Alexander Gazsi (born 6 October 1984) is a German ice dancer. With partner Nelli Zhiganshina, he is a six-time German national champion (2007, 2011–2015) and has won twelve international medals. They have placed as high as 6th at the European Championships and 10th at the World Championships.

Personal life Alexander Gazsi was born on 6 October 1984 in Chemnitz, East Germany. His mother is a German from Kazakhstan and his father is Hungarian. He is in the sports division of the German army.

Career Early years Gazsi began skating in 1988 at the age of four. The kids in his kindergarten class in East Germany were tested in various sports and he was chosen for the first one tested, figure skating. He switched from singles to ice dancing at age seven.

Early in his career, Gazsi skated with Mandy Kästner and Julia Novikov. By 2003, he was competing with Sandra Gissmann. They appeared four times on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series and placed 17th at the 2004 World Junior Championships.

Partnership with Nelli Zhiganshina 2005–2010 In June 2005, Gazsi had a successful tryout with Nelli Zhiganshina in Moscow. At the start of their partnership, they trained mainly in Moscow with coaches Elena Kustarova and Svetlana Alexeeva and, during summers, in Berlin and Chemnitz due to Gazsi's army service. They later changed coaches to Alexander Zhulin and Oleg Volkov, also in Moscow.

Zhiganshina/Gazsi won bronze at their first German Championships in 2006, their only competition of the season. The next season they won their first national title, placed 16th at the 2007 Europeans and 18th at Worlds.

During the 2007–08 season, they made their debut on the Grand Prix circuit, placing 7th at Skate Canada and 8th at Cup of Russia. They won silver at German Nationals and again finished 18th at Worlds.

During the 2008–09 season, Zhiganshina/Gazsi did not compete on the Grand Prix circuit. Zhiganshina continued to visit Germany on a three-month tourist visa because the low income from the sport meant she did not qualify for residency and Germany did not have as high caliber ice dancers as Moscow to train alongside. Although favored to win 2009 German Nationals, they placed second and missed the European and World teams. They considered leaving competition to focus on show skating and worked with circus acrobats in Moscow but decided to continue their competitive career and moved to Oberstdorf, Germany in spring 2009 to work with coaches Rostislav Sinicyn and Martin Skotnicky. During the 2009–10 season, they placed third at German Nationals and were not sent to the European or World Championships. They were not eligible for the 2010 Winter Olympics due to Zhiganshina not having German citizenship.

2010–present

During the 2010–11 season, Zhiganshina/Gazsi again received no Grand Prix invitations but won three medals at senior B events. They won their second national title and were selected to compete at the European Championships for the first time in three years. At Europeans, they were 8th in the short dance, then edged past Nóra Hoffmann / Maxim Zavozin by 0.39 points into 7th place overall after the free dance. This was the first top-ten result for German ice dancers since 2003 (Kati Winkler / Rene Lohse). The result gave Germany two berths to the 2012 European ice dancing event. Zhiganshina/Gazsi finished 11th at the 2011 World Championships, earning invitations to two Grand Prix events the following season.

In preparation for the 2011–12 season, Zhiganshina/Gazsi went to Sofia, Bulgaria, to work with choreographer Maxim Staviski, with whom they also worked in previous years. They began their season at the 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy where they won the silver medal. After placing fourth at both of their Grand Prix events, the 2011 Skate America and 2011 NHK Trophy, the duo finished eighth at the 2012 European Championships and eleventh at the 2012 World Championships.

In 2012–13, Zhiganshina/Gazsi placed a career-best sixth at the 2013 European Championships and tenth at the 2013 World Championships. As a result of their Worlds placement, Germany qualified two spots in ice dancing at the 2014 Olympics.

In 2013–14, Zhiganshina/Gazsi won their fifth national title and were selected to represent Germany at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Germany assigned them to the team event short dance, where they placed sixth; Germany, however, did not qualify for the free dance. Zhiganshina/Gazsi finished 11th in the separate ice dancing event.

Programs With Zhiganshina

Season Short dance Free dance Exhibition 2014–2015 La Maza by Silvio Rodríguez Ameksa by Taalbi Brothers choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel Fredrik Rydman's Swan Lake Reloaded Rothbart's Solo Then There's Us Don't Go Rothbart's Solo choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel 2013–2014 Le Jazz Hot performed by Glee cast Carrigan & Dips by James Horner Mrs. ES Dancecard by Elliot Goldenthal I'm Happy by the Gorillaz 2012–2013 Polka by Alfred Schnittke Waltz from Admiral "Two from the Grave": Tore My Heart performed by Oona Et Maintenant by Jean-Marc Zelwer Rama Lama by Roisin Murphy Tango de Roxanne (from Moulin Rouge!) 2011–2012 Desperados (from Once Upon a Time in Mexico) Mambo Romeo + Juliet by Craig Armstrong 2010–2011 Unknown from Cirque du Soleil Liebesträume by Franz Liszt The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi Original dance 2009–2010 2007–2008 Ukrainian dance: Black Eyebrows and Hazel Eyes Marusia performed by Joseph Kobzon La Bohème performed by Charles Aznavour 2006–2007 New Tango Besta Rio Sandunga by Arturo Sandoval Summertime by George Gershwin Jazz Police by Goodwin

With Gissmann Season Original dance Free dance 2004–2005 Quickstep: Tuxedo Junction Slow foxtrot Quickstep: Song of Dancing Queen: We Will Rock You Who Wants to Live Forever Innuendo 2003–2004 Blues: Business of Love (from The Mask) Swing: Run Lama Run by John De Palladio by Karl Jenkins Buenos Aires Tango by Jacques Loussier Palladio by Karl Jenkins

Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series (began in the 2014–15 season); JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Zhiganshina

International Event 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 Olympics 11th Worlds 18th 18th 11th 11th 10th 11th WD Europeans 16th 7th 8th 6th 7th 7th GP Bompard 4th GP Cup of Russia 8th 5th GP NHK Trophy 4th 4th GP Skate America 4th 5th GP Skate Canada 7th 6th 5th CS Finlandia 2nd CS Nebelhorn 4th 2nd 3rd 3rd Golden Spin 5th 1st NRW Trophy 2nd Nepela Trophy 1st 6th 3rd 1st 5th Pavel Roman 1st 3rd 1st 1st Volvo Open 2nd National German Champ. 3rd 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st Team events Olympics 8th T

With Gissmann International Event 2003–04 2004–05 Junior Worlds 17th JGP China 6th JGP Japan 6th JGP Romania 7th JGP Slovakia 5th National German Champ. 2nd J.

References

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