Sophia Schaller (born 17 September 2000) is an Austrian retired figure skater who currently competes in the pairs discipline with Livio Mayr. Together, they are three-time Austrian national champions (2023–25).
As a singles skater, she is the 2018 Sarajevo Open champion, the 2019 Santa Claus Cup bronze medalist, the 2017 Austrian junior national silver medalist, and a six-time Austrian national medalist.
Personal life Schaller was born on 17 September 2000 in Salzburg, Austria. Her younger sister, Flora Marie Schaller, is also a competitive figure skater, competing in the women's singles event.
Career Early career
Schaller began figure skating in 2007. Joining the Salzburg Skating Club, she was first coached by Iva Žvachtová before switching to Julia Kiefer and Sandra Riegler prior to the 2016–17 figure skating season. On the junior level, she would win silver at the 2016–17 Austrian Championships and the 2017–18 Austrian Championships in the women's singles discipline.
In her first year competing on the national senior level, Schaller would win bronze at the 2018–19 Austrian Championships. The following year, Violette Ivanoff would join Schaller's coaching team and after winning silver at the 2019–20 Austrian Championships, Schaller was selected to represent Austria at the 2020 European Championships and the 2020 World Championships. She would place twenty-sixth and thirty-seventh at these events, respectively.
Continuing on as a singles skater, Schaller would win silver at the 2020–21 Austrian Championships and bronze at the 2021–22 Austrian Championships.
Competing with Mayr in pairs 2022–23 season: Debut of Schaller/Mayr In May 2022, Schaller decided to try pair skating with longtime Salzburg Skating Club-mate, Livio Mayr, after having a tryout session in Paris. Mayr was initially interested in teaming up with Schaller in 2018 when he was first beginning his pairs career, but at the time, Schaller had chosen to prioritize her future in singles. The skaters would attribute their ease adapting to skating together to their long-standing relationship, having known one another since childhood and trained at the same rink for many years. Schaller/Mayr chose to train under Schaller's longtime coaches, Violette Ivanoff and Julia Kiefer, with the addition of former Austrian champion pair skater, Severin Kiefer. It was also announced that the duo would also make trips to Oakville, Ontario, Canada to work with Canadian pair coaches, Bruno Marcotte and Brian Shales.
The pair started the season by finishing fourth at the 2022 Tayside Trophy, fourth at the 2022 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur, and fourth at the 2022 Ice Challenge. They would then compete on the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series, finishing eleventh at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.
In December, Schaller/Mayr won their first national title at the 2022–23 Austrian Championships. They were then selected to compete at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, where they finished in twelfth place. The pair would then conclude their season by finishing fifth at the 2023 Bavarian Open and ninth at the 2023 International Challenge Cup.
2023–24 season Schaller/Mayr started the season with an eighth-place finish at the 2023 John Nicks Pairs Challenge. Going on to compete on the 2023–24 ISU Challenger Series, the pair would place seventh at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International. They would subsequently win a bronze medal at the 2023 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur and place ninth at the 2023 Warsaw Cup.
In December, Schaller/Mayr would win gold at the 2023–24 Austrian Championships for a second consecutive time.
Going on to compete at the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, the pair would finish in eighteenth place. They would then go on to place fifth at the 2024 International Challenge Cup.
Making their World Championship debut as a team at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the pair would finish twenty-second.
2024–25 season Schaller/Mayr began the season by competing on the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series, finishing fifteenth at the 2024 CS John Nicks International Pairs Competition, ninth at the 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, and fifth at the 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb. In mid-December, they would win their third consecutive national title at the 2025 Austrian Championships.
The pair went on to compete at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where they finished in sixteenth place. They then closed the season with a fifth-place finish at the 2025 International Challenge Cup.
2025–26 season: Retirement Schaller/Mayr began the season by competing at the John Nicks Pairs Challenger, placing 9th. Continuing, the pair competed at the Skate to Milano Olympic qualifying event, aiming to secure an Olympic quota for Austria in pairs for the upcoming Olympic Games. The pair had to place in the top three to secure the quota; failing to do so by placing 9th.
In November, the pair competed at Ice Challenge, as well as Cup of Innsbruck placing 5th and 4th respectively. Subsequently, placing 9th and garnering new season best results at Golden Spin.
Schaller/Mayr won the silver medal at the 2026 Austrian Nationals.
The pair closed their career by winning silver at the Bavarian Open. They announced their retirement on 31 July 2026.
Programs With Mayr Season Short program Free skating 2025–2026 (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman Respect Cosmic Love 2024–2025 Pompeii 2023–2024 Helium Cheer Me Up Voices Carry 2022–2023 Stardust
Women's singles Season Short program Free skating 2022–2023 Voilà Breath of Life A Touch of Joy 2021–2022 Paint It Black 2020–2021 Jazz Man 2019–2020 Adiós Nonino 2018–2019 Paint It Black 2017–2018 Monsieur Chocolat 2016–2017 Kung Fu Panda
Competitive highlights
Pair skating with Livio Mayr
Single skating
Detailed results Pair skating with Livio Mayr
Single skating Senior level 2022–2023 season Date Event SP FS Total 14–18 December 2022 2023 Austrian Championships 1 58.98 3 94.29 2 150.83 28 November – 4 December 2022 2022 Santa Claus Cup 13 43.17 WD WD 19–23 October 2022 2022 International Cup of Nice 2 52.99 7 96.40 5 149.39 2021–2022 season Date Event SP FS Total 24–27 February 2022 2022 Challenge Cup 5 53.59 1 104.47 4 158.06 11–13 February 2022 2022 Dragon Trophy 15 48.46 7 103.55 8 152.01 5–6 February 2022 2022 Merano Ice Trophy 3 51.96 2 100.09 3 152.05 18–23 January 2022 2022 Bavarian Open 5 55.52 5 104.73 5 160.25 13–14 January 2022 2022 Icelab International 2 50.86 3 83.90 2 134.76 9–11 December 2021 2022 Austrian Championships 3 58.82 3 107.34 3 166.16 18–21 November 2021 2021 Skate Celje 3 53.58 1 113.85 1 167.43 11–14 November 2021 2021 CS Cup of Austria 15 48.46 7 103.55 8 152.01 4–7 November 2021 2021 NRW Trophy 6 50.56 3 98.76 4 149.32 20–24 October 2021 2021 Cup of Nice 12 40.04 5 99.99 7 140.04 22–25 September 2021 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy 18 48.92 20 89.83 19 138.75 10–12 September 2021 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy 9 52.45 6 106.63 8 159.08 2020–2021 season Date Event SP FS Total 12–14 February 2021 2021 Celje Open 7 49.33 5 95.47 6 144.80 10-12 December 2020 2020 Austrian Championships 2 47.48 2 92.40 2 139.88 2019–2020 season Date Event SP FS Total 20-23 February 2020 2020 Challenge Cup 21 39.71 16 91.09 18 130.80 3-9 February 2020 2020 Bavarian Open 9 49.83 5 101.00 7 150.83 30 January - 2 February 2020 2020 Dragon Trophy 8 50.10 5 99.51 5 149.61 8-12 January 2020 2020 EduSport Trophy 5 47.98 5 89.94 5 137.92 12-14 December 2019 2020 Austrian Championships 1 56.72 2 108.52 2 165.24 2-8 December 2019 2019 Santa Claus Cup 4 47.24 3 94.61 3 141.85 22-24 November 2019 2019 Eiscup Innsbruck 2 52.44 2 97.48 2 149.92 8-10 November 2019 2019 Prague Ice Cup 7 46.48 2 95.54 5 142.02 24-27 October 2019 2019 Golden Bear 14 45.10 7 95.50 11 140.60 17-20 October 2019 2019 Halloween Cup 13 44.10 14 77.58 15 121.68 19-21 September 2019 2019 Ondrej Nepela 17 43.11 14 81.54 15 124.65 13-15 September 2019 2019 Lombardia Trophy 15 38.76 15 81.32 15 120.08 2018–2019 season Date Event SP FS Total 18-24 March 2019 2019 World Championships 37 48.72 - 37 48.72 21-24 February 2019 2019 Challenge Cup 14 47.23 7 93.02 10 140.25 7-10 February 2019 2019 Dragon Trophy 2 52.47 5 90.39 5 142.86 15-21 January 2019 2019 European Championships 26 44.20 - 26 44.20 8-13 January 2019 2019 Mentor Toruń Cup 16 39.75 10 80.82 14 120.57 13-16 December 2018 2019 Austrian Championships 2 46.35 1 87.33 2 133.68 29 November - 2 December 2018 2018 Santa Claus Cup 2 51.30 5 84.15 4 135.45 11-18 November 2018 2018 Alpen Trophy 20 44.60 16 85.45 17 130.05 25-28 October 2018 2018 Golden Bear 15 43.43 7 92.94 10 136.37 5-7 October 2018 2018 Finlandia Trophy 17 45.48 18 81.53 18 127.01 2017–2018 season Date Event SP FS Total 16-18 March 2018 2018 Coupe du Printemps 11 40.15 10 74.75 10 114.90 1-4 March 2018 2018 Sarajevo Open 1 50.03 2 90.36 1 140.39 13-16 December 2017 2018 Austrian Championships 2 49.69 3 80.72 3 130.41 26-26 October 2017 2017 Golden Bear 7 41.65 7 70.04 6 111.69 2016–2017 season Date Event SP FS Total 9-12 February 2017 2017 Dragon Trophy 7 38.01 7 63.75 7 101.76
Junior results
2018–2019 season Date Event SP FS Total 5-8 September 2018 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Lithuania 12 45.00 15 79.84 15 124.84 22-25 August 2018 2018 JGP SLovakia 19 41.04 17 79.91 18 120.95 2017–2018 season Date Event SP FS Total 13-16 December 2017 2018 Austrian Junior Championships 1 51.19 2 89.48 2 140.67 4-10 December 2017 2017 Santa Claus Cup 3 47.10 7 78.32 6 125.32 20-22 November 2017 2017 Tallinn Trophy 6 45.19 8 84.92 8 130.11 8-12 November 2017 2017 Ice Challenge (Leo Scheu) 4 44.64 5 74.47 5 119.11 11-14 October 2017 2017 JGP Italy 21 36.34 22 66.21 22 102.55 30 August - 2 September 2017 20017 JGP Austria 13 44.61 20 67.33 19 111.94 2016–2017 season Date Event SP FS Total 28 February - 5 March 2017 2017 Cup of Tyrol 10 40.86 8 72.79 8 113.65 14-17 December 2016 2017 Austrian Junior Championships 1 49.82 2 81.54 2 131.36 6-11 December 2016 2016 Santa Claus Cup 5 43.26 2 88.70 2 131.96 25-27 November 2016 2016 Eiscup Innsbruck 1 46.09 1 80.74 1 126.83 27-30 October 2016 2016 Golden Bear 13 40.19 10 72.16 12 112.35 19-23 October 2016 2016 Cup of Nice 11 38.84 8 75.97 9 114.81 5-8 October 2016 2016 JGP Germany 17 43.98 22 74.59 19 118.57 14-17 September 2016 2016 JGP Russia 11 40.23 9 79.61 10 119.84
References
External links