 Plazas/Fernandez at the2023 Four Continents Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1995-09-29)September 29, 1995 (age 30) Hialeah, Florida, USA |
| Home town | Miami, Florida, USA |
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  United States |
| Partner | Valentina Plazas (since 2020) Joy Weinberg (2015–17) Cirinia Gillett (2013–14) |
| Coach | Jim Peterson Amanda Evora Lisa Kirby |
| Skating club | Arctic FSC |
| Began skating | 2009 |
Maximiliano Fernandez (born September 29, 1995) is an Americanpair skater. With his current skating partner,Valentina Plazas, he is the2024 U.S. national bronze medalist,2022 CS U.S. Classic bronze medalist and the2023 CS Golden Spin silver medalist.
With his former partner, Joy Weinberg, he is the2016 U.S. junior national champion and finished in the top 10 at the2016 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.
Fernandez was born on September 29, 1995, inHialeah, Florida, to parents Stella, a former ballet dancer, and Alex. He has a sister, Daniella, who also competed in figure skating. Fernandez is of Peruvian descent on his mother's side, and Cuban descent on his father's.[1]
Fernandez is a 2014 graduate ofCoral Reef Senior High School and currently attendsMiami Dade College.[2]
Fernandez's first pairs partner was Cirinia Gillett with whom he won the silver medal at the2014 U.S. Novice Championships with.
In 2015, following his split with Gillett, Fernandez teamed up with Joy Weinberg. They won the2016 U.S. Junior Championships and competed at the2016 World Junior Championships, finishing tenth.
In February 2020, Fernandez teamed up withValentina Plazas.[1]
Plazas/Fernandez debuted together at the 2021 U.S. Championship Series on the junior level, winning the bronze medal. They went on to win the bronze medal at the2021 U.S. Junior Championships.[3]
Plazas/Fernandez began their season by winning the silver medal at both the 2021 USCS Nevada and USCS Massachusetts. Debuting as a senior pair team at the2022 U.S. Championships, Plazas/Fernandez finished sixth.[3]
Plazas/Fernandez began the season at the 2022 John Nicks Pairs Challenge and the2022 CS U.S. Classic, winning bronze at both events. They then went on to place fifth at the2022 CS Finlandia Trophy.[4]
Making their debut on theGrand Prix series, Plazas/Fernandez competed at2022 Skate America, where they finished sixth. Additionally, following they were called up to compete at2022 Skate Canada International following the withdrawal of U.S. pair teamMcBeath/Bartholomay. They placed fifth at the event.[4]
At the2023 U.S. Championships, Plazas/Fernandez placed fifth. Plazas/Fernandez were then selected to compete at the2023 Four Continents Championships inColorado Springs,Colorado, where they finished fifth, scoring a personal best combined total score in the process.[3][5][4]
Beginning the season at the2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Plazas/Fernandez were seventh.[4] On theGrand Prix, they were fourth at the2023 Skate America.[6] They finished fourth as well at the2023 Grand Prix de France.[7] “We worked on our jumps with Tomas Verner and hope to work with him again,” said Fernandez. “The technical is our weak spot.”[8] At the2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, Plazas/Fernandez placed second, earning their secondISU Challenger Series medal.[4]
In advance of the2024 U.S. Championships, Plazas/Fernandez were preemptively named to the American team for the2024 Four Continents Championships, which were to be held inShanghai the weekend after the national championships.[9] At the national championships, they came fourth in both segments and won the bronze medal. Fernandez called it "surreal" and "a very humbling experience" to finally reach the national championship podium.[10] They were ninth at the Four Continents Championships.[11]
Plazas/Fernandez concluded the season by making theirWorld Championship debut at the2024 edition inMontreal. They finished thirteenth.[12]
Although Plazas/Fernandez were scheduled to compete on theGrand Prix circuit at the2024 NHK Trophy and the2024 Cup of China, they announced via their shared Instagram account in early October that they had withdrawn from both events due Fernandez being plagued by an injury. The pair ultimately sat out for the remainder of the season to focus on Fernandez's recovery.[13][14]
| Season | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 13th | ||||
| Four Continents Championships | 5th | 9th | |||
| U.S. Championships | 6th | 5th | 3rd | ||
| GPCup of China | WD | ||||
| GPFrance | 4th | ||||
| GPNHK Trophy | WD | ||||
| GPSkate America | 6th | 4th | 7th | ||
| GPSkate Canada | 5th | ||||
| CSFinlandia Trophy | 5th | ||||
| CSGolden Spin of Zagreb | 2nd | TBD | |||
| CSKinoshita Group Cup | 4th | ||||
| CSNebelhorn Trophy | 7th | ||||
| CSU.S. Classic | 3rd | ||||
| John Nicks Pairs Challenge | 3rd | 3rd | |||
| Tayside Trophy | 4th |
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| U.S. Championships | 3rd |
| International: Junior[23] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Event | 15–16 | 16–17 |
| Junior Worlds | 10th | |
| JGPPoland | 7th | |
| JGPUnited States | 2nd | |
| National[23] | ||
| U.S. Championships | 1st J | 9th |
| Levels: J = Junior | ||
| International: Junior[23] | |
|---|---|
| Event | 14–15 |
| JGPCzech Republic | 6th |
| National[23] | |
| U.S. Championships | 5th J |
| Levels: J = Junior | |
Current personal best scores are highlighted inbold.
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 174.15 | 2024 World Championships |
| Short program | TSS | 61.64 | 2024 World Championships |
| TES | 34.45 | 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy | |
| PCS | 29.22 | 2024 World Championships | |
| Free skating | TSS | 114.44 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| TES | 58.77 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | |
| PCS | 55.94 | 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 5-7, 2025 |  2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup | 4 | 59.64 | 4 | 107.61 | 4 | 167.25 |
| Oct 11–12, 2025 |  2025 Tayside Trophy | 3 | 63.99 | 3 | 115.19 | 4 | 179.18 |
| Nov 14–16, 2025 |  2025 Skate America | 7 | 56.85 | 6 | 106.41 | 7 | 163.26 |
| 2023–24 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| 18–24 March 2024 | 2024 World Championships | 13 61.64 | 14 112.51 | 13 174.15 |
| 30 Jan. – 4 Feb. 2024 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | 9 57.38 | 9 103.78 | 9 161.16 |
| 22–28 January 2024 | 2024 U. S. Championships | 4 63.18 | 4 117.85 | 3 181.03 |
| 6–9 December 2023 | 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 2 58.11 | 2 110.03 | 2 168.14 |
| 3–5 November 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix de France | 4 58.46 | 4 109.74 | 4 168.20 |
| 20–22 October 2023 | 2023 Skate America | 7 49.51 | 4 107.57 | 4 157.08 |
| September 20–23, 2023 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 7 54.93 | 7 114.44 | 7 169.37 |
| 2022–23 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| 7–12 February 2023 | 2023 Four Continents Championships | 5 60.07 | 6 109.02 | 5 169.09 |
| 23–29 January 2023 | 2023 U. S. Championships | 4 63.45 | 6 112.89 | 5 176.34 |
| 4–9 October 2022 | 2022 Skate Canada International | 5 55.70 | 5 108.44 | 5 164.14 |
| 21–23 October 2022 | 2022 Skate America | 8 47.32 | 4 96.23 | 6 143.55 |
| 4–9 October 2022 | 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy | 4 60.40 | 6 101.58 | 5 161.98 |
| 12–16 September 2022 | 2022 CS U.S. Classic | 3 56.20 | 3 110.05 | 3 166.25 |
| 8–9 September 2022 | 2022 John Nicks Pairs Challenge | 4 57.20 | 3 108.48 | 3 165.68 |
| 2021–22 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| 3–9 January 2022 | 2022 U. S. Championships | 7 49.80 | 6 98.57 | 6 148.37 |
| 2020–21 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11–21 January 2021 | 2021 U. S. Championships | 4 47.07 | 3 90.22 | 3 137.29 |