Ondřej Hotárek (born 25 January 1984) is a Czech-Italian pair skater and coach who began competing for Italy in 2006. He competed with Valentina Marchei until the end of their partnership in 2018. With former partner Stefania Berton, he is the 2013 European bronze medalist, the 2013 Skate Canada International champion, and a three-time Italian national champion. Berton/Hotárek are the first Italian pair skaters to win European and Grand Prix medals.
Earlier in his career, Hotárek competed as a single skater and pair skater for the Czech Republic.
Personal life Ondřej Hotárek was born 25 January 1984 in Brno, Czechoslovakia. He moved from the Czech Republic to Italy in 2005 and became an Italian citizen in September 2010. In January 2012, he became a member of the sports group of the Italian police.
Hotárek's engagement to his girlfriend, Italian ice dancer Anna Cappellini, was announced in August 2014. The couple married on June 20, 2015, in Breccia, Italy. Figure skater Michal Březina was the best man at their wedding.
On July 2, 2021, Hotárek and Cappellini's first child was born.
Early career Hotárek began learning to skate in 1989. He competed in men's singles for the Czech Republic. He became the 2003 and 2004 Czech national bronze medalist and appeared in international events.
Hotárek found the jump elements difficult, and believed his skill set would be better suited to pair skating. His first partner was Veronika Havlíčková. In January 2006, he teamed up with Laura Magitteri to compete for Italy. They were the 2007 and 2008 Italian national champions. Their partnership ended in January 2009.
Partnership with Berton
Hotárek teamed up with Stefania Berton in early 2009. They won the silver medal at 2010 Italian Nationals and were selected to compete at the World Championships. They placed 11th in their debut at the event.
During the 2010–11 season, Berton/Hotárek won silver at the Nebelhorn Trophy and also debuted on the Grand Prix circuit, finishing sixth at Cup of Russia. They won their first Italian national title and were sent to the 2011 European Championships. They placed fourth in the short program and fifth in the free program, setting personal bests in both, and finished fifth overall with their best combined total to date, 164.83 points.
Berton/Hotárek began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 Ondrej Nepela Memorial, where they won the silver medal. In the Grand Prix season, they placed 4th at 2011 NHK Trophy and then won bronze at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, making them the first Italian pair to medal on the Grand Prix circuit. At the 2012 European Championships, they placed 4th, historically the highest Italian result in pairs.
In the 2012–13 season, Berton/Hotárek were assigned to the 2012 Skate Canada International and 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard. After taking bronze at both events, they won bronze at the 2013 European Championships, becoming the first Italian pair skaters to medal at Europeans.
Berton/Hotárek started the 2013–14 Grand Prix season at the 2013 Skate America and finished 5th. They won their first GP title at the 2013 Skate Canada and then finished 4th at the 2014 European Championships, behind Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov. Berton/Hotárek finished 11th in the pairs event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
For the 2014–15 season, Berton/Hotarek were assigned to 2014 Skate America and the 2014 Rostelecom Cup. On 2 July 2014, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that their partnership had ended.
Partnership with Marchei On 2 July 2014, La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote that Hotárek and Valentina Marchei, a single skater, were considering a partnership. Bruno Marcotte confirmed on 26 July 2014 that the two were training together. They are coached by Marcotte in Montreal and by Franca Bianconi in Milan.
2014–15 season Marchei/Hotárek began the season by winning the bronze medal at the 2014 CS Warsaw Cup as well as the silver medal at the 2014 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb. They then went on to win the 2015 Italian Championships.
Selected to compete at the European Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Marchei/Hotárek finished fourth.
At the World Championships in Shanghai, China, they finished eleventh.
2015–16 season Marchei/Hotárek started the season by winning gold at the 2015 Lombardia Trophy.
Debuting on the Grand Prix series, Marchei/Hotárek competed in the short program at 2015 Skate Canada International but withdrew on the day of the free skate due to Hotárek sustaining a concussion while practicing a triple twist. They went on to compete at the 2015 Rostelecom Cup, finishing sixth.
At the Italian Figure Skating Championships, Marchei/Hotárek won the silver medal behind Nicole Della Monica / Matteo Guarise.
Going on to compete at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, Marchei/Hotárek finished fifth. They went on to compete at the 2015 Hellmut Seibt Memorial, where they won the gold medal.
At the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, Marchei/Hotárek finished fourteenth.
2016–17 season Marchei/Hotárek began the season by winning the silver medal at the 2016 CS Lombardia Trophy.
They then competed on the Grand Prix series, finishing eighth at 2016 Skate America and fourth at the 2016 Rostelecom Cup. They went on to also win the gold medal at the 2016 CS Warsaw Cup.
At the 2017 Italian Championships, Marchei/Hotárek won the silver medal for the second consecutive year.
Selected to compete at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Marchei/Hotárek finished sixth.
Competing at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Marchei/Hotárek placed ninth.
2017–18 season Marchei/Hotárek began the season with winning the bronze medal at the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy.
They then competed on the 2017–18 Grand Prix series, finishing fifth at the 2017 Cup of China and fourth at the 2017 Rostelecom Cup. They also won the gold medal at the 2017 CS Warsaw Cup.
At the 2018 Italian Championships, Marchei/Hotárek won the silver medal for the third year in a row.
Competing at the 2018 European Championships in Moscow, Russia, Marchei/Hotárek finished fifth.
Selected to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in both the Team and Pair events, Marchei/Hotárek placed second in the free program segment of the team event, helping Team Italy finish in fourth place overall. In the pairs event, Marchei/Hotárek placed seventh in the short program and sixth in the free skate, finishing in sixth place overall.
At the 2018 World Championships in Milan, Italy, Marchei/Hotárek finished in tenth place.
They ended their partnership in September 2018.
Post-competitive career Following his retirement from competitive figure skating, Hotárek became a figure skating coach and currently coaches in Bergamo at the S.S.D. S.r.l. Icelab alongside his former coach, Franca Bianconi.
His current and former students include: Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo Ambrosini Annika Hocke / Robert Kunkel Barbora Kuciánová / Martin Bidař Matteo Rizzo Kristen Spours Milania Väänänen / Filippo Clerici Anna Valesi / Martin Bidař Anna Valesi / Manuel Piazza
Programs With Marchei Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2017–18 Tu vuò fà l'americano Amarcord Barbie Girl by Aqua 2016–17 Seven Nation Army Skyfall (James Bond soundtrack) Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (soundtrack) YesterdayPerformed by Michael Bolton 2015–16 Morir d'amor The Way We Were Saturday Night Fever 2014–15 Malagueña La Strada All of Me
With Berton Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2013–14 The Mask by Randy Edelman Dracula Nessun dorma 2012–13 Paint It Black Poeta en el viento Dirty Dancing 2011–12 Harlem Nocturne Demasiado Corazon Adagio in G minor for Organ and Strings Caruso 2010–11 Invierno Porteno Romeo and Juliet (1968 film) Unchained Melody 2009–10 Caos Calmo Notre Dame de Paris Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)
Single skating Season Short program Free skating 2001–02 The Pink Panther Theme La Dolce Vita
Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
Pairs with Marchei for Italy International Event 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 Olympics 6th World Champ. 11th 14th 9th 10th European Champ. 4th 5th 6th 5th Cup of China 5th Rostelecom Cup 6th 4th 4th Skate America 8th Skate Canada WD Golden Spin 2nd Lombardia Trophy 2nd 3rd Warsaw Cup 3rd WD 1st 1st Lombardia Trophy 1st Seibt Memorial 1st National Italian Champ. 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd Team events Olympics 4th T
Pairs with Berton for Italy
International Event 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 Olympics 11th Worlds 11th 10th 11th 10th 9th Europeans 5th 4th 3rd 4th Bompard 3rd NHK Trophy 4th Rostelecom 6th 3rd Skate America 5th Skate Canada 3rd 1st Cup of Nice 1st Ice Challenge 3rd Lombardia Trophy 1st Nebelhorn Trophy 2nd Nepela Memorial 2nd 2nd NRW Trophy 2nd 1st 2nd National Italian Champ. 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st Team events Olympics 4th T
Pairs with Magitteri for Italy
International Event 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 World Champ. 16th 13th European Champ. 9th 11th Cup of Russia 8th NHK Trophy 6th Skate America 6th Cup of Nice 3rd Nebelhorn Trophy WD 9th National Italian Champ. 1st 1st 3rd
Men's singles for the Czech Republic International Event 01–02 02–03 03–04 Nepela Memorial 6th Grand Prize SNP 5th International: Junior Czech Rep. 12th Italy 15th Serbia 13th EYOF 7th Grand Prize SNP 3rd J National Czech 4th 3rd 3rd Czech Junior 4th 3rd 3rd 3rd 2nd
Detailed results Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.
With Marchei 2017–18 season Date Event SP FS Total March 19–25, 2018 2018 World Championships 8 71.37 8 130.65 10 202.02 February 14–15, 2018 2018 Winter Olympics 7 74.50 6 142.09 6 216.59 February 8–12, 2018 2018 Winter Olympics (Team event) \ 2 138.44 \ January 15–21, 2017 2018 European Championships 4 71.89 5 132.31 5 204.20 December 13–16, 2015 2018 Italian Championships 1 71.64 2 107.15 2 178.79 November 16–19, 2017 2017 CS Warsaw Cup 1 66.70 1 126.44 1 193.14 November 3–5, 2017 2017 Cup of China 5 59.53 4 128.48 5 188.01 October 20–22, 2017 2017 Rostelecom Cup 3 68.48 4 125.15 4 193.63 September 14–17, 2017 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy 3 61.32 3 119.54 3 180.86 2016–17 season Date Event SP FS Total March 29–April 2, 2017 2017 World Championships 9 71.04 9 132.88 9 203.92 January 25–29, 2017 2017 European Championships 6 66.53 6 125.40 6 191.93 December 14–17, 2016 2017 Italian Championships 2 66.04 1 127.34 2 193.38 November 17–20, 2016 2016 CS Warsaw Cup 1 67.04 1 122.22 1 189.26 November 4–6, 2016 2016 Rostelecom Cup 3 66.82 5 120.79 4 187.61 October 21–23, 2016 2016 Skate America 6 62.49 8 107.20 8 169.69 September 8–11, 2016 2016 CS Lombardia Trophy 1 59.40 2 120.16 2 179.56 2015–16 season Date Event SP FS Total March 28–April 3, 2016 2016 World Championships 13 59.76 15 110.97 14 170.73 February 23–27, 2016 2016 Hellmut Seibt Memorial 1 57.78 1 122.42 1 180.20 January 25–31, 2016 2016 European Championships 8 58.47 4 124.14 5 182.61 December 16–19, 2015 2016 Italian Championships 2 63.74 1 118.88 2 184.28 November 20–22, 2015 2015 Rostelecom Cup 4 62.43 6 115.76 6 178.19 November 20–22, 2015 2015 Skate Canada International 6 54.00 WD WD September 17–20, 2015 2015 Lombardia Trophy 1 63.85 1 113.57 1 179.56 2014–15 season Date Event SP FS Total March 23–29, 2015 2015 World Championships 9 60.56 11 111.99 11 172.55 January 16–February 1, 2015 2015 European Championships 4 57.95 4 117.44 4 175.39 December 20–21, 2014 2015 Italian Championships 1 58.44 1 115.32 1 173.76 December 4–6, 2014 2014 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 2 55.18 2 112.00 2 167.18 November 21–24, 2014 2014 CS Warsaw Cup 4 52.32 3 102.28 3 154.60
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