Kristjan Rand

Kristjan (or Kristian) Rand (born 12 June 1987) is an Estonian former ice dancer. With Grethe Grünberg, he is the 2007 World Junior silver medalist and the 2005–2007 Estonian national champion. With Caitlin Mallory, he competed in the final segment at four ISU Championships.

Kristjan Rand
Mallory and Rand at the 2010 European Championships
Born	(1987-06-12) 12 June 1987 (age 37) Tallinn, Estonia
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Estonia
Partner	Caitlin Mallory, Grethe Grünberg
Coach	Igor Shpilband, Marina Zueva, Lea Rand, Sergei Ponomarenko, Marina Klimova
Skating club	Jääkild FSC Tallinn
Began skating	1992
Retired	2010

Personal life

Kristjan Rand was born on 12 June 1987 in Tallinn.^[1] He is the elder brother of Estonian ice dancer Taavi Rand. Their mother, Lea Rand, is an Estonian skating coach.

Career

Partnership with Grünberg

Kristjan Rand began skating with Grethe Grünberg at the age of about eight years.^[2][3]

Grünberg/Rand debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in 2002, placing 12th in Germany. In 2004, they made their first appearance at the World Junior Championships, finishing 18th.

At the 2005 Tallinn Cup, Grünberg/Rand became the first Estonian ice dancers to win a JGP medal, bronze. They were 9th at the 2006 World Junior Championships.

In the 2006–07 season, Grünberg/Rand won gold and silver at their two JGP events and qualified for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final where they placed 5th. They won the silver medal at the 2007 World Junior Championships, behind Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev and ahead of Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje.^[4][5][6] It was Estonia's first medal at an ISU Championships. Grünberg/Rand made their senior international debut in the same season, finishing 15th at the 2007 European Championships and 19th at the 2007 World Championships.

After missing the 2007–2008 skating season, Grünberg decided to retire due to injury.^[7]

Partnership with Mallory

In 2008, Rand teamed up with American ice dancer Caitlin Mallory to compete for Estonia.^[7] They qualified to the free dance at both of their ISU Championships assignments, finishing 14th at the 2009 European Championships in Helsinki, Finland, and 20th at the 2009 World Championships in Los Angeles, California.

Early the following season, Mallory/Rand placed 9th at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, giving Estonia a spot in the ice dancing event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. They placed 8th at their sole Grand Prix assignment, the 2009 Skate America. They did not compete in Canada because the Olympics, unlike other competitions, required both partners to be citizens of the country they were representing and Estonia did not allow dual nationality, meaning that Mallory would have to renounce her U.S. citizenship. She said, "we just realized it was too much of a sacrifice for one competition."^[8] Estonia's spot at the Olympics was used by Rand's brother and his partner. Mallory/Rand placed 13th at the 2010 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, and 17th at the 2010 World Championships in Turin, Italy.

The two missed the 2010–2011 season due to Rand's compulsory one-year military service but planned to return to competition.^[9] They did not compete again.

Programs

With Mallory

Season	Original dance	Free dance
2009–2010 [1]	Estonian folk dance: Mulgi Polka Estonian Waltz Mulgi Polka	Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg
2008–2009 [10]	Ragtime (20s): Yes Sir, That's My Baby by Walter Donaldson Foxtrot (20s): Yes Sir, That's My Baby by Walter Donaldson Charleston (20s)	Suite No. 3 Air by Johann Sebastian Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 by Johann Sebastian Bach

With Grünberg

Season	Original dance	Free dance
2006–2007 [11]	Quejas de Bandoneon	Operettas by Emmerich Kálmán
2005–2006 [12]	Cha cha Rhumba Cha cha	Bublichki
2004–2005 [13]	Slow foxtrot Quickstep	French Kiss by James Newton Howard La Vie en rose French Kiss
2003–2004 [14]	Jitterbug: PEnnsylvania 6-5000 by Glenn Miller Blues: Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller Jitterbug: In the Mood by Glenn Miller

Results

GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Mallory

International[15]
Event	2008–09	2009–10
World Championships	20th	17th
European Championships	14th	13th
GP Skate America		8th
Finlandia Trophy	4th
Nebelhorn Trophy		9th
Schäfer Memorial	6th

With Grünberg

Grünberg and Rand in 2006

International[16]
Event	00–01	01–02	02–03	03–04	04–05	05–06	06–07
World Champ.							19th
European Champ.							15th
International: Junior[16]
World Junior Champ.				18th	15th	9th	2nd
JGP Final							5th
JGP Bulgaria				6th		4th
JGP Czech Republic				6th
JGP Estonia						3rd
JGP France					9th
JGP Germany			12th
JGP Netherlands							2nd
JGP Norway							1st
JGP Serbia					6th
Pavel Roman			5th J		2nd J
EYOF			12th J
National[16]
Estonian Champ.	5th	5th	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	1st
J = Junior level