| Nepela Memorial | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | ISU Challenger Series |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Venue | Ondrej Nepela Arena |
| Location | Bratislava |
| Country |  Slovakia |
| Inaugurated | 1993 |
| Previous event | 2024 Nepela Memorial |
| Next event | 2025 Nepela Memorial |
| Organized by | Slovak Figure Skating Association |
TheNepela Memorial (Slovak:Memoriál Nepelu) is an annualfigure skating competition sanctioned by theInternational Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted at theOndrej Nepela Arena inBratislava, Slovakia, by the Slovak Figure Skating Association (Slovak:Slovensky Krasokorčuliarsky Zväz). The competition debuted in 1993 and is named in honor ofOndrej Nepela, a formerSlovak figure skater who competed forCzechoslovakia and won the gold medal at the1972 Winter Olympics. When the ISU launched theISU Challenger Series in 2014, the Nepela Memorial – at that point called theOndrej Nepela Trophy – was one of the inaugural competitions. The Nepela Memorial has been a Challenger Series event every year since, except for 2020 and 2021, when the competitions were cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Medals may be awarded inmen's singles, women's singles,pair skating, andice dance; and as part of the Challenger Series, skaters earnISU World Standing points based on their results.
Three skaters are tied for winning the most Nepela Memorial titles in men's singles (with two each):Gabriele Frangipani of Italy,Mikhail Kolyada of Russia, andKensuke Nakaniwa of Japan. Likewise, three skaters are tied for winning the most titles in women's singles (also with two each):Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia,Zuzana Paurova of Slovakia, andJúlia Sebestyén of Hungary.Dorota Zagorska andMariusz Siudek of Poland hold the record in pair skating (with two each). Seven teams are tied for winning the most titles in ice dance (also with two each):Agata Błażowska andMarcin Kozubek of Poland,Ekaterina Bobrova andDmitri Soloviev of Russia,Lilah Fear andLewis Gibson of Great Britain,Julia Golovina andOleg Voyko of Ukraine,Nóra Hoffmann andMaxim Zavozin of Hungary,Victoria Sinitsina andNikita Katsalapov of Russia, andNelli Zhiganshina andAlexander Gazsi of Germany.
The inaugural edition of the Nepela Memorial – then called theOndrej Nepela Memorial – was held in 1993 inBratislava.[1] The competition is named in honor ofOndrej Nepela, a Slovak figure skater who competed internationally forCzechoslovakia. He was the1972 Olympic gold medalist, three-timeWorld champion (1971–73), five-timeEuropean champion (1969–73), eight-timeCzechoslovak national champion (1965–69, 1971–73),[2] and the Slovak athlete of the 20th century.[3] He died in February 1989 at the age of 38.[4][5]
TheISU Challenger Series was introduced in 2014. It is a series of international figure skating competitions sanctioned by theInternational Skating Union and organized byISU member nations. The objective is to ensure consistent organization and structure within a series of international competitions linked together, providing opportunities for senior-level skaters to compete at the international level and also earnISU World Standing points.[6] The Nepela Memorial has been a Challenger Series event every year since, except for 2020 and 2021, when the competition was cancelled both years due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[7][8]
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–95 | Bratislava | No pairs competitors | |||
| 1996 |
|
| [11] | ||
| 1997 | [12] | ||||
| 1998 |
| [13] | |||
| 1999 | No other competitors | [14] | |||
| 2000 |
| [15] | |||
| 2001 |
| [16] | |||
| 2002 |
| No other competitors | [17] | ||
| 2003 | No pairs competitors | [18] | |||
| 2004 | No other competitors | [19] | |||
| 2005–06 | No pairs competitors | ||||
| 2007 | No other competitors | [22] | |||
| 2008 | No pairs competitors | [23] | |||
| 2009 | Piešťany |
|
| [24] | |
| 2010 | Bratislava | No pairs competitors | [25] | ||
| 2011 | [26] | ||||
| 2012 | [27] | ||||
| 2013 | [28] | ||||
| 2014 | No pairs competitors | [29] | |||
| 2015 CS | [30] | ||||
| 2016 CS | [31] | ||||
| 2017 CS | [32] | ||||
| 2018 | [33] | ||||
| 2019–25 | No pairs competitors since 2018 | ||||
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–94 | Bratislava | No ice dance competitors | |||
| 1995 |
|
|
| [10] | |
| 1996 |
|
| [11] | ||
| 1997 |
| [12] | |||
| 1998 |
|
| No other competitors | [13] | |
| 1999 |
| [14] | |||
| 2000 |
| [15] | |||
| 2001 | [16] | ||||
| 2002 | [17] | ||||
| 2003 | No ice dance competitors | [18] | |||
| 2004 | [19] | ||||
| 2005 | [20] | ||||
| 2006 | No ice dance competitors | [21] | |||
| 2007 | [22] | ||||
| 2008 | [23] | ||||
| 2009 | Piešťany | [24] | |||
| 2010 | Bratislava | [25] | |||
| 2011 | [26] | ||||
| 2012 | [27] | ||||
| 2013 | [28] | ||||
| 2014 CS | [29] | ||||
| 2015 CS | [30] | ||||
| 2016 CS | [31] | ||||
| 2017 CS | [32] | ||||
| 2018 CS | [33] | ||||
| 2019 CS | [34] | ||||
| 2020 | Competitions cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic | [7] | |||
| 2021 | [8] | ||||
| 2022 CS | [35] | ||||
| 2023 CS | [36] | ||||
| 2024 CS | [37] | ||||
| 2025 CS | [38] | ||||
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| Discipline | Most titles | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skater(s) | No. | Years | Ref. | |
| Men's singles | 2 | 2022–23 | [39] | |
| 2017–18 | [40] | |||
| 2008–09 | [41] | |||
| Women's singles | 2 | 2005; 2007 | [42] | |
| 1998–99 | [43] | |||
| 2005; 2007 | [44] | |||
| Pairs | 2 | 1997; 2000 | [45] | |
| Ice dance | 2 | 2016–17 | [46] | |
| 1997; 1999 | [47] | |||
| 2023–24 | [48] | |||
| 2001–02 | [49] | |||
| 2009–10 | [50] | |||
| 2018–19 | [51] | |||
| 2008; 2011 | [52] | |||
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Russia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| 2 |  France | 5 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 |  Japan | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 4 |  Italy | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 |  United States | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 |  Belgium | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 |  Germany | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 8 |  Hungary | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 |  Australia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 |  Czech Republic | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
 Slovenia | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
 Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| 13 |  Israel | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 |  Bulgaria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 |  Canada | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
 South Korea | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 17 |  Ukraine | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 18 | Slovakia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 |  Austria | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Estonia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Georgia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Monaco | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 23 |  Latvia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 24 |  Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (25 entries) | 31 | 31 | 31 | 93 | |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 5 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| 2 | Hungary | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | Japan | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | Italy | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 5 | Slovakia | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 6 | United States | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 7 | South Korea | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 8 | Ukraine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Slovenia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | France | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 11 | Great Britain | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
 Poland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 13 | Czech Republic | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | Austria | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 15 | Israel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Kazakhstan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Sweden | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Switzerland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Turkey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 20 | Germany | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 21 | Belgium | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Canada | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Uzbekistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (23 entries) | 31 | 31 | 31 | 93 | |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 7 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
| 2 | Slovakia | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | United States | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Germany | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Poland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Czech Republic | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Canada | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Italy | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 |  Belarus | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Greece | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (10 entries) | 17 | 17 | 13 | 47 | |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 2 | Ukraine | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Great Britain | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 4 | Hungary | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | France | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| 6 | Canada | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Germany | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 | Poland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | United States | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 10 | Slovakia | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 |  Spain | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | Czech Republic | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| 13 | Italy | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 14 | Georgia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Austria | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 |  Armenia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Azerbaijan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (17 entries) | 27 | 27 | 26 | 80 | |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 22 | 13 | 16 | 51 |
| 2 | Hungary | 9 | 6 | 1 | 16 |
| 3 | Japan | 9 | 5 | 1 | 15 |
| 4 | France | 9 | 3 | 8 | 20 |
| 5 | United States | 8 | 11 | 11 | 30 |
| 6 | Italy | 6 | 14 | 9 | 29 |
| 7 | Slovakia | 6 | 8 | 6 | 20 |
| 8 | Ukraine | 6 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| 9 | Germany | 5 | 4 | 8 | 17 |
| 10 | Poland | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 11 | Great Britain | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 12 | Canada | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 13 | Czech Republic | 3 | 8 | 8 | 19 |
| 14 | South Korea | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 15 | Slovenia | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 16 | Belgium | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 17 | Australia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 18 | Switzerland | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 19 | Israel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Spain | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 21 | Bulgaria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Austria | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 23 | Georgia | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 24 | Estonia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kazakhstan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Monaco | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Sweden | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Turkey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 29 | Latvia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 30 | Armenia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Azerbaijan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Belarus | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Greece | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (34 entries) | 106 | 106 | 99 | 311 | |
