Chafik Besseghier

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Chafik Besseghier
2011 TEB Free 008 Chafik Besseghier.jpg
Besseghier in 2011
Personal information
Country representedFrance
Born (1989-10-11) 11 October 1989 (age 32)
Grenoble, France
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
CoachStanick Jeannette
Former coachAnnick Dumont, Claude Péri-Thévenard, Francoise Bonnard, Veronique Cartau-Treille
ChoreographerAllen Schramm, Laurie May
Former choreographerStanick Jeannette, Pasquale Camerlengo, Anjelika Krylova, Amaury Reot
Skating clubGimp Grenoble
Training locationsGrenoble
Former training locationsParis
Vaujany
Began skating2002
ISU personal best scores
Combined total239.39
2017 World Team Trophy
Short program81.93
2017 World Team Trophy
Free skate157.46
2017 World Team Trophy

Chafik Besseghier (born 11 October 1989) is a French figure skater. He is a two-time International Cup of Nice champion and the 2016 and 2018 French national champion. He has won a total of fourteen senior international medals and finished in the top ten at three ISU Championships (2014 Worlds, 2013 Europeans, 2017 Europeans).

Personal life[]

Chafik Besseghier was born in Grenoble, France.[1] His parents are from Algeria, close to Oran, and he has two siblings.[2][3]

On 14 February 2020, Besseghier married Ukrainian-Turkish ice dancer Alisa Agafonova.[4]

Career[]

Early years[]

Besseghier began skating at a relatively late age, almost 13, in August 2002.[3] Within a year, he had landed all the double jumps, and was landing triples by the end of his second year.[5] Training in Grenoble, he competed mostly domestically before making his ISU Junior Grand Prix debut in 2008.

In the 2009–2010 season, Besseghier won the bronze medal at the Crystal Skate of Romania and 2010 Triglav Trophy.

2010–2011 season[]

In 2010, he was invited to his first senior Grand Prix event, the 2010 Trophée Éric Bompard. After landing his first quadruple-triple jump combination in the short program, he was in fourth place, with the second-highest technical score. He made several mistakes in the free skate and placed fifth overall.[6]

2011–2012 season[]

Prior to the 2011–2012 season, Besseghier spent several months working with Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.[7] He was the silver medalist at the 2011 Coupe de Nice, where he won the free skate.[8] Besseghier again competed at the Trophée Éric Bompard, coming in ninth. Competing with tendinitis in his knee,[9] he won the bronze medal at the 2012 French Championships and placed 12th in his European Championship debut. At the end of the season, he moved from Grenoble to Paris.[10][11]

2012–2013 season[]

Besseghier was awarded a silver medal at the 2013 French Championships and placed ninth at the 2013 European Championships.

2013–2014 season[]

Besseghier injured his ankle in October 2013 at the Master's de Patinage.[12] He withdrew from his two Grand Prix assignments, the 2013 NHK Trophy and 2013 Trophée Éric Bompard.[13] Besseghier placed 12th at the 2014 European Championships in Budapest. After scoring well at the International Challenge Cup, he was selected for his first World Championships.[14] Setting personal best scores in both programs, he finished ninth overall at the event in Saitama, Japan.

2014–2015 season[]

Besseghier was selected to compete at two Grand Prix events, the 2014 Skate America and 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard.[15] He finished 7th and 9th at the two events, respectively. He withdrew from the 2015 Europeans and placed 18th at the 2015 Worlds.

2015–2016 season[]

In late August 2015, Besseghier began visiting Russian coach Elena Buianova in Moscow,[16] although Annick Dumont remained his main coach. He began the 2015–16 season by winning gold at the Lombardia Trophy and International Cup of Nice, before winning the French national title in December.

Besseghier withdrew from the 2016 European Championships after rupturing a ligament in his right ankle.[17][18] He placed 20th at the 2016 World Championships in Boston. He trained under Dumont in Champigny-sur-Marne until the end of the season.[19]

2016–2017 season[]

Besseghier changed coaches ahead of the 2016–2017 season, deciding to rejoin Stanick Jeannette in Grenoble.[1] He placed 9th at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, and 17th at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Due to his world result, France qualified a spot in the men's event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

2017–2018 season[]

Besseghier was hospitalised from 29 September to 2 October due to a pneumothorax involving detachment of the pleura.[20] He withdrew from his Grand Prix assignments.

Programs[]

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2017–2018
[21]
  • Sugarhill Gang - Remix
    by Maxime Rodriguez
  • Down The Road by C2C - Remix
    by Maxime Rodriguez
2016–2017
[1]
2015–2016
[19][22]
  • Reborn - Renaissance
    by Era
  • Les Mille et une Nuit
    by Alf
    choreo. by Laurie May
2014–2015
[23]
  • Heat
  • Mountain Legends
    by Clozee
  • Road Game
    by Kavinsky
  • You and Me
    by Disclosure ft. Eliza Doolittle
2013–2014
[24][2]
  • Heat
  • Mountain Legends
    by Clozee
    choreo. by Allen Schramm, Stanick Jeannette
  • Passion
    (from The Last Temptation of Christ)
    by Peter Gabriel
  • Egyptian Disco
    by DJ Disse
  • Reborn
    by Era
  • Passion
    by Peter Gabriel
    choreo. by Allen Schramm, Stanick Jeannette
2012–2013
[11]
  • Freestyler
    by Boom Funk
  • Paris – Texas
  • Nuttin' But Stringz
2011–2012
[10]
  • Piano in Concerto
    by Maksim Mrvica
2010–2011
[25]
  • Hallelujah
    by Grégory Morant

Competitive highlights[]

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International[26]
Event 06–07 07–08 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18-19
Olympics 26th
Worlds 9th 18th 20th 17th
Europeans 12th 9th 12th WD WD 9th 11th
GP NHK Trophy WD 9th
GP Rostelecom 8th
GP Skate America 7th
GP Trophée 5th 9th 7th WD 9th 10th 8th WD WD
GP Skate Canada WD
CS Ondrej Nepela 7th
Challenge Cup 3rd 3rd
Crystal Skate 3rd 1st 1st
Cup of Nice 5th 6th 2nd 9th 1st 1st
Cup of Tyrol 1st 3rd
DS Cup 2nd
FBMA Trophy 1st
Ice Challenge 4th
Lombardia 1st
Mont Blanc 3rd
Nepela Trophy 11th
Nordics 1st
NRW Trophy 4th
Toruń Cup 2nd
Triglav Trophy 3rd 6th
Universiade 5th
International: Junior[26]
JGP Spain 6th
Cup of Nice 6th J 3rd J
Gardena 7th J
National[26]
French Champ. 17th 12th 9th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 3rd 3rd 1st 2nd 1st
Masters 4th J 5th 4th 3rd 3rd WD 1st WD 1st WD
Team events
World Team
Trophy		 6th T
8th P
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew
T = Team result; P = Personal result. Medals awarded for team result only.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Chafik BESSEGHIER: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 30 May 2017.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ a b Berlot, Jean-Christophe (14 April 2014). "'Le chat Chafik' steps out of countrymen's shadows". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  3. ^ a b Repellin, Clément (16 November 2011). "Le gamin patineur des quartiers a imposé son "sport pour fille"". Le Nouvel Observateur (in French). Archived from the original on 6 February 2012.
  4. ^ Besseghier, Chafik (14 February 2020). "I can officially call you my Wife ❤️