The Nebelhorn Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union () at the Eissportzentrum Oberstdorf in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition debuted in 1969 and is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain. It has occasionally served as the final qualifying event for the Winter Olympics. When the ISU launched the ISU Challenger Series in 2014, the Nebelhorn Trophy was one of the inaugural competitions, and it has been a Challenger Series event every year since. Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance; and as part of the Challenger Series, skaters earn World Standing points based on their results.
Nobunari Oda of Japan holds the record for winning the most Nebelhorn Trophy titles in men's singles (with three). Four skaters are tied for winning the most titles in women's singles (with two each): Alissa Czisny of the United States, Carolina Kostner of Italy, Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada, and Irina Slutskaya of Russia. Two teams are tied for winning the most titles in pair skating (with four each): Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia, and Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany, although Savchenko has won an additional two titles with other partners. In addition, Minerva Fabienne Hase of Germany has won four Nebelhorn Trophy titles in pair skating, but with two different partners. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain hold the record in ice dance (with three).
History
The Nebelhorn Trophy debuted in 1969 in Oberstdorf, in what was then West Germany, and is named after the nearby Nebelhorn mountain. Early on, it was paired with a now-defunct French event – the Grand Prix International St. Gervais – to form the Coupe des Alpes, with many of the same skaters participating in both events. A team trophy was occasionally presented to the country with the highest combined placements across both competitions.
The Nebelhorn Trophy has often been used by the International Skating Union to experiment with new judging and scoring systems for figure skating. In 1972, the ISU announced a new set of rules for single skating: skaters now had to perform three compulsory figures, a short program of compulsory moves, and the free skating program. The 1972 Nebelhorn Trophy was the first competition to feature these new requirements. The 1997 competition was used as the test event for a new system whereby each skater or team was ranked in comparison to the skaters or teams who had already competed. The 2002 Nebelhorn Trophy was used to test the new ISU Judging System, designed in reaction to the scandal at the 2002 Winter Olympics, while the event's actual results were still determined using the existing 6.0 system. The 2003 Nebelhorn Trophy was the first international skating competition to use the ISU Judging System to determine the official results. The 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy served as the final qualifying event for the 2010 Winter Olympics, as did the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy for the 2014 Olympics, and the 2021 Nebelhorn Trophy for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The ISU Challenger Series was introduced in 2014 as a series of international figure skating competitions, sanctioned by the International Skating Union and organized by ISU member nations. The objective is to ensure consistent organization and structure within a series of international competitions linked together, providing opportunities for senior-level skaters to compete at the international level and also earn ISU World Standing points. The Nebelhorn Trophy was one of the inaugural events. When an event is held as part of the Challenger Series, it must host at least three of the four disciplines (men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance) and representatives from at least ten different ISU member nations. The minimum number of entrants required for each discipline is eight skaters each in men's singles and women's singles, five teams in pair skating, and six teams in ice dance. Each ISU member nation is eligible to enter up to three skaters or teams per discipline in each competition, although the German Ice Skating Union may enter an unlimited number of entrants in their own event.
In February 2016, the ISU declared that the Nebelhorn Trophy, along with the Ondrej Nepela Memorial, the Finlandia Trophy, and the Golden Spin of Zagreb, would constitute a core group of Challenger Series events in recognition of their long-standing traditions. The Nebelhorn Trophy has been a Challenger Series event every year since. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy was held, but with extensive social distancing guidelines and procedures for the athletes and coaches in attendance, and without spectators. In April 2026, the ISU announced that the Nebelhorn Trophy would again be included in a core group of Challenger Series events, along with the Golden Spin of Zagreb, the Nepela Memorial, and one competition from either Canada or the United States.
Medalists
CS: Challenger Series event
Men's singles +Men's event medalists Year Gold Silver Bronze 1969 Günter Anderl Reinhard Ketterer Klaus Grimmelt 1970 Klaus Grimmelt John Curry Michael Fish 1971 Erich Reifschneider Gheorghe Fazekas Rob Ouwerkerk 1972 Robert Bradshaw Terry Kubicka Erich Reifschneider 1973 John Carlow Jr. Charles Tickner Paul Cechmanek 1974 David Santee Kevin Robertson 1975 Ted Barton Ken Newfield Harald Kuhn 1976 Fumio Igarashi Scott Hamilton Rudi Cerne 1977 Robert Wagenhoffer Kurt Kurzinger Gerd-Walter Gräbner 1978 Allen Schramm Mark Cockerell Gary Beacom 1979 Gordon Forbes Vladimir Rashchetnov Brian Boitano 1980 Tom Dickson Brian Orser Rudi Cerne 1981 Heiko Fischer John Filbig Kevin Hicks 1982 Leonardo Azzola Bruno Delmaestro James Cygan 1983 Heiko Fischer Richard Zander André Bourgeois 1984 Richard Zander Craig Henderson Leonid Kaznakov 1985 Doug Mattis Laurent Depouilly 1986 Vitali Egorov Erik Larson Kurt Browning 1987 Todd Eldredge Patrick Brault Lars Dresler 1988 Aren Nielsen Marcus Christensen Christopher Mitchell 1989 Shepherd Clark Richard Zander Gleb Bokiy 1990 Michael Chack Nicolas Pétorin Vladimir Petrenko 1991 Ryan Hunka Igor Pashkevich Brent Frank 1992 David Liu Axel Médéric 1993 Jeffrey Langdon Michael Weiss Jean-François Hébert 1994 Ilia Kulik Shepherd Clark Alexander Abt 1995 Takeshi Honda Evgeni Pliuta Yosuke Takeuchi 1996 Michael Weiss Yamato Tamura Igor Sinyutin 1997 Timothy Goebel Evgeni Pliuta Alexander Abt 1998 Trifun Zivanovic Yevgeny Martynov Vitaliy Danylchenko 1999 Ilia Klimkin Vitaliy Danylchenko Jayson Dénommée 2000 Anton Klykov Derrick Delmore Dmytro Dmytrenko 2001 Sergei Davydov Jeffrey Buttle Margus Hernits 2002 Benjamin Miller Fedor Andreev 2003 Nicholas Young Scott Smith Nicholas LaRoche 2004 Marc-André Craig Alexander Kondakov Christopher Toland 2005 Stefan Lindemann Noriyuki Kanzaki Tomáš Verner 2006 Tomáš Verner Parker Pennington Vaughn Chipeur 2007 Michal Březina Shaun Rogers Tomáš Verner 2008 Nobunari Oda Michal Březina Yannick Ponsero 2009 Stéphane Lambiel Ivan Tretiakov Michal Březina 2010 Tatsuki Machida Konstantin Menshov Peter Liebers 2011 Yuzuru Hanyu Michal Březina Stephen Carriere 2012 Nobunari Oda Konstantin Menshov Keegan Messing 2013 Jason Brown Jeremy Ten Jason Brown Michal Březina Konstantin Menshov 2015 CS Elladj Baldé Max Aaron 2016 CS Alexander Petrov Jorik Hendrickx Grant Hochstein 2017 CS Jorik Hendrickx Alexander Johnson Alexander Majorov 2018 CS Keegan Messing Alexander Majorov Artur Dmitriev 2019 CS Makar Ignatov Koshiro Shimada Alexei Bychenko 2020 CS Deniss Vasiljevs Gabriele Frangipani Nikolaj Majorov 2021 CS Vincent Zhou Adam Siao Him Fa Mark Kondratiuk 2022 CS Keegan Messing Lee Si-hyeong Roman Sadovsky 2023 CS Adam Siao Him Fa Kazuki Tomono Koshiro Shimada 2024 CS Sōta Yamamoto Gabriele Frangipani Deniss Vasiļjevs 2025 CS Stephen Gogolev Andrew Torgashev Lukas Britschgi 2026 CS Aleksandr Selevko Genrikh Gartung François Pitot
Women's singles +Women's event medalists Year Gold Silver Bronze 1969 Ľudmila Bezáková Rita Pokorski Carmen Buchwald 1970 Rita Pokorski Angelika Kräger Karin Iten 1971 Dorothy Hamill Gerti Schanderl Angelika Kräger 1972 Wendy Burge Isabel de Navarre Patricia Shelley 1973 Kath Malmberg Linda Fratianne Gerti Schanderl 1974 Priscilla Hill Barbara Smith Petra Wagner 1975 Lisa-Marie Allen Petra Wagner Dagmar Lurz 1976 Garnet Ostermeier Carrie Rugh Deborah Albright 1977 Reiko Kobayashi Sandy Lenz Karin Riediger 1978 Editha Dotson Corinna Tanski Janet Morrissey 1979 Lynn Smith Jackie Farrell Karin Riediger 1980 Vikki de Vries Alison Southwood Elizabeth Manley 1981 Cornelia Tesch Kristy Hogan Stephanie Anderson 1982 Manuela Ruben Kelley Webster Natalia Ovchinnikova 1983 Staci McMullin Barbara Butler Karin Telser 1984 Debi Thomas Juri Ozawa Sara MacInnes 1985 Cornelia Tesch Tracey Damigella Joanne Conway 1986 Holly Cook Cornelia Renner Claudia Villiger 1987 Shannon Allison Carola Wolff Lindsay Fedosoff 1988 Tonia Kwiatkowski Josée Chouinard Patricia Neske 1989 Kyoko Ina Surya Bonaly Junko Yaginuma 1990 Surya Bonaly Marina Kielmann Maria Butyrskaya 1991 Kumiko Koiwai Marie-Pierre Leray Nadeza Kowalewskaja 1992 Simone Lang Kumiko Koiwai Angela Derochie 1993 Irina Slutskaya Susan Humphreys Lyudmyla Ivanova 1994 Shizuka Arakawa Jennifer Karl 1995 Shizuka Arakawa Lenka Kulovaná Elena Ivanova 1996 Eva-Maria Fitze Sydne Vogel Karen Kwan 1997 Elena Liashenko Olga Markova Nadezhda Kanaeva 1998 Brittney McConn Elena Ivanova Veronika Dytrtová 1999 Elena Liashenko Sanna-Maija Wiksten Elina Kettunen 2000 Galina Maniachenko Sarah Meier Andrea Gardiner 2001 Ludmila Nelidina Ann Patrice McDonough Kristina Oblasova 2002 Carolina Kostner Alisa Drei Ludmila Nelidina 2003 Jennifer Don Lesley Hawker Olga Naidenova 2004 Louann Donovan Alisa Drei Mira Leung 2005 Elena Sokolova Beatrisa Liang 2006 Beatrisa Liang Arina Martinova Katy Taylor 2007 Carolina Kostner Megan Williams Stewart Laura Lepistö 2008 Alissa Czisny Laura Lepistö Akiko Suzuki 2009 Kiira Korpi Liu Yan 2010 Kiira Korpi Viktoria Helgesson Melissa Bulanhagui 2011 Mirai Nagasu Elene Gedevanishvili Joshi Helgesson 2012 Kaetlyn Osmond Adelina Sotnikova Haruka Imai 2013 Elena Radionova Miki Ando Ashley Cain Elizaveta Tuktamysheva Alena Leonova Gracie Gold 2015 CS Kaetlyn Osmond Courtney Hicks 2016 CS Mai Mihara Elizaveta Tuktamysheva Gabrielle Daleman 2017 CS Kailani Craine Matilda Algotsson Alexia Paganini 2018 CS Alina Zagitova Mai Mihara Loena Hendrickx 2019 CS Mariah Bell Kim Ye-lim Nicole Schott 2020 CS Eva-Lotta Kiibus Alexia Paganini Jenni Saarinen 2021 CS Alysa Liu Ekaterina Kurakova Viktoriia Safonova 2022 CS Loena Hendrickx Wi Seo-yeong Eva-Lotta Kiibus 2023 CS Isabeau Levito Kimmy Repond Kim Min-chae 2024 CS Elyce Lin-Gracey Isabeau Levito Hana Yoshida 2025 CS Amber Glenn Mone Chiba Shin Ji-a 2026 CS Mia Risa Gomez Marina Piredda Fée Ann Landry
Pairs +Pairs event medalists Year Gold Silver Bronze 1969 No other competitors 1970 No other competitors 1971 No pairs competitors 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2015 CS 2016 CS 2017 CS 2018 CS 2019 CS 2020 CS 2021 CS 2022 CS 2023 CS 2024 CS 2025 CS 2026 CS
Ice dance +Ice dance event medalists Year Gold Silver Bronze 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2015 CS 2016 CS 2017 CS 2018 CS 2019 CS 2020 CS 2021 CS 2022 CS 2023 CS 2024 CS 2025 CS 2026 CS
Records