Michal Češka (born 2 September 1992) is a Czech ice dancer. With partner Cortney Mansour, he has won three international medals and reached the free skate at three ISU Championships.
Personal life Michal Češka was born on 2 September 1992 in Děčín. His father is a former figure skater. His older brother played ice hockey in the highest junior hockey league in Czech Republic.He also has a younger sister who also spent many years on the ice as a figure skater. Michal is recently racing in the Rally Championship in Czech Republic.
Early career Češka began skating at age four and switched from singles to ice dancing when he was about fifteen. He began competing with Karolína Procházková in 2007. In 2010, they were selected for their first World Junior Championships and finished 26th at the event in The Hague, Netherlands.
Procházková/Češka's luggage containing their skates did not arrive in time at the 2011 Junior Worlds in Gangneung, South Korea, forcing them to withdraw. They placed 21st at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Minsk, Belarus and 23rd at the 2013 World Junior Championships in Milan, Italy. They were coached by Rostislav Sinicyn and Natalia Karamysheva in Prague.
Partnership with Mansour
2013–14 season In mid-2013, Češka teamed up with Canada's Cortney Mansour to compete for the Czech Republic, following a tryout in Europe. They were coached by Carol Lane, John Lane, and Juris Razgulajevs in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Making their international debut, Mansour/Češka placed 12th at a Junior Grand Prix (JGP) event in Gdańsk in September 2013 and tenth the following month at JGP Ostrava in the Czech Republic. The duo finished 13th at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, after placing 14th in both segments.
2014–15 season: Senior debut Mansour/Češka advanced to the senior level in the 2014–15 season. Competing in the Challenger Series, they placed ninth at the 2014 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and tenth at the 2014 CS Skate Canada Autumn Classic. Ranked 19th in the short dance and 15th in the free, they finished 17th at the 2015 European Championships in Stockholm, Sweden.
2015–16 season Mansour/Češka placed sixth at two Challenger Series events in the first half of October, the 2015 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy and 2015 CS Finlandia Trophy. Deciding to change coaches, they joined Igor Shpilband in Novi, Michigan at the end of the month. The duo won gold at the Pavel Roman Memorial and then finished 13th at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava after placing 14th in the short and 13th in the free. Ranked 24th in the short, they did not qualify for the free dance at the 2016 World Championships.
2016–17 season: Grand Prix debut In July 2016, Mansour/Češka received their first Grand Prix assignment, replacing Federica Testa / Lukas Csolley at the 2016 Trophée de France.
Programs With Mansour Season Short dance Free dance 2017–2018 Beat On My Drum Loin Adios The Godfather Part II Kay A New Carpet Main Title/The Immigrant The Godfather Godfather Waltz Finale 2016–2017 Summertime Diga Diga Do 2015–2016 La Valse d'Amelie La Vie en rose Broken Ballerina Old Toys Pumpkin Pursuit 2014–2015 Babylon Flamenco La Gracia de Dios Chess End Game Chess Game 2013–2014 Kiss Me It Don't Mean A Thing The Great Gatsby Where the Wind Blows Young and Beautiful Bang Bang
With Procházková Season Short dance Free dance 2012–2013 Blues Swing Latin selection 2011–2012 Cha Cha Samba Chicago 2010–2011 Happy Day I Won't Dance Original dance 2009–2010 Beer Barrel Polka Spanish medley
Results GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
With Mansour International Event 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18-19 World Champ. 24th 26th European Champ. 17th 13th 25th GP Finland TBD Trophée de France 8th Autumn Classic 10th Finlandia Trophy 6th Golden Spin 7th Nebelhorn Trophy 9th 5th Nepela Memorial 6th 6th 8th U.S. Classic 10th Autumn Classic 5th Bavarian Open 3rd Open d'Andorra 3rd Pavel Roman Memorial 2nd 1st Santa Claus Cup 4th Volvo Open 4th International: Junior World Junior Champ. 13th Czech Republic 10th Poland 12th Pavel Roman Memorial 2nd J National Czech Champ. 1st J 1st 1st J = Junior level TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew
With Procházková International Event 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 Golden Spin 7th International: Junior Junior Worlds 26th WD 21st 23rd Austria 8th 7th Croatia 10th Czech Rep. 10th 6th Germany 9th Italy 8th Latvia 4th Poland 9th Turkey 7th Bavarian Open 3rd J 1st J Ice Challenge 1st J NRW Trophy 10th J 10th J Pavel Roman 10th J 4th J 2nd J 1st J Tirnavia 3rd J National Czech Champ. 3rd J 1st J 1st J 3rd 1st J J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew
References
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