. She damaged ligaments in her foot at the 2010 Skate Canada, forcing her to withdraw from the event. The injury occurred on her favorite jump, the lutz, denting her confidence. Forced to sit out the 2010–11 Grand Prix season and Swiss Nationals, Meier announced prior to the Europeans that it would be her final competitive event. She finished third in the short program and second in the free skate, but her combined score was high enough to become European Champion. She reaffirmed her decision to retire immediately following her win, calling it "the right moment to stop... the perfect ending."

Post-competitive career

In May 2011, she announced that she would join Switzerland's "Art on Ice" Production as an executive for its talent team, responsible for talent scouting, looking after members of the team and working with parents, teachers, schools, team experts and Swiss Ice Skating. She is also be involved in finding sponsors for Swiss skating.

Meier continues to skate as a pro skater, in shows and other events. She withdrew from the 2011 Japan Open due to swelling in her foot; the ligaments had not fully healed after the 2010 Skate Canada injury.

Programs

Meier (left) with the other medalists at the 2008 European Championships.

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2010–2011	Samba Para Una Sola Nota by Michel Legrand	Love in the Time of Cholera by Antonio Pinto	La valse d'Amélie by Yann Tiersen
2009–2010	Samba & Brazilliance by Steve Stevens	Romeo and Juliet Suite by Nino Rota and Sergey Prokofiev	I Got Rhythm by George Gershwin Samba by Michel Legrand
2008–2009	Samba & Brazilliance by Steve Stevens	Yellow River Piano Concerto by Yin Chengzong and Lang Lang	Next Plane Home by Daniel Powter La Valse D'Amelie from Amelie by Yann Tiersen
2007–2008	Children's Ward from Patch Adams by Mark Shaiman	La Folia In Black & Red Autumn by Tokuhide Nimi	Memory from Cats by Joe Hisaishi A Love Like Tides by Lovebugs
2006–2007	Concierto de Aranjuez & Concierto Andaluz by Joaquín Rodrigo	Georgiana from Pride and Prejudice by Dario Marianelli The Rain from Kikujiro by Joh Hisaishi
2005–2006	Finding Neverland by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek	Bolero for Violin and Orchestra by Vanessa-Mae	These Boots Are Made For Walking by Melanie Bernhard
2004–2005	Big Love Adagio by Bond	Guitarra Latino by Edvin Marton and Carlos Santana
2003–2004	Pure Mood by Spyro Gyra No Woman, No Cry & Could You Be Loved by Bob Marley & The Wailers	Evita by Andrew Lloyd-Webber	Nights In White Satin by Moody Blues The Voice Within vocals by Christina Aguilera
2002–2003	Pure Mood by Spyro Gyra No Woman, No Cry & Could You Be Loved by Bob Marley & The Wailers	Variations by Raúl di Blasio	Whenever, Wherever by Shakira
2001–2002	Nostalgia by Yanni performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra	Anna and the King by George Fenton	Starlight by Trace
2000–2001	Reflection from Mulan by Vanessa-Mae	Miss Saigon from Miss Saigon by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg	I Will Always Love You from The Bodyguard vocals by Whitney Houston
1999–2000	Lord Of The Dance by Ronan Hardimann	Miss Saigon from Miss Saigon by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg	I Will Always Love You from The Bodyguard vocals by Whitney Houston

Competitive highlights

Event	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–00	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
Winter Olympics						13th				8th				15th
World Championships					12th		19th	13th	14th	6th	7th	6th	9th	26th
European Championships				16th	5th	13th		10th	10th	4th	2nd	2nd		5th	1st
World Junior Championships			10th	3rd
Swiss Championships	1st N.	1st J.	2nd	1st	1st		1st		1st	1st	1st	1st		1st
Grand Prix Final											3rd
NHK Trophy							7th			7th		2nd		WD
Skate Canada International						5th				5th					WD
Cup of China													6th
Trophée Eric Bompard							5th					4th
Cup of Russia											1st
Skate America											4th
Finlandia Trophy						9th							3rd
Nebelhorn Trophy					2nd					5th
Ondrej Nepela Memorial							2nd
Winter Universiade									5th
Junior Grand Prix Final					4th
Junior Grand Prix, France					3rd
Junior Grand Prix, Czech Republic					1st
Junior Grand Prix, Canada				6th
Junior Grand Prix, Norway				5th
Junior Grand Prix, Ukraine			11th
Junior Grand Prix, Hungary			4th
Junior Grand Prix, Slovakia		10th
European Youth Olympic Day			2nd
Gardena Spring Trophy		7th J.
Heiko-Fischer-Pokal	3rd

• N = Novice level; J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

External links

• Official website
• Sarah Meier at the International Skating Union
• Sarah Meier at Sports-reference
• Sarah Meier at PixieWorld