As you know, for the past couple of years, I have been championing the Cypriot figure skaters. But, recently, a few things have happened:
And these have started me wondering about whether there are figure skaters from Mediterranean islands other than Cyprus.
If we are using the strict definition of “from”, I can’t think of anybody apart from the Cypriot skaters.
If we use a looser definition, which takes into consideration their family backgrounds, we can tick off two more islands:
But, that’s as far as I can take it. All the French, Italian and Spanish skaters that I am familiar with are from the mainland. That is apart from Spanish skaters Sonia Lafuente (who is from Gran Canaria, an island off the west coast of Africa), and Valentina Matos (who is from the Dominican Republic, part of an island in the Caribbean). But, their islands are not in the Mediterranean.
For the Greek skaters, apart from a couple of older skaters who are from the mainland, most of the skaters that I can find results for are too young to have where they are from up on the internet. So, I have no idea whether they are from the mainland or from the islands
And it is the same situation for these skaters from other countries who have typically Greek names:
As for skaters with Italian names, there are so many that it would take forever to find out their family histories!
Have there ever been any figure skaters from Malta? Because I haven’t been able to find any.
So, can anybody else think of any other skaters who are from Mediterranean islands?
CaroLiza_fan
- Rafael Nadal, the tennis legend from Majorca, won the French Open in June.
- Jorge Lorenzo, the 5-time motorcycle racing World Champion from Majorca, was really struggling this season after switching to Ducati machinery, but has been doing better since Ducati introduced it’s new aero-fairing after the summer break.
- Joan Mir, a young motorcycle racer also from Majorca, is convincingly leading the Moto3 World Championship.
- Destiny Chukunyere, the 2015 Junior Eurovision champion from Malta, got to the Semi-Finals of Britain’s Got Talent in May.
- I had a discussion with Crossover in the music thread about Alizée Jacotey, a singer from Corsica.
And these have started me wondering about whether there are figure skaters from Mediterranean islands other than Cyprus.
If we are using the strict definition of “from”, I can’t think of anybody apart from the Cypriot skaters.
If we use a looser definition, which takes into consideration their family backgrounds, we can tick off two more islands:
- Gabriella Papadakis (FRA) has a Dad from Crete (GRC)
- Giorgia Isabella Sechi (CYP) has a Dad from Sardinia (ITA)
But, that’s as far as I can take it. All the French, Italian and Spanish skaters that I am familiar with are from the mainland. That is apart from Spanish skaters Sonia Lafuente (who is from Gran Canaria, an island off the west coast of Africa), and Valentina Matos (who is from the Dominican Republic, part of an island in the Caribbean). But, their islands are not in the Mediterranean.
For the Greek skaters, apart from a couple of older skaters who are from the mainland, most of the skaters that I can find results for are too young to have where they are from up on the internet. So, I have no idea whether they are from the mainland or from the islands
And it is the same situation for these skaters from other countries who have typically Greek names:
- Panagiotis Polizoakis (DEU)
- Themistocles Leftheris (USA / KOR)
- Vasilisa Davankova (RUS)*
* = When I first came across Davankova, my first thought was “has she Greek heritage?” You see, I recognised “Vasilisa” as being a common Greek name. The problem was that I didn’t know if it was also a common Russian name. Fast forward a few years, and when she married Morozov, I went to her Wikipedia page to check her age, and found a sentence saying she was a quarter Greek. And I exclaimed “I knew it!” And I got some strange looks from my parents across the room! :
As for skaters with Italian names, there are so many that it would take forever to find out their family histories!
Have there ever been any figure skaters from Malta? Because I haven’t been able to find any.
So, can anybody else think of any other skaters who are from Mediterranean islands?
CaroLiza_fan