Adam Siao Him Fa

Siao Him Fa was born on 31 January 2001 in Bordeaux, France.^[2] He is the youngest of four children.^[3] His parents, Daniel and Patricia, are originally from Mauritius and moved to France in the early 1980s.^[3] He formerly attended Collège Hubertine Auclert in Toulouse.^[4]

Early career

Siao Him Fa began learning to skate in 2005 or 2006 in Bordeaux.^[2][4] As a child, he trained under Valerie Sou, Cornelia Paquier, Nathalie Depouilly, and Laurent Depouilly.^[5] He started training in Toulouse in 2011^[4] because Bordeaux's ice rink was not operational.^[3] He debuted on the advanced novice level in March 2013 and won the French novice men's title in March 2014.^[3][6]

Coached by Rodolphe Maréchal and Baptiste Porquet in Toulouse,^[5] Siao Him Fa began appearing on the junior international level in October 2015.^[6] In February, he competed at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics, placing tenth in Hamar, Norway.^[7] His ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut came in August 2016. He finished out of the top ten at both of his JGP assignments that season.

2017–2018 season

In September 2017, Siao Him Fa began training under Brian Joubert at the 2007 World champion's skating club in Poitiers.^[8][9][10] He finished ninth at both of his JGP assignments. After placing fourth on the senior level at the French Championships in December 2017, he took silver at the junior event in February 2018. In March, he qualified for the final segment at the 2018 World Junior Championships; he ranked sixteenth in the short program, nineteenth in the free skate, and seventeenth overall at the event in Sofia, Bulgaria.

2018–2019 season

Competing in the 2018 JGP series, Siao Him Fa took bronze in Richmond, Canada, and then gold in Yerevan, Armenia.^[11] Due to his results, he qualified to the JGP Final in Vancouver, Canada.^[12] He placed fourth at the Final, setting new personal bests in the free skate and total score.^[13] He won the silver medal at the 2019 French Figure Skating Championships.

Competing at his first European Championships, Siao Him Fa finished in twelfth place, setting three new personal bests in the process. At the 2019 World Junior Championships, he placed eighth in the short program with a clean skate, and another new personal best.^[14]

2019–2020 season

Dogged by injury in the fall, Siao Him Fa did not repeat his earlier success on the Junior Grand Prix, finishing off the podium at both of his events. In October, he stood on his first ISU Challenger Series podium, taking bronze at the 2019 CS Ice Star. He repeated as French national silver medalist and national junior champion.

In January, Siao Him Fa competed at the 2020 European Championships in Graz, Austria. He was on the verge of not qualifying to the free skate after a poor performance in the short program, but unexpectedly made it in as the twenty-fourth and last to qualify after fellow Frenchman Kévin Aymoz failed to qualify despite previously being considered a favorite for the European men's title.^[15] He performed much better in the free skate, landing three quadruple jumps to place sixth in the segment and rising to eleventh place overall.^[16] He concluded his season with a seventh-place result at the 2020 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.^[17]

Siao Him Fa announced a coaching change on 28 May 2020, deciding to join Laurent Depouilly in Courbevoie.^[18]

2020–2021 season

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting international travel, the ISU opted to assign the Grand Prix based largely on geographic location. Siao Him Fa was scheduled to make his Grand Prix debut at the 2020 Internationaux de France, but the event was cancelled.^[19] In February, Siao Him Fa won his third straight National silver medal.^[20]

Siao Him Fa finished the season as part of Team France at the 2021 World Team Trophy. He placed eighth in the short program and ninth in the free skate, while the French team finished in fifth place overall.^[21][22][23]

2021–2022 season

Siao Him Fa began the Olympic season competing at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy, where he won the silver medal and set three new personal bests.^[24] He was then assigned to the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, winning the silver medal and qualifying a second berth for French men at the 2022 Winter Olympics.^[25] He went on to make his Grand Prix debut at the 2021 Skate America, where he placed ninth.^[26] He was eighth at the 2021 Internationaux de France, setting a new personal best in the free skate.^[27]

After winning the silver medal at the French championships, Siao Him Fa was named to the French Olympic team.^[28] He placed fourteenth in the short program of the Olympic men's event.^[29] He was thirteenth in the free skate but remained in fourteenth overall.^[30]

Siao Him Fa concluded his season at the 2022 World Championships, held in Montpellier, France.^[31] He finished tenth in the short program with a new personal best, and rose to eighth overall with a sixth-place free skate, both scores also new personal bests.^[32][33]

2022–2023 season

Siao Him Fa began the season with his first ever Challenger gold medal at the 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy, and then took a second gold at the Cup of Nice.^[28] On the Grand Prix, he was third in the short program at the 2022 Grand Prix de France, but won the free skate to take the gold medal. This was the first Grand Prix win for a Frenchman since his former coach Brian Joubert won the NHK Trophy in 2009, a fact of which he was "very proud."^[34] He finished third in the short program at the 2022 NHK Trophy, his second event. He said “things didn't go as I planned, but I am positive about tomorrow and will continue to work this way."^[35] He finished fourth in the free skate but came fifth overall.^[36][37]

Disappointed not to have qualified for the Grand Prix Final, Siao Him Fa went on to win his first French national title at the championships in Rouen, beating defending champion Kévin Aymoz by a margin of over twenty points.^[38] Siao Him Fa continued his streak of success into the new year, finishing in first place in the short program at the 2023 European Championships with a new personal best of 96.53. He was "happy" to have finally skated cleanly in the short program internationally that season.^[39][40] He finished second in the free skate, but won the gold medal. This was the first European title for a Frenchman in twelve years since Florent Amodio's victory in 2011.^[41][42]

Siao Him Fa struggled with his jumps in the 2023 World Championships short program, coming in twelfth. He admitted "it's frustrating today, but it's not over yet."^[43] He rose to tenth after the free skate.^[44] Siao Him Fa then joined Team France at the 2023 World Team Trophy, where he was fifth in the short program and tenth in the free skate. Team France finished fifth overall.^[45][46]

2023–2024 season

Siao Him Fa began the season at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where he won the gold medal. He next appeared at the Shanghai Trophy, winning that as well.^[28] He started the Grand Prix at the 2023 Grand Prix de France in Angers, where he won his second consecutive event title ahead of Ilia Malinin of the United States and Yuma Kagiyama of Japan. Siao Him Fa crossed the 100-, 200- and 300-point barriers in the short program, free skate and total score with three new personal best scores of 101.07, 205.71 and 306.78 respectively.^[47] He is the sixth man to achieve a total over 300 points under the current ISU judging system.^[48] Siao Him Fa traveled immediately to Chongqing for the 2023 Cup of China the following weekend, where he placed second in the short program behind reigning World champion Shoma Uno after falling on his quad toe loop attempt. He overtook Uno in the free skate, rising to the gold medal position. He said he was "satisfied" with the result given that he was competing back-to-back and dealt with an equipment problem in practice.^[49]

Qualifying to the 2023–24 Grand Prix Final, Siao Him Fa doubled his planned quad Lutz in the short program, finishing sixth of six skaters in that segment and more than fifteen points back of third place. In the free skate he made two minor quad jump errors, and had a technical fall after losing his balance in his choreographic sequence, placing third in that segment and rising to fourth place overall. He was 10.37 points behind bronze medalist Kagiyama. Speaking afterward he acknowledged that coming into the event as one of the podium favourites had been a new challenge for him.^[50] Siao Him Fa then returned to France for the national championships in Vaujany the following weekend, where he decisively won his second French championship.^[51]

Siao Him Fa entered the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas as the favourite for the gold medal, and he won the short program despite putting a hand down on his quad Lutz and performing only a quad-double combination instead of a quad-triple. He made errors in the free skate, but he won that segment as well and comfortably retained his European title by a margin of almost twenty points overall.^[52] He attracted notice for performing an illegal on-ice backflip at the end of his program, drawing comparisons to fellow French skater Surya Bonaly.^[53][54] Siao Him Fa called it "a little French touch."^[52] The following month, his free program was named Best Program at the 2024 ISU Skating Awards.^[55]

In March, he entered the 2024 World Championships in Montreal as a perceived podium contender. However, he encountered difficulties in the short program, struggling on the landings of all three of his jumping passes and failing to execute a jump combination. He scored only 77.49 points in the segment, coming nineteenth. As a result, he skated in the first of four flights in the free skate, but he executed a clean program to come second in the free skate with a score of 206.90, despite incurring a two-point deduction for performing a backflip at the end. He finished third overall, winning the bronze medal over fourth-place Uno by 3.54 points. This was the first World medal for a Frenchman since Brian Joubert's bronze medal in 2010. Siao Him Fa called it "the best performance of my life."^[56]

Senior level

Results in the 2015–16 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Dec 17–19, 2015	2016 French Championships	10	44.49	7	105.26	8	149.75

Results in the 2016–17 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Dec 15–17, 2016	2017 French Championships	9	51.46	4	123.42	8	174.88

Results in the 2017–18 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Dec 14–16, 2017	2018 French Championships	4	68.48	3	142.11	4	210.59

Results in the 2018–19 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Nov 11–18, 2018	2018 CS Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy	13	59.24	3	128.66	7	187.90
Dec 13–15, 2018	2019 French Championships	3	74.23	2	152.13	2	226.36
Jan 21–27, 2019	2019 European Championships	13	76.70	9	141.36	12	218.06
Apr 11–14, 2019	2019 World Team Trophy	11	72.56	12	132.11	4 (12)	204.67

Results in the 2019–20 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 18–20, 2019	2019 CS Ice Star	4	66.48	2	149.09	3	215.57
Dec 4–7, 2019	2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	13	69.06	6	144.92	7	213.98
Dec 19–21, 2019	2020 French Championships	2	87.62	2	163.68	2	251.30
Jan 20–26, 2020	2020 European Championships	24	65.21	6	154.68	11	219.89

Results in the 2020–21 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Feb 5–6, 2021	2021 French Championships	2	78.50	2	165.65	2	244.15
Feb 26–28, 2021	2021 Challenge Cup	4	79.49	3	161.62	3	241.11
Apr 15–18, 2021	2021 World Team Trophy	8	78.28	9	152.64	5 (8)	230.92

Results in the 2021–22 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 10–12, 2021	2021 CS Lombardia Trophy	2	80.54	3	156.85	2	237.39
Sep 22–25, 2021	2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	2	89.23	3	154.55	2	243.78
Sep 30 – Oct 2, 2021	2021 Master's de Patinage	3	78.56	1	177.69	1	256.25
Oct 22–24, 2021	2021 Skate America	10	67.60	7	149.92	9	217.52
Nov 19–21, 2021	2021 Internationaux de France	7	84.47	9	158.82	8	243.29
Dec 16–18, 2021	2022 French Championships	1	95.31	2	162.37	2	257.68
Feb 8–10, 2022	2022 Winter Olympics	14	86.74	13	163.41	14	250.15
Mar 21–27, 2022	2022 World Championships	10	90.97	6	175.15	8	266.12

Results in the 2022–23 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 16–19, 2022	2022 CS Lombardia Trophy	2	84.69	1	152.50	1	237.19
Oct 6–8, 2022	2022 Master's de Patinage	1	85.60	1	193.06	1	278.66
Oct 19–23, 2022	2022 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur	1	90.57	1	147.86	1	238.43
Nov 4–6, 2022	2022 Grand Prix de France	3	88.00	1	180.98	1	268.98
Nov 18–20, 2022	2022 NHK Trophy	3	87.44	4	163.01	5	250.45
Dec 15–17, 2022	2023 French Championships	1	96.42	1	182.94	1	279.36
Jan 25–29, 2023	2023 European Championships	1	96.53	2	171.24	1	267.77
Mar 22–26, 2023	2023 World Championships	12	79.78	8	173.33	10	253.11
Apr 13–16, 2023	2023 World Team Trophy	5	92.82	10	154.60	5 (9)	247.42

Results in the 2023–24 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 20–23, 2023	2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	1	95.17	1	184.40	1	279.57
Sep 28–30, 2023	2023 Master's de Patinage	1	101.87	1	200.84	1	302.71
Oct 3–5, 2023	2023 Shanghai Trophy	2	84.00	1	198.80	1	282.80
Oct 18–22, 2023	2023 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur	1	109.04	1	189.57	1	298.61
Nov 3–5, 2023	2023 Grand Prix de France	2	101.07	1	205.71	1	306.78
Nov 10–12, 2023	2023 Cup of China	2	91.21	1	207.17	1	298.38
Dec 7–10, 2023	2023–24 Grand Prix Final	6	88.36	3	190.02	4	278.28
Dec 13–14, 2023	2024 French Championships	1	99.82	1	204.59	1	304.41
Jan 8–14, 2024	2024 European Championships	1	94.13	1	182.04	1	276.17
Mar 18–24, 2024	2024 World Championships	19	77.49	2	206.90	3	284.39

Junior level

Results in the 2014–15 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 2–4, 2014	2014 Master's de Patinage	7	41.39	7	80.12	7	121.51
Feb 20–22, 2015	2015 French Championships (Junior)	7	44.08	7	85.54	6	129.62

Results in the 2015–16 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 8–10, 2015	2015 Master's de Patinage	6	40.21	4	87.69	6	127.90
Oct 14–18, 2015	2015 Cup of Nice	9	43.32	4	94.50	4	137.82
Nov 18–22, 2015	2015 Tallinn Trophy	9	44.69	7	98.19	7	142.88
Feb 12–21, 2016	2016 Winter Youth Olympics	8	49.19	10	101.46	10	150.65
Feb 27–28, 2016	2016 French Championships (Junior)	3	54.97	4	100.09	4	155.06

Results in the 2016–17 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Aug 24–28, 2016	2016 JGP France	15	49.36	12	100.15	14	149.51
Sep 22–24, 2016	2016 Cup of Nice	6	49.31	2	111.40	2	160.71
Sep 28 – Oct 2, 2016	2016 JGP Estonia	16	51.01	11	107.96	12	158.97
Oct 6–8, 2016	2016 Master's de Patinage	6	46.02	1	107.69	3	153.71
Feb 13–15, 2017	2017 European Youth Olympic Festival	9	44.19	3	102.30	7	146.39
Feb 24–26, 2017	2017 French Championships (Junior)	2	62.71	1	116.42	1	179.13

Results in the 2017–18 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 27–30, 2017	2017 JGP Croatia	8	61.28	9	122.18	9	183.46
Oct 11–14, 2017	2017 JGP Italy	9	59.96	9	121.06	9	181.02
Feb 23–25, 2018	2018 French Championships (Junior)	2	63.27	1	124.29	2	187.56
Mar 5–11, 2018	2018 World Junior Championships	16	64.11	19	111.48	17	175.59

Results in the 2018–19 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 12–15, 2018	2018 JGP Canada	5	65.85	3	133.29	3	199.14
Sep 25–27, 2018	2018 Master's de Patinage	1	76.60	1	154.52	1	231.12
Oct 10–13, 2018	2018 JGP Armenia	3	70.50	2	135.33	1	205.83
Dec 6–9, 2018	2018–19 JGP Final	5	66.48	3	140.56	4	207.04
Feb 22–24, 2019	2019 French Championships (Junior)	1	67.63	1	150.41	1	218.04
Mar 4–10, 2019	2019 World Junior Championships	8	77.74	6	142.17	6	219.91

Results in the 2019–20 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 25–28, 2019	2019 JGP Croatia	11	60.17	7	131.99	8	192.16
Oct 2–5, 2019	2019 JGP Italy	8	66.20	6	140.20	5	206.40
Feb 7–9, 2020	2020 French Championships (Junior)	1	81.51	1	146.92	1	228.43
Mar 2–8, 2020	2020 World Junior Championships	12	74.61	7	139.28	7	213.89

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adam Siao Him Fa.

• AdamSiao.com (official website)
• Adam Siao Him Fa at the International Skating Union
• Adam Siao Him Fa at SkatingScores.com
• Adam Siao Him Fa at Rink Results
• Adam Siao Him Fa at Olympedia
• Adam Siao Him Fa at Olympics.com
• Adam Siao Him Fa at Équipe de France Olympique (archived) (in French)