The European Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). They are figure skating's oldest competition. The first European Championships were held in 1891 in Hamburg, Germany, and featured only one segment – compulsory figures – with seven competitors. They have only been interrupted five times since 1891. Women were allowed to compete for the first time in 1930, which was also when pair skating was added to the competition. Ice dance was added in 1954. Only eligible skaters from ISU member countries in Europe are allowed to compete, while skaters from countries outside of Europe instead compete at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.
Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Ulrich Salchow of Sweden holds the record for winning the most European Championship titles in men's singles (with nine), while Irina Slutskaya of Russia holds the record in women's singles (with seven). Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev of the Soviet Union hold the record in pair skating (with seven), although Rodnina won an additional four titles with a previous partner. Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov of the Soviet Union hold the record in ice dance (with six), while Guillaume Cizeron of France has also won six titles in ice dance, but not with the same partner.
History Although they have not been held continuously, the European Championships are the oldest championship competition in figure skating. The first European Championships were held in 1891 in Hamburg, Germany, and featured only one segment: compulsory figures. The event was sponsored by the skating federations of Austria and Germany after they had combined to become one federation. All of the medalists were from Germany: Oskar Uhlig won the first gold medal, A. Schmitson finished in second place, and Franz Zilly was third.
The 1893 European Championships were the first to be held under the jurisdiction of the International Skating Union (ISU), which had formed in the summer of 1892. The championships were sponsored by the Berlin Skating Club and organized by the German/Austrian federation. Figure skating historian James Hines called the 1893 European Championships "clearly a success from a skating standpoint", but it also marked figure skating's "first major controversy", due to "different interpretations of the scoring rules, which could result in a tie depending upon one's interpretation of them". The Berlin Skating Club had declared Henning Grenander the winner, but the ISU declared Eduard Engelmann Jr. of Austria the winner. According to Hines, the discrepancy in scoring was due to the interpretation of the scoring rules, resulting in a possible tie.Hines (2011), p. 63 The problem was never resolved, but in 1895, the ISU declared the 1893 results invalid and rules were established that made sure that discrepancies due to differences in scoring interpretations could not occur again. ISU historian Benjamin T. Wright said that the controversy "nearly led to the demise" of the newly formed ISU.
The next two European Championships, 1894 and 1895, "experienced a marked decrease in participation, perhaps a result of the scoring debacle". There were no European Championships for two years, which Hines speculated was due to the small number of contestants in 1894 and 1895, although the competition returned in 1898. Hines also reported that the European Championships were cancelled in 1902 and 1903 "for lack of ice". By the beginning of World War I, twenty European Championships had been held. There were three more interruptions of the European Championships: between 1915 and 1922 due to World War I, between 1940 and 1946 due to World War II, and in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only men competed at the European Championships until 1930, when women's singles and pair skating were added. Members of all ISU nations, not just those from Europe, were allowed to compete at the Europeans Championships until 1948. After Barbara Ann Scott of Canada and Dick Button of the United States won the 1948 European Championships, while Eva Pawlik of Austria and Hans Gerschwiler of Switzerland were awarded the silver medals, the competition was restricted to European skaters. Ice dance was added in 1954. Competitions were held in outdoor rinks until 1967, when the ISU ruled that both the European and World Championships had to be held in covered ice rinks.
The 2027 European Championships are scheduled to be held from 25 to 31 January in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Qualifying Only competitors who are "members of a European ISU Member" are eligible to compete in the European Championships. Each ISU member country can submit at least one competitor per discipline, with a maximum of three competitors per discipline if they have earned the minimum total element scores, which is determined and published each season by the ISU, during the current or immediately previous season.
Age restrictions have changed throughout the history of the European Championships. Until the 2023–24 figure skating season, skaters had to be at least 15 years old before 1 July of the previous year. At the ISU Congress held in June 2022, members of the ISU Council accepted a proposal to gradually increase the minimum age limit for senior competition to 17 beginning with the 2024–25 season. To avoid forcing skaters who had already competed in the senior category to return to juniors, the age limit remained unchanged during the 2022–23 season, before increasing to 16 during the 2023–24 season, and then to 17 during the 2024–25 season.
Medalists
Men's singles +Men's event medalists Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1891 Hamburg Oskar Uhlig Anon Schmitson Franz Zilly 1892 Vienna Eduard Engelmann Tibor von Földváry Georg Zachariades 1893 Berlin Henning Grenander 1894 Vienna Gustav Hügel Tibor von Földváry 1895 Budapest Tibor von Földváry Gilbert Fuchs Competition discontinued in favour of the World Championships 1898 Trondheim Ulrich Salchow Johan Lefstad Oscar Holthe 1899 Davos Gustav Hügel Ernst Fellner 1900 Berlin Oscar Holthe 1901 Vienna Gustav Hügel Gilbert Fuchs Ulrich Salchow Amsterdam Competitions cancelled due to lack of ice 1904 Davos Ulrich Salchow Max Bohatsch Nikolai Panin Kolomenkin 1905 Bonn Max Bohatsch Heinrich Burger Karl Zenger 1906 Davos Ulrich Salchow Ernst Herz Per Thorén 1907 Berlin Gilbert Fuchs Ernst Herz 1908 Warsaw Ernst Herz Nikolai Panin Kolomenkin Henryk Krukowicz-Przedrzymirski 1909 Budapest Ulrich Salchow Gilbert Fuchs Per Thorén 1910 Berlin Werner Rittberger 1911 St. Petersburg Per Thorén Karl Ollo Werner Rittberger 1912 Stockholm Gösta Sandahl Ivan Malinin Martin Stixrud 1913 Kristiania Ulrich Salchow Andor Szende Willy Böckl 1914 Vienna Fritz Kachler Andreas Krogh No competitions due to World War I 1922 Davos Willy Böckl Fritz Kachler Ernst Oppacher 1923 Kristiania Martin Stixrud Gunnar Jakobsson 1924 Davos Fritz Kachler Ludwig Wrede Werner Rittberger 1925 Triberg Willy Böckl Werner Rittberger Otto Preißecker 1926 Davos Otto Preißecker Georges Gautschi 1927 Vienna Hugo Distler Karl Schäfer 1928 Troppau Karl Schäfer Otto Preißecker 1929 Davos Karl Schäfer Georges Gautschi Ludwig Wrede 1930 Berlin Otto Gold Marcus Nikkanen 1931 Vienna Ernst Baier Hugo Distler 1932 Paris Erich Erdös 1933 London 1934 Seefeld in Tirol Dénes Pataky Elemér Terták 1935 St. Moritz Karl Schäfer Felix Kaspar Ernst Baier 1936 Berlin Graham Sharp Ernst Baier 1937 Prague Felix Kaspar Elemér Terták 1938 St. Moritz Herbert Alward 1939 Davos Graham Sharp Freddie Tomlins Horst Faber No competitions due to World War II 1947 Davos Hans Gerschwiler Vladislav Čáp Fernand Leemans 1948 Prague Dick Button Hans Gerschwiler Edi Rada 1949 Milan Edi Rada Ede Király Hellmut Seibt 1950 Oslo Ede Király Hellmut Seibt Carlo Fassi 1951 Zürich Hellmut Seibt Horst Faber 1952 Vienna Carlo Fassi Michael Carrington 1953 Dortmund Carlo Fassi Alain Giletti Freimut Stein 1954 Bolzano Karol Divín 1955 Budapest Alain Giletti Michael Booker 1956 Paris 1957 Vienna Karol Divín Michael Booker 1958 Bratislava Karol Divín Alain Giletti Alain Calmat 1959 Davos Norbert Felsinger 1960 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Alain Giletti Norbert Felsinger Manfred Schnelldorfer 1961 West Berlin Alain Calmat 1962 Geneva Alain Calmat Karol Divín 1963 Budapest Manfred Schnelldorfer Emmerich Danzer 1964 Grenoble Karol Divín 1965 Moscow Emmerich Danzer Alain Calmat Peter Jonas 1966 Bratislava Wolfgang Schwarz Ondrej Nepela 1967 Ljubljana 1968 Västerås 1969 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Ondrej Nepela Patrick Péra Sergei Chetverukhin 1970 Leningrad Günter Zöller 1971 Zürich Sergei Chetverukhin Haig Oundjian 1972 Gothenburg Patrick Péra 1973 Cologne Jan Hoffmann 1974 Zagreb Jan Hoffmann Sergei Volkov John Curry 1975 Copenhagen Vladimir Kovalyov John Curry Yuri Ovchinnikov 1976 Geneva John Curry Vladimir Kovalyov Jan Hoffmann 1977 Helsinki Jan Hoffmann Robin Cousins 1978 Strasbourg 1979 Zagreb 1980 Gothenburg Robin Cousins Jan Hoffmann Vladimir Kovalyov 1981 Innsbruck Igor Bobrin Jean-Christophe Simond Norbert Schramm 1982 Lyon Norbert Schramm Igor Bobrin 1983 Dortmund Jozef Sabovčík Alexandre Fadeev 1984 Budapest Alexandre Fadeev Rudi Cerne Norbert Schramm 1985 Gothenburg Jozef Sabovčík Vladimir Kotin Grzegorz Filipowski 1986 Copenhagen Alexandre Fadeev 1987 Sarajevo Alexandre Fadeev Viktor Petrenko 1988 Prague 1989 Birmingham Grzegorz Filipowski Petr Barna 1990 Leningrad Viktor Petrenko Petr Barna Vyacheslav Zahorodnyuk 1991 Sofia 1992 Lausanne Petr Barna Viktor Petrenko Alexei Urmanov 1993 Helsinki Dmytro Dmytrenko Philippe Candeloro Éric Millot 1994 Copenhagen Viktor Petrenko Vyacheslav Zahorodnyuk Alexei Urmanov 1995 Dortmund Ilia Kulik Alexei Urmanov Vyacheslav Zahorodnyuk 1996 Sofia Vyacheslav Zahorodnyuk Igor Pashkevich Ilia Kulik 1997 Paris Alexei Urmanov Philippe Candeloro Vyacheslav Zahorodnyuk 1998 Milan Alexei Yagudin Evgeni Plushenko Alexander Abt 1999 Prague Alexei Urmanov 2000 Vienna Evgeni Plushenko Alexei Yagudin Dmytro Dmytrenko 2001 Bratislava Stanick Jeannette 2002 Lausanne Alexei Yagudin Alexander Abt Brian Joubert 2003 Malmö Evgeni Plushenko Brian Joubert Stanick Jeannette 2004 Budapest Brian Joubert Evgeni Plushenko Ilia Klimkin 2005 Turin Evgeni Plushenko Brian Joubert Stefan Lindemann 2006 Lyon Stéphane Lambiel Brian Joubert 2007 Warsaw Brian Joubert Tomáš Verner Kevin van der Perren 2008 Zagreb Tomáš Verner Stéphane Lambiel Brian Joubert 2009 Helsinki Brian Joubert Samuel Contesti Kevin van der Perren 2010 Tallinn Evgeni Plushenko Stéphane Lambiel Brian Joubert 2011 Bern Florent Amodio Brian Joubert Tomáš Verner 2012 Sheffield Evgeni Plushenko Artur Gachinski Florent Amodio 2013 Zagreb Javier Fernández Florent Amodio Michal Březina 2014 Budapest Sergei Voronov Konstantin Menshov 2015 Stockholm Maxim Kovtun Sergei Voronov 2016 Bratislava Alexei Bychenko Maxim Kovtun 2017 Ostrava Maxim Kovtun Mikhail Kolyada 2018 Moscow Dmitri Aliev 2019 Minsk Alexander Samarin Matteo Rizzo 2020 Graz Dmitri Aliev Artur Danielian Morisi Kvitelashvili 2021 Zagreb Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2022 Tallinn Mark Kondratiuk Daniel Grassl Deniss Vasiļjevs 2023 Espoo Adam Siao Him Fa Matteo Rizzo Lukas Britschgi 2024 Kaunas Aleksandr Selevko Matteo Rizzo 2025 Tallinn Lukas Britschgi Nikolaj Memola Adam Siao Him Fa 2026 Sheffield Nika Egadze Matteo Rizzo Georgii Reshtenko
Women's singles On 29 January 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport disqualified Kamila Valieva of Russia for four years retroactive to 25 December 2021 for an anti-doping violation. Thus, her scores from the 2022 European Championships were annulled. As a result, Anna Shcherbakova of Russia was elevated to gold medalist, Alexandra Trusova of Russia to silver, and Loena Hendrickx of Belgium to bronze, breaking what had otherwise been an all-Russian sweep of the women's podium that year.