Aritz Maestu Babarro (born 19 September 1990) is a Spanish former competitive pair skater. With his former skating partner, Laura Barquero, he is the 2018 Toruń Cup champion and 2018 International Challenge Cup champion, and competed for Spain at two World Championships.

Early career

Single skating Maestu began learning to skate in 2002. As a single skater, he was coached by Jonathan Levers in San Sebastián. He received one ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) assignment, in September 2008.

Partnership with Rodríguez Maestu's first pair skating partner was Alexandra Rodríguez Long. They competed two seasons together, beginning in 2010–2011. At JGP Austria in September 2011, they became the first pair to represent Spain in an international competition.

Rodríguez/Maestu skated at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Minsk, Belarus, but were eliminated after placing 12th in the preliminary round. Miguel Alegre and Emma Baxter coached the pair in Jaca, Spain.

Partnership with Grigorieva In September 2012, Maestu teamed up with Russia's Veronica Grigorieva to represent Spain on the senior level. The pair trained in Toruń (Poland) and Jaca (Spain), coached by Marius Siudek. Their international debut came in September 2013, at the Lombardia Trophy. A week later, they competed at the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy, the final qualifying opportunity for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Their placement, 18th, was insufficient to qualify a spot at the Olympics.

Grigorieva/Maestu's final competition together was the 2014 European Championships, which took place in January in Budapest, Hungary. Ranked 20th in the short program, the pair did not advance to the free skate.

Partnership with Lech In 2014, Maestu teamed up with Poland's Marcelina Lech to compete for Spain. They made their international debut in February 2015, at the Bavarian Open.

Lech/Maestu placed 13th in the short program, 15th in the free skate, and 15th overall at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia. They were coached by Dorota Siudek and Mariusz Siudek in Toruń, Poland.

Partnership with Barquero

2016–2017 season Maestu and Laura Barquero announced their partnership on 4 January 2017. They decided to train in Bergamo, Italy, coached by Barbara Luoni and Franca Bianconi. During their first season together, the pair was ineligible for international competitions due to the ISU's age requirements – Barquero was too young for senior events and Maestu too old for juniors.

2017–2018 season Making their international debut, Barquero/Maestu placed 7th at the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy in mid-September. At the end of the month, they placed 13th at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, the final qualifying opportunity for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Although their placement was not sufficient to qualify, Spain became the third alternate for a spot in the Olympic pairs' event.

In January, Barquero/Maestu placed eleventh at the 2018 European Championships in Moscow, Russia. The following month, they won gold at the Toruń Cup in Toruń, Poland, and at the International Challenge Cup in The Hague, Netherlands. They concluded the season at the 2018 World Championships, in twentieth place.

2018–2019 season Barquero/Maestu began the season with two Challenger assignments, finishing fifth at the 2018 CS Lombardia Trophy and eighth at the 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy. Making their Grand Prix debut with two assignments, they were seventh at the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki and sixth at 2018 NHK Trophy. At the 2019 European Championships they were seventh, after taking their second consecutive national title. Their final event together was the 2019 World Championships, where they placed fifteenth.

On 31 May 2019 it was announced that Maestu had suffered an injury that would involve a prolonged recovery, and in consequence of this the team had split.

Programs

Pair skating with Laura Barquero Season Short program Free skating 2017–2018 Unchained Melody Romeo and Juliet Come Gentle Night The Cheek Of The Night A Thousand Times Good Night

Pair skating with Marcelina Lech Season Short program Free skating 2015–2016 Life Is Beautiful Singin' in the Rain

Pair skating with Veronica Grigorieva Season Short program Free skating 2013–2014 Heart of Courage The Artist

Pair skating with Alexandra Rodríguez Long Season Short program Free skating 2011–2012 Tango Flamenco The Phantom of the Opera

Single skating Season Short program Free skating 2008–2009 The Mexican Gettysburg

Competitive highlights

Pair skating with Laura Barquero International Event 2017–18 2018–19 World Championships 20th 15th European Championships 11th 7th Finland 7th NHK Trophy 6th Finlandia Trophy 8th Lombardia Trophy 7th 5th Nebelhorn Trophy 13th Warsaw Cup 7th Bavarian Open 1st Challenge Cup 1st Cup of Nice 6th Ice Star 2nd Toruń Cup 1st National Spanish Championships 1st 1st

Pair skating with Marcelina Lech International Event 2014–15 2015–16 European Champ. 15th Golden Spin 11th Warsaw Cup 8th Bavarian Open 6th Challenge Cup 5th Toruń Cup 6th National Spanish Champ. 1st 1st

Pair skating with Veronica Grigorieva International Event 2012–13 2013–14 European Champ. 20th Golden Spin 5th Lombardia Trophy 9th Nebelhorn Trophy 18th Toruń Cup 2nd Warsaw Cup 6th National Spanish Champ. 1st 1st

Pair skating with Alexandra Rodríguez Long International Event 2010–11 2011–12 World Junior Champ. 21st Austria 17th Estonia 11th National Spanish Champ. 1st J 1st J

Single skating International Event 08–09 09–10 10–11 Spain 28th Cup of Nice 6th J National Spanish Champ. 6th J 3rd J 4th

Detailed results

Pair skating with Laura Barquero 2018–19 season Date Event SP FS Total 18–24 March 2019 2019 World Figure Skating Championships 14 55.58 15 106.69 15 162.27 5–10 February 2019 2019 Bavarian Open 1 61.29 2 108.70 1 169.99 21–27 January 2019 2019 European Figure Skating Championships 9 53.89 7 106.27 7 160.16 14–16 December 2018 2018 Spanish Championships 1 59.94 1 100.15 1 160.09 9–11 November 2018 2018 NHK Trophy 6 55.37 6 104.22 6 159.59 2–5 November 2018 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki 7 50.91 8 98.63 7 149.54 12–16 September 2018 2018 CS Lombardia Trophy 6 45.94 4 99.13 5 145.07 2017–18 season Date Event SD FD Total 19–25 March 2018 2018 World Figure Skating Championships 20 58.36 WD 20 58.36 22–25 February 2018 2018 Challenge Cup 1 57.66 1 101.50 1 159.16 30 January - 4 February 2018 2018 CS Toruń Cup 2 50.85 1 97.53 1 148.38 15–21 January 2018 2018 European Championships 11 51.46 11 100.62 11 152.08 15–17 December 2017 2017 Spanish Championships 1 46.81 1 97.13 1 143.94 16–19 November 2017 2017 CS Warsaw Cup 6 49.96 7 93.30 7 143.26 27–30 September 2017 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy 13 49.78 13 95.32 13 145.10 14–17 September 2017 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy 7 49.44 7 90.80 7 140.24

References

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