Noah Lafornara
Full name	Noah Elias Lafornara
Born	(2004-12-02)2 December 2004 (age 20) Buffalo, New York, United States
Hometown	Milan, Italy
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Italy (since 2023)  United States (2021–23)
Discipline	Ice dance
Partner	Noemi Tali (since 2023) Romy Malcolm (2021–23)
Coach	Valter Rizzo Brunhilde Bianchi Denis Petukhov Melissa Gregory
Skating club	Icelab Bergamo
Began skating	2008
Medal record
World Junior Championships 2025 Debrecen Ice dance Junior Grand Prix Final 2024–25 Grenoble Ice dance

Noah Elias Lafornara (born 2 December 2004) is an Americanice dancer who currently competes for Italy. With his current skating partner,Noemi Tali, he is the2025 World Junior champion, the2024–25 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, a two-timeISU Junior Grand Prix gold medalist, and a two-timeItalian junior national champion (2024–25).

Lafornara was born on 2 December 2004 inBuffalo,New York to parents Jeannie and Tony. He has two brothers, Anthony and Nicholas.^[1]

Lafornara began learning how to skate in 2008. He was introduced to the sport by his mother, a figure skating coach, and initially began as a freestyle skater.^[2] He began testing pattern dances at first as a way to improve his skills as asingles skater, but eventually chose to transition to ice dance full time. He had a short-lived early dance partnership with Gabriela Hernandez, with whom he placed 10th in the novice category at the 2019 U.S. Ice Dance Final.

Lafornara teamed up with Canadian skater Romy Malcolm in February 2020 after their respective coaches met at the 2020Bavarian Open and suggested the two try out together.^[2] However, their training was quickly put on hold due toCOVID-19-related lockdown policies, and the pair trained separately from March to September of that year. Due to insufficient practice time, the team and their coaches made the decision to sit out the2020–21 competitive season.

Malcolm/Lafornara made their competitive debut in 2021 in the U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series, the qualifying events to theU.S. Figure Skating Championships. They earned a slot in the junior ice dance category at the2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where they finished 6th. The team received aJunior Grand Prix assignment early the following season, the2022 JGP Poland where they placed 9th. The event would be their last competition together as Malcolm and Lafornara chose to dissolve their partnership not long after.

After several months without a skating partner, Lafornara was offered a tryout with Italian skaterNoemi Tali, who'd ended her partnership with Stefano Frasca not long after the2023 Junior World Championships. The two agreed to team up for Italy in March 2023 after just two days of skating together, and made the decision to split their training between Tali's coaches, Valter Rizzo andBrunhilde Bianchi inMilan during the competitive season, and Lafornara's coaches,Denis Petukhov andMelissa Gregory inConnecticut during the off-season.^[3]

Tali/Lafornara made their international junior debut in October 2023 at the2023 JGP Armenia. There they won the bronze medal, finishing behind Israeli skatersTkachenko/Kiliakov and U.S. sibling teamPeal/Peal.^[4] This was the first JGP medal for an Italian dance team since the2009–10 circuit, whenAlessandrini/Vaturi won silver at the2009 JGP Germany.^[5] While the team did not receive a second JGP assignment, their success continued with podium placements at three international junior B events over the course of October and November. At the2024 Italian Figure Skating Championships in December, Tali/Lafornara took the junior dance title handily overVentura/Frasca andPetracchi/Basile.

Due to their success at the national championships, Tali/Lafornara were assigned to compete at the2024 World Junior Championships inTaipei. There the team placed fourth in the rhythm dance with a new personal best score of 62.58. They encountered problems in the free dance, taking a one-point deduction for an extended lift and both falling on their ending pose, and fell to seventh overall after coming ninth in the segment. They expressed disappointment afterward, though Lafornara added that it "was a good event for us, and we had a good season."^[6]

Due to ISU revision of the age criteria for junior skaters, Tali and Lafornara were able to participate in another junior season.^[6] They began their second season together on theJunior Grand Prix with a win at the2024 JGP Latvia. At their second JGP assignment, the2024 JGP Thailand, Tali and Lafornara again took the title. With their two wins in hand, Tali/Lafornara became the first ice dance team to qualify to the2024–25 JGP Final. They subsequently competed on the junior level at the2024 Mezzaluna Cup and the2024 Ice Challenge, winning gold at both events.^[7]

In December, the duo entered the Junior Grand Prix Final as the top qualifiers and title favourites. They won the rhythm dance with a margin of more than three points over second-place AmericansWolfkostin/Tsarevski.^[8] Winning the free dance as well, they took the gold medal, becoming the first Italian dance team to win the Final sinceFederica Faiella andLuciano Milo had done so27 years earlier in the first edition. Tali said they were "proud of what we did and hope to do even better in the future."^[9] Two weeks later they claimed their second national gold at the2025 Italian Junior Championships.^[7]

Tali/Lafornara entered the2025 World Junior Championships inDebrecen as the title favourites, and won the rhythm dance with a 70.92 score.^[10] In the free dance they set another new personal best (106.58) and took the gold medal by a margin of 9.99 points over Wolfkostin/Tsarevski. They were the first Italian dance team to win the Junior World title. Lafornara said that "I honestly don't know how to put it into words what it feels like."^[11] The team announced that they intended to move up to the senior ranks the following season, in the hopes of participating in the2026 Winter Olympics to be held in Italy.^[12]

• Noemi Maria Tali & Noah Lafornara at theInternational Skating Union
• Noemi Tali & Noah Lafornara at SkatingScores

• 2004 births
• Living people
• American male ice dancers
• Italian male ice dancers
• Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York
• 21st-century Italian sportsmen

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata