Ondřej Hotárek (born 25 January 1984) is a Czech-Italian pair skater and coach who began competing for Italy in 2006. He competed with Valentina Marchei until the end of their partnership in 2018. With former partner Stefania Berton, he is the 2013 European bronze medalist, the 2013 Skate Canada International champion, and a three-time Italian national champion. Berton/Hotárek are the first Italian pair skaters to win European and Grand Prix medals.
Ondřej Hotárek was born 25 January 1984 in Brno, Czechoslovakia.[1][2] He moved from the Czech Republic to Italy in 2005 and became an Italian citizen in September 2010.[3] In January 2012, he became a member of the sports group of the Italian police.[3][4]
Hotárek's engagement to his girlfriend, Italian ice dancer Anna Cappellini, was announced in August 2014.[5] The couple married on June 20, 2015, in Breccia, Italy.[6] Figure skater Michal Březina was the best man at their wedding.[7]
On July 2, 2021, Hotárek and Cappellini's first child was born.[8]
Early career
Hotárek began learning to skate in 1989.[1] He competed in men's singles for the Czech Republic. He became the 2003 and 2004 Czech national bronze medalist and appeared in international events.[9]
Hotárek found the jump elements difficult, and believed his skill set would be better suited to pair skating.[10] His first partner was Veronika Havlíčková. In January 2006, he teamed up with Laura Magitteri to compete for Italy.[11] They were the 2007 and 2008 Italian national champions. Their partnership ended in January 2009.[12]
Hotárek teamed up with Stefania Berton in early 2009.[13] They won the silver medal at 2010 Italian Nationals and were selected to compete at the World Championships. They placed 11th in their debut at the event.
During the 2010–11 season, Berton/Hotárek won silver at the Nebelhorn Trophy and also debuted on the Grand Prix circuit, finishing sixth at Cup of Russia. They won their first Italian national title and were sent to the 2011 European Championships. They placed fourth in the short program and fifth in the free program, setting personal bests in both, and finished fifth overall with their best combined total to date, 164.83 points.
Berton/Hotárek began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 Ondrej Nepela Memorial, where they won the silver medal. In the Grand Prix season, they placed 4th at 2011 NHK Trophy and then won bronze at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, making them the first Italian pair to medal on the Grand Prix circuit.[14] At the 2012 European Championships, they placed 4th, historically the highest Italian result in pairs.[10]
On 2 July 2014, La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote that Hotárek and Valentina Marchei, a single skater, were considering a partnership.[19]Bruno Marcotte confirmed on 26 July 2014 that the two were training together.[21] They are coached by Marcotte in Montreal and by Franca Bianconi in Milan.[21]
Debuting on the Grand Prix series, Marchei/Hotárek competed in the short program at 2015 Skate Canada International but withdrew on the day of the free skate due to Hotárek sustaining a concussion while practicing a triple twist.[23][1] They went on to compete at the 2015 Rostelecom Cup, finishing sixth.
Going on to compete at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, Marchei/Hotárek finished fifth. They went on to compete at the 2015 Hellmut Seibt Memorial, where they won the gold medal.
Selected to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in both the Team and Pair events, Marchei/Hotárek placed second in the free program segment of the team event, helping Team Italy finish in fourth place overall. In the pairs event, Marchei/Hotárek placed seventh in the short program and sixth in the free skate, finishing in sixth place overall.
They ended their partnership in September 2018.[26]
Post-competitive career
Following his retirement from competitive figure skating, Hotárek became a figure skating coach and currently coaches in Bergamo at the S.S.D. S.r.l. Icelab alongside his former coach, Franca Bianconi.
^"Rebecca GHILARDI / Filippo AMBROSINI: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Annika HOCKE / Robert KUNKEL: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Kristen SPOURS". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Milania VAANANEN / Filippo CLERICI: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 November 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Anna VALESI / Manuel PIAZZA". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 November 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Rostelecom Cup 2017 Exhibition (Television production). Match! Arena. 22 October 2017.
