 Chafik Besseghier at the2011 Trophée Éric Bompard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1989-10-11)11 October 1989 (age 36) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Paris, France | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  France | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's singles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Began skating | 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medal record | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chafik Besseghier (born 11 October 1989) is a Frenchfigure skater. He is a two-timeInternational Cup of Nice champion and the 2016 and 2018French national champion. He has won a total of fourteen senior international medals and finished in the top ten at threeISU Championships (2014 Worlds,2013 Europeans,2017 Europeans).
Chafik Besseghier was born inGrenoble, France.[1] His parents are fromAlgeria, close toOran, and he has two siblings.[2][3]
On 14 February 2020, Besseghier married Ukrainian-Turkish ice dancerAlisa Agafonova.[4]
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 inGrenoble, he competed mostly domestically before making hisISU Junior Grand Prix debut in 2008.
In the 2009–2010 season, Besseghier won the bronze medal at theCrystal Skate of Romania and2010 Triglav Trophy.
In 2010, he was invited to his first senior Grand Prix event, the2010 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]
Prior to the 2011–2012 season, Besseghier spent several months working withYuka Sato andJason Dungjen at the Detroit Skating Club inBloomfield Hills, Michigan.[7] He was the silver medalist at the2011 Coupe de Nice, where he won the free skate.[8] Besseghier again competed at theTrophée Éric Bompard, coming in ninth. Competing withtendinitis in his knee,[9] he won the bronze medal at the2012 French Championships and placed 12th in hisEuropean Championship debut. At the end of the season, he moved from Grenoble to Paris.[10][11]
Besseghier was awarded a silver medal at the2013 French Championships and placed ninth at the2013 European Championships.
Besseghier injured his ankle in October 2013 at theMaster's de Patinage.[12] He withdrew from his two Grand Prix assignments, the2013 NHK Trophy and2013 Trophée Éric Bompard.[13] Besseghier placed 12th at the2014 European Championships inBudapest. After scoring well at theInternational Challenge Cup, he was selected for his firstWorld Championships.[14] Setting personal best scores in both programs, he finished ninth overall at the event inSaitama, Japan.
Besseghier was selected to compete at two Grand Prix events, the2014 Skate America and2014 Trophée Éric Bompard.[15] He finished 7th and 9th at the two events, respectively. He withdrew from the2015 Europeans and placed 18th at the2015 Worlds.
In late August 2015, Besseghier began visiting Russian coachElena Buianova in Moscow,[16] although Annick Dumont remained his main coach. He began the 2015–16 season by winning gold at theLombardia Trophy andInternational Cup of Nice, before winning theFrench national title in December.
Besseghier withdrew from the2016 European Championships after rupturing a ligament in his right ankle.[17][18] He placed 20th at the2016 World Championships inBoston. He trained under Dumont inChampigny-sur-Marne until the end of the season.[19]
Besseghier changed coaches ahead of the 2016–2017 season, deciding to rejoinStanick Jeannette inGrenoble.[1] He placed 9th at the2017 European Championships inOstrava, Czech Republic, and 17th at the2017 World Championships inHelsinki, Finland. Due to his world result, Francequalified a spot in the men's event at the2018 Winter Olympics inPyeongchang, South Korea.
Besseghier was hospitalised from 29 September to 2 October due to apneumothorax involving detachment of the pleura.[20] He withdrew from his Grand Prix assignments.
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–2018 [21] |
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| 2016–2017 [1] |
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| 2015–2016 [19][22] |
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| 2014–2015 [23] |
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| 2013–2014 [24][2] |
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| 2012–2013 [11] |
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| 2011–2012 [10] |
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| 2010–2011 [25] |
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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 |
| Olympics | 26th | |||||||||||
| Worlds | 9th | 18th | 20th | 17th | ||||||||
| Europeans | 12th | 9th | 12th | WD | WD | 9th | 11th | |||||
| GPNHK Trophy | WD | 9th | ||||||||||
| GPRostelecom | 8th | |||||||||||
| GPSkate America | 7th | |||||||||||
| GPTrophée Bompard | 5th | 9th | 7th | WD | 9th | 10th | 8th | WD | ||||
| GPSkate Canada | WD | |||||||||||
| CSOndrej 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] | ||||||||||||
| JGPSpain | 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 | ||||||||||||
| Olympics | 10th T | |||||||||||
| World Team Trophy | 6th T 8th P | |||||||||||
Media related toChafik Besseghier at Wikimedia Commons
