Isabella Gamez

Isabella Gamez (born February 1, 1999) is a Filipina-American pair skater who competes for the Philippines with her partner Alexander Korovin. Gamez and Korovin completed their first figure skating season together in 2022–2023. Gamez and Korovin were the first pair from Southeast Asia and the Philippines to qualify and compete in the final segment of the 2023 World Figure Skating Championships.[1] They are the first international medalists for the Philippines in pairs skating,[2] and the first Philippine National Champions for pairs skating bringing attention to the sport in the tropical country.

Isabella Gamez
Other namesGámez
Born (1999-02-01) February 1, 1999
Cape Coral, Florida
Height1.49 m (4 ft 10+12 in)
Figure skating career
Country Philippines
PartnerAlexander Korovin
CoachMarina Zoueva
Dmitri Savin
Began skating2005

With her former skating partner, David-Alexandre Paradis, Isabella competed in the final segment at the 2020 Four Continents Championships. They were the first figure skating pairs team to represent the Philippines in international competitions.

Competing for Spain with her former skating partner, Tòn Cónsul, she is the 2018 Spanish Junior National champion and finished 13th at the 2018 World Junior Championships.

Personal life

Gamez was born on February 1, 1999, to Filipino parents, Gerardo Alisangco Gamez and Maria Victoria Webb Ramirez.[3] Gamez is the grandniece of former Philippines Olympics basketball player, Senator Freddie Webb on her mother's side.[4] Her paternal grandfather is Dr. Gilberto Gamez, former Dean of University of Santo Tomas. Her family has Spanish heritage. She grew up regularly spending time in Manila, maintaining a close tie to her Philippine roots and family living there.[5]

Career

Early career

Gamez began skating in 2005 in Florida. She started as a singles skater before switching to pairs.[6] Gamez teamed up with Griffin Schwab in pairs from the 2015–16 season. They earned the novice silver medal in their first season at the 2016 U.S. Championships. Gamez/Schwab finished ninth in juniors at the 2017 U.S. Championships before splitting.[6]

2017–2018 season

Gamez teamed up with Spanish skater Tòn Cónsul to represent Spain. They competed at two Junior Grand Prix events, finishing 11th in Zagreb and 13th in Gdańsk. Gamez/Cónsul then won the 2018 Spanish junior national title and the 2018 Mentor Toruń Cup. They ended the season with a 13th-place finish at the 2018 World Junior Championships.[7]

Gamez/Cónsul split after he left skating at the end of the season.[8] Gamez did not have a partner for the 2018–19 season.

2019–2020 season

Gamez began representing the Philippines in a new pair with Canadian skater David-Alexandre Paradis. Gamez/Paradis competed at three Challenger Series events, becoming the first Filipino and Southeast Asian pair to compete in an International Skating Union competition.[9] They then finished seventh at Volvo Open Cup. Gamez/Paradis also earned the technical minimums for the 2020 Four Continents Championships to become the first Filipino and Southeast Asian pair to compete at an ISU Championship. They finished ninth at Four Continents. Gamez/Paradis concluded their season with an 11th-place finish at the Challenge Cup.[10]

Gamez and Paradis split due to travel restrictions and inability to train together during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] Paradis retired from pairs skating to focus on his coaching career.[12]

2020–2021 and 2021–2022 seasons

In August 2021, the Philippine Skating Union announced that Gamez had teamed up with Russian skater Alexander Korovin to represent the Philippines.[13] Korovin and Gamez were paired by 2014 Winter Olympics Pairs Champion Maxim Trankov and Olympic, World Championship Coach Marina Zoueva. They met and began training together in early 2021. For the 2021–2022 season, Gamez and Korovin focused on their training at Hertz Arena with Coach Marina Zoueva and her team in Estero, Florida.

2022–2023 season

The Gamez/Korovin pair made their debut at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy, where they placed ninth after two years of inactivity.[11][14] The pair shared before their international debut, Hurricane Ian devastated Southwest Florida affecting their training venue and practice schedule a week before Finland.[5] In their second competition together, Gamez and Korovin achieved a historical milestone for the Philippines. They won the first-ever medal for Philippine pairs skating in an international competition, a silver medal at the Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur in Nice, France.[15] They competed at the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup placing 11th, and withdrew from the Golden Spin of Zagreb due to injury. Gamez/Korovin continued the season to become the first senior pairs team to win the Philippine Figure Skating Championships, bringing awareness to the pairs discipline in the tropical country as the only competitors in December 2022. They qualified and competed at the 2023 Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs placing ninth. Following the Challenge Cup in Tilburg, Netherlands, Korovin/Gamez earned the technical minimums to become the first Southeast Asian and Philippine pairs team to qualify and compete at the 2023 World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan.[1] They competed in the final segment at the 2023 World Figure Skating Championships ending a five-year drought for the Philippines at the World Figure Skating Championships, wherein the last Philippine skater to compete was Michael Christian Martinez in 2017.

Programs

With Korovin

Season Short program Free skating
2022–2023[16]

With Paradis

Season Short program Free skating
2019–2020
[9]

With Cónsul

Season Short program Free skating
2017–2018
[7]

With Schwab

Season Short program Free skating
2016–2017
[17]
2015–2016
[18]

Competitive highlights

CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix. Pewter medals (4th place) awarded only at U.S. national, sectional, and regional events.

With Korovin for the Philippines

International [16]
Event 22–23 23–24
Worlds18th
Four Continents9th
CS Autumn Classic10th
CS Finlandia9thWD
CS Golden SpinWD
CS Warsaw Cup11th
Cup of Nice2nd
Challenge Cup6th
John Nicks Challenge6th
National [16]
Philippine Champ.1st
TBD = Assigned

With Paradis for the Philippines

Gamez/Paradis at the 2020 Challenge Cup
International[10]
Event 2019–20
Four Continents9th
CS Finlandia Trophy9th
CS Golden Spin14th
CS Warsaw Cup11th
Challenge Cup11th
Volvo Open Cup7th

With Cónsul for Spain

Gamez/Cónsul at the 2018 World Junior Championships
International: Junior[19]
Event 2017–18
Junior Worlds13th
JGP Croatia11th
JGP Poland13th
Toruń Cup1st
National[19]
Spanish Champ.1st J
Levels: J = Junior

With Schwab for the United States

National[20]
Event 2015–16 2016–17
U.S. Champ.2nd N9th J
Pacific Coast2nd N4th J
Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior

Ladies' singles for the United States

National[6][21]
Event 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15
South Atlantic10th Q V1st Q V
21st V
9th Q I4th Q N
16th N
11th Q N
Levels: V = Juvenile; I = Intermediate; N = Novice
Q = Qualifying round

Detailed results

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. ISU Personal best in bold.

With Korovin

2023–2024 season
Date Event SP FS Total
September 14–17, 2023 2023 CS Autumn Classic International 10

37.40

10

85.25

10

122.65

2022-23 season
Date Event SP FS Total
March 20–26, 2023 2023 World Championships 19
53.29
18
93.78
18
147.07
February 7–12, 2023 2023 Four Continents Championships 10
39.69
9
73.79
9
113.48
December 7–10, 2022 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 14
39.71
WD WD
November 17–20, 2022 2022 CS Warsaw Cup 11
42.94
11
84.66
11
127.60
October 4–9, 2022 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy 9
44.25
9
78.15
9
122.40

With Paradis

2019–20 season
Date Event SP FS Total
February 20–23, 2020 2020 Challenge Cup 11
45.38
11
82.74
11
128.12
February 4–9, 2020 2020 Four Continents Championships 10
47.34
9
80.09
9
127.43
December 4–7, 2019 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 14
47.50
15
88.40
14
135.90
November 14–17, 2019 2019 CS Warsaw Cup 12
47.99
8
97.05
11
145.04
November 5–10, 2019 2019 Volvo Open Cup 7
44.37
7
82.42
7
126.79
October 11–13, 2019 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy 10
43.09
9
81.61
9
124.70

References

  1. Ramos, Josef (26 February 2023). "Gamez, partner make worlds". Business Mirror. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  2. Carandang, Justin Kenneth (23 October 2022). "Duo of Isabella Gamez and Aleksandr Korovin claim Philippines' first int'l medal in figure skating pairs". GMA News Online. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  3. Atencio, Peter (26 October 2022). "Filipina, Russian partner seek to improve further after silver-medal feat". Manila Standard. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  4. Carandang, Justin Kenneth (1 November 2022). "Figure skater Isabella Gamez hopes she can represent Philippines well like her lolo Freddie Webb". GMA News Online. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  5. "Fil-Am pair skater, Russian partner make international debut". CNN Philippines. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  6. "Isabella Gamez". RinkResults.
  7. "Isabella GAMEZ / Ton CONSUL: 2017/2018". International Skating Union.
  8. Lamelas, Pedro (January 24, 2020). "Laura Barquero y Tòn Cónsul finalizan su primer Europeo en la decimocuarta posición" [Laura Barquero and Tòn Cónsul finish their first European Championship in fourteenth position] (in Spanish). Marca.
  9. "Isabella GAMEZ / David-Alexandre PARADIS: 2019/2020". International Skating Union.
  10. "Isabella GAMEZ / David-Alexandre PARADIS: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
  11. Pedralvez, Bong (7 October 2022). "Fil-Am skater, Russian partner debut for PH". Malaya Business Insight. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  12. Gamez, Isabella [@bellagamez] (August 21, 2020). "This year has been a time of change for many. After a historic season of skating, David and I have decided to no longer continue skating together" via Instagram.
  13. Philippine Skating Union [@phskating] (August 17, 2021). "Curious about how Figure Skating Pair athletes Isabella and Alex surpass their challenges?" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  14. Pedralvez, Bong (10 October 2022). "Fil-Am skater, Russian partner ninth in Finland". Malaya Business Insight. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  15. Carandang, Justin Kenneth (23 October 2022). "Duo of Isabella Gamez and Aleksandr Korovin claim Philippines' first int'l medal in figure skating pairs". GMA News Online. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  16. "ISU Results Bio - Isabella GAMEZ Aleksandr KOROVIN". International Skating Union.
  17. "2017 U.S. Nationals: Junior Pairs". Unseen Skaters Online. January 17, 2017.
  18. "Isabella GAMEZ / Ton CONSUL: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
  19. "Isabella Gamez & Griffin Schwab". Stats on Ice.
  20. "Isabella Gamez". Stats on Ice.
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