Zoltán Kelemen (born 31 July 1986) is a Romanian former competitive figure skater. He is an eight-time Romanian national champion. He qualified for the free skate at the 2014 Winter Olympics, the 2014 World Championships, five European Championships, and two World Junior Championships.
Personal life Kelemen was born on 31 July 1986 in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania. He is of Hungarian descent. He lost the sight in his right eye at age seven, following an accident involving an exploding aerosol can.
Career Due to his vision impairment, Kelemen failed the yearly physical Romania requires of its athletes to get permission to compete. He was required to sign an annual waiver declaring that he was competing "on his own responsibility."
In the 2004–05 and 2005–06 season, Kelemen competed on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series and at the World Junior Championships. In 2007, he won his first senior national title and was given his debut at the European Championships and senior World Championships.
At the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, Kelemen earned a spot for Romania in the Olympic men's event. He began training in California and qualified for the free skate for the first time in his career at the 2010 European Championships. He then competed at the 2010 Olympics, placing 29th.
Kelemen placed a career-best 14th at the 2012 European Championships. In August 2012, he decided to train in Switzerland with Gheorghe Chiper; he also works in Switzerland as he receives little support from the Romanian skating association. Kelemen earned another Olympic berth for Romania at the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, he qualified for the free skate and finished 23rd.
Programs Season Short program Free skating 2013–14 Rich Man's Frug Breathe and Life Akkadian Empire Guardians at the Gate 2012–13 Italian medley 2011–12 Dralion Pearl Harbor 2010–11 Mumbai Theme 2008–10 Amélie Ballade Pirates of the Caribbean 2006–08 Played-A-Life The Man in the Iron Mask 2004–06 Austin Powers Sequences
Results GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix Competition 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 Winter Olympics 29th 23rd World Championships 41st 33rd 32nd 32nd 32nd 29th 21st European Championships 32nd 35th 34th 19th 21st 14th 18th 21st Romanian Championships 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st Trophée Éric Bompard 9th Bavarian Open 12th Coupe du Printemps 2nd 3rd Crystal Skate of Romania 6th7th 4th 9th 6th 2nd 3rd 2nd 1st Cup of Nice 12th 12th 10th Golden Spin of Zagreb 15th 22nd 16th 16th WD Karl Schäfer Memorial10th Merano Cup 9th 2nd Nebelhorn Trophy 14th 13th 20th 6th NRW Trophy15th Ondrej Nepela Trophy 7th Slovenia Open 3rd World Junior Championships 19th 17th Bulgaria 18th Croatia 19th Hungary 18th Montfort Cup 3rd
References
External links
Zoltán Kelemen at Tracings Zoltán Kelemen at Rinkresults