Deividas Stagniūnas

Deividas Stagniūnas (born 28 April 1985) is a Lithuanian former ice dancer. With Isabella Tobias, he is the 2011 Skate America bronze medalist and placed in the top ten at two European Championships. They represented Lithuania at the 2014 Winter Olympics, where Stagniūnas was the flagbearer.

Deividas Stagniūnas
Tobias and Stagniūnas in 2011.
Born	(1985-04-28) 28 April 1985 (age 39) Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Lithuania
Skating club	Baltų ainiai
Began skating	1990
Retired	2 May 2014

Career

Early years

Stagniūnas began skating at age five.^[1][2] He moved to the United States at age 15 to skate with a partner.^[2]

Early in his career, Stagniūnas was coached by Walter Wielunski and Natalia Dubova, who trained him in ice dancing. They trained in Darien, Illinois, where he lived with his partner, Laura Whipple. He and Whipple won the senior bronze medal at the Lake Placid ice dancing competition, representing Lithuania. In the 2003–2004 season, Stagniūnas began skating with Kayla Nicole Frey. They competed internationally on the junior level and were three-time (2004–2006) Lithuanian silver medalists.^[3]

Partnership with Copely

In 2006, Stagniūnas formed a partnership with American Katherine Copely. They became the 2007 Lithuanian national champions and 2006 and 2007 Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalists. The duo qualified an entry for the 2010 Winter Olympics in the ice dancing event when they placed 14th at the 2009 World Championships.^[4] According to IOC rules, competitors must have citizenship of the country they are representing; however, Copely's special request for citizenship was denied by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė.^[5] The spot was left unfilled. Copely retired from competition due to an injury which was subsequently treated arthroscopically, followed by a complete recovery. She is currently attending medical school in the U.S.^[1]

Partnership with Tobias

In spring 2010, Stagniūnas teamed up with American ice dancer Isabella Tobias.^[6] They initially trained under Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva in Canton, Michigan. Tobias/Stagniūnas made their debut at the 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy, where they placed 11th, and won their first international medal, bronze, at the 2010 NRW Trophy. At their first European and World Championships, they placed 12th and 14th, respectively.

Tobias/Stagniūnas won bronze at a Grand Prix event, the 2011 Skate America. In June 2012, they moved from Canton, Michigan to Novi, Michigan, following coach Igor Shpilband.^[7] According to IOC rules, Olympic competitors must be citizens of the country they are representing. In order to allow the team to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Tobias submitted an application for Lithuanian citizenship in October 2012.^[8] It was denied on 7 January 2013.^[9][10]

Tobias/Stagniūnas withdrew from the 2013 European Championships as a result of Stagniūnas' back problem.^[11] By finishing 15th at the 2013 World Championships in London, Ontario, they qualified a spot for Lithuania in the Olympic ice dancing event. Tobias was granted Lithuanian citizenship in December 2013. Tobias/Stagniūnas placed ninth at the 2014 European Championships in January in Budapest, 17th at the 2014 Winter Olympics in February in Sochi, and then 15th at the 2014 World Championships in March in Saitama. On 2 May 2014 Stagniūnas announced his competitive retirement due to recurring injuries.^[12]

Programs

With Tobias

Season	Short dance	Free dance	Exhibition
2013–14 [13]	Foxtrot: A Fine Romance by Marilyn Monroe Quickstep: Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friends by Marilyn Monroe	James Bond Theme Skyfall by Adele
2012–13 [1][14]	Oklahoma! by Rodgers and Hammerstein	Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninov
2011–12 [15]	Shakira medley	Let's Twist Again by Chubby Checker Only You by The Platters Tutti Frutti by Little Richard	Hips Don't Lie by Shakira
2010–11 [16]	Waltz of the Flowers (from The Nutcracker) by Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky	Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg

With Copely

Season	Original dance	Free dance
2009–10 [17]	Lithuanian Polka	West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein
2008–09 [18]	Bei Mir Bist du Schön (from Swing Kids)	Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber
2007–08 [19]	Two Guitars by Paul Mauriat	Beethoven's Last Night by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
2006–07 [20]	Tango by Jaime Wilensky	Kalinka

Results

GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Tobias

International[21]
Event	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14
Winter Olympics				17th
World Champ.	14th	18th	15th	15th
European Champ.	12th	9th		9th
GP Skate America		3rd
GP Cup of Russia		5th
Nebelhorn Trophy	11th	5th
Golden Spin			4th
NRW Trophy	3rd
National[21]
Lithuanian Champ.	1st	1st	1st

With Copely

International[22]
Event	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10
World Champ.	23rd	14th	14th
European Champ.	18th	12th	10th
GP Cup of Russia		5th	6th	8th
GP Skate America			8th
Golden Spin	3rd	3rd
Nebelhorn Trophy	6th			3rd
National[22]
Lithuanian Champ.	1st	1st	1st	1st

With Frey

International[23]
Event	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06
World Junior Champ.		19th
JGP Croatia			7th
JGP United States		10th
International Ice Dance Cup			1st
National[23]
Lithuanian Championships	2nd	2nd	2nd

References

1. Flade, Tatjana (August 26, 2012). "Tobias and Stagniunas are ready to challenge". Golden Skate.
2. "Depresiją įveikęs D.Stagniūnas baigęs čiuožėjo karjerą tikisi tapti TV laidų vedėju arba verslininku (interviu su sportininku)" [Skater Stagniūnas has beat depression and aims for a career in television or to become an entrepreneur]. Delfi (in Lithuanian). October 4, 2012.
3. "Kayla Nicole FREY / Deividas STAGNIUNAS: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 17, 2006.
4. "NEBELHORN TROPHY – Obertsdorf, Germany". Ice-dance.com. Archived from the original on 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
5. "Granting Lithuanian citizenship to Katherine Copely would be in violation of the Constitution". Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania. November 6, 2009. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011.
6. Elfman, Lois (October 12, 2011). "Tobias, Stagniunas find rhythm in partnership". Icenetwork. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
7. "Lithuanians Tobias, Stagniunas follow Shpilband". Icenetwork. June 14, 2012. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
8. Augustis, Mindaugas (October 5, 2012). "Į Lietuvą pirmąkart atvykusi šokėja ant ledo I.Tobias prašo prezidentės malonės" [Tobias appealed to the president]. Delfi (in Lithuanian). Augustis, Mindaugas (October 5, 2012). Впервые приехавшая в Литву Тобиас обратилась за милостью к президенту [Tobias appealed to the president]. Delfi (Russian version) (in Russian).
9. "Lithuania won't clear Isabella Tobias". Associated Press. ESPN. January 7, 2013.
10. "Lithuanian president denies citizenship to American ice skater". The Baltic Course. January 7, 2013.
11. Elfman, Lois (January 18, 2013). "Tobias, Stagniunas keep up citizenship fight". IceNetwork.
12. "Olympic ice skater Stagniūnas ends his professional career". Lithuania Tribune. May 2, 2014. Archived from the original on May 3, 2014.
13. "Isabella TOBIAS / Deividas STAGNIUNAS: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 3, 2014.
14. "Isabella TOBIAS / Deividas STAGNIUNAS: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013.
15. "Isabella TOBIAS / Deividas STAGNIUNAS: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012.
16. "Isabella TOBIAS / Deividas STAGNIUNAS: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011.
17. "Katherine COPELY / Deividas STAGNIUNAS: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012.
18. "Katherine COPELY / Deividas STAGNIUNAS: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 28, 2009.
19. "Katherine COPELY / Deividas STAGNIUNAS: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 9, 2008.
20. "Katherine COPELY / Deividas STAGNIUNAS: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 29, 2007.
21. "Competition Results: Isabella TOBIAS / Deividas STAGNIUNAS". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 3, 2014.
22. "Competition Results: Katherine COPELY / Deividas STAGNIUNAS". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015.
23. "Kayla Nicole FREY / Deividas STAGNIUNAS". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016.

External links

• Isabella Tobias / Deividas Stagniunas at the International Skating Union
• Katherine Copely / Deividas Stagniunas at the International Skating Union
• Kayla Nicole Frey / Deividas Stagniunas at the International Skating Union
• Copely & Stagniunas official site

Olympic Games
Preceded by Irina Terentjeva	Flagbearer for  Lithuania Sochi 2014	Succeeded by Incumbent