Michal Březina

Michal Březina was born on 30 March 1990 in Brno.^[1] He is the son of Edita Březinová and Rudolf Březina, a figure skating coach.^[2] His younger sister, Eliška Březinová, competes in ladies' single skating.^[3][4] At the age of 18 he intended to study sports at university and eventually become a skating coach.^[5]

Březina was the best man at the wedding of Anna Cappellini and Ondřej Hotárek in the summer of 2015.^[6]

On 19 May 2015, Brezina announced his engagement to his girlfriend, fellow figure skater Danielle Montalbano.^[7] They were married on 10 June 2017, at the Royalton.

Early years

Březina was initially interested in ice hockey after watching the 1998 Winter Olympics, but his father advised him to learn to skate first, and after a few months, he dropped hockey to focus on figure skating.^[5]

Březina first landed a triple Salchow at the age of 12, and a triple Axel at 15.^[5] In practice, he has worked on a quad toe loop and quad Salchow.^[5] He trained in his hometown of Brno with coach Petr Starec and in Oberstdorf, Germany with Karel Fajfr.^[8][9][10]

2007–2008 season

Březina won the 2007 Nebelhorn Trophy over compatriot and reigning champion, Tomáš Verner. Two weeks later, he won his first Junior Grand Prix medal, a silver, in Chemnitz. Březina placed sixteenth at his first European Championships. He missed training time because of a broken wrist but was able to compete at the World Junior Championships, where he was fifth.^[11]

2008–2009 season

Březina won both his junior Grand Prix events but was forced to miss the Junior Grand Prix Final and the Czech national championships due to a right knee injury that required surgery.^[12] He returned in time for the 2009 Europeans, where he finished tenth, and then set a new personal best at the 2009 Junior Worlds to win the silver medal behind Adam Rippon.

2009–2010 season

Březina debuted on the senior Grand Prix circuit, finishing fourth at the 2009 Skate Canada International. He won the bronze medal at 2009 NHK Trophy and defeated Tomáš Verner to win the Czech Championship. He finished 4th at the 2010 European Championships.^[13] At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver he came in tenth. Competing at his first senior World Championships, he earned a fourth-place finish with a new personal best score of 236.06.

2010–2011 season

Březina was forced to withdraw from the 2010 Cup of China after undergoing surgery for a varicose vein in his abdomen.^[3][14] He later withdrew from the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard as well. He took silver behind Verner at the Czech Championships. At the 2011 European Championships, Březina placed second in the short program but dropped to eighth overall following the free skate. At the 2011 World Championships, he successfully landed two quads, a Salchow and a toe loop, in the long program – his first quads landed in competition – but fell on two jumps toward the end of the program. He finished fourth at the event for the second straight year.^[15][16]

2011–2012 season

Březina experienced some boot problems during the off-season.^[10] He trained mainly in Oberstdorf.^[3] He began his season at 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy where he won the silver medal. Skaters who had placed in the top six at the 2011 Worlds were given a newly introduced option of competing at three Grand Prix events.^[17] Březina elected to do so and was assigned to 2011 Skate America, 2011 Trophée Eric Bompard, and 2011 Cup of Russia.^[10] At Skate America, he won the short program by 8.39 points and placed third in the free skate to win the gold medal overall. Březina won the bronze medal in France, which qualified him for the Grand Prix Final.^[18] He then placed fourth in the Cup of Russia. He was sixth at the Grand Prix Final. At the 2012 World Championships, Březina picked up a small silver medal for the short program and finished sixth overall after the free skate. In April 2012, he changed coaches from Starec and Fajfr to Viktor Petrenko.^[19][20] He trained at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey.^[21]

2012–2013 season

Březina finished sixth at 2012 Skate America and won the bronze medal at the 2012 Rostelecom Cup. He withdrew from the Czech Championships due to a fever.^[22] He dislocated his shoulder during practice on 21 January at the 2013 European Championships but went on to win bronze, his first European medal.^[23]

2013–2014 season

In February 2014, Březina placed tenth at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.^[12] His next event was the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. He withdrew after the short program on 26 March, having pulled ligaments in his right ankle on the triple flip take-off.^[24] His ankle was immediately put into a cast, and he recovered in two weeks.^[25] Due to the high cost of training in the United States,^[25] he decided in June 2014 to rejoin Karel Fajfr in Oberstdorf.^[26]

2014–2015 season

Březina began the season with two silver medals at his Challenger events, the Golden Spin of Zagreb and Nebelhorn Trophy/ After finishing seventh at the 2014 Skate Canada International, he won the bronze medal at the 2014 Rostelecom Cup. He placed fifth at the 2015 European Championships and fifteenth at the 2015 World Championships.

2015–2016 season

His first event of the season was the 2015 Lombardia Trophy, which was not a Challenger event for that particular season. Following a sixth-place finish at Nebelhorn, Brezina placed eighth and seventh at these two Grand Prix assignments, Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy. He went on to place tenth at Europeans and ninth at Worlds.

In the spring of 2016, Březina decided to train with Rafael Arutyunyan in California.^[27]

2016–2017 season

Březina placed fourth at Skate Canada International and tenth at the Cup of China.

In December 2016, he placed first in the short program at the Four Nationals; he withdrew after injuring his arm during the free skate.^[28] He placed twelfth at Europeans.

Březina twisted his ankle three weeks before the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki.^[29] He finished eighteenth at the event in Finland, earning a spot for the Czech Republic at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

2017–2018 season

Beginning with two events on the Challenger Series, Březina placed ninth at the U.S. International Classic and sixth at the Finlandia Trophy. He went on to place sixth at Skate Canada International and ninth at NHK Trophy.

Following an eighth-place finish at Europeans, Březina competed at his third Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He placed sixteenth. The season concluded at the 2018 World Championships in Milan, Italy, where he placed tenth, setting a new personal best in the free skate.

2018–2019 season

Březina began the season with a silver medal at the 2018 U.S. International Classic, his first Challenger Series medal in four years. He followed that up with a silver medal at the 2018 Skate America event, his first Grand Prix medal since his bronze at Rostelecom four years earlier.^[30] At his second Grand Prix event, the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki, he set new personal bests in the short program and overall score to win a second silver medal.

His results qualified him for the Grand Prix Final, only the second time in his career he had done so and the first time in seven years.^[31] Březina placed fourth at the Final, finishing 8.23 points behind Cha Jun-hwan after doubling a jump in his short program and falling on a quad Salchow in the free skate.^[32] At the European Championships he placed eighth in the short program and moved up to seventh overall after placing sixth in the free program.^[33]

Finishing his season at the 2019 World Championships, Březina placed eighth in the short program.^[34] He remained in eighth place following the free skate, despite a single fall on a triple flip attempt.^[35]

2019–2020 season

Březina opted not to begin his season with a Challenger event, instead competing at the 2019 Shanghai Trophy, where he placed fourth. Returning to Skate America, he placed fifth in the short program despite jump errors.^[36] After doubling numerous jumps in his free skate, he fell to eleventh place.^[37] He was ninth at the 2019 Rostelecom Cup.

Competing at the 2020 European Championships, Březina placed first in the short program despite performing only a quad-double in his combination jump, winning a gold small medal. He said he was undecided about whether it would be his final competition.^[38] He fell twice in the free skate on quad Salchow attempts, placing eleventh in that segment and falling to seventh place overall.^[39] He was scheduled to compete at the 2020 World Championships in Montreal, but these were cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[40]

2020–2021 season

Březina was assigned to compete at the 2020 Skate America but withdrew due to a fall in training.^[41] He was allowed to submit virtual competitive programs to the 2021 Four National Championships, winning the gold medal. His only live event of the season was the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, where he placed nineteenth.^[42] This result qualified one berth for the Czech Republic at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.^[43]

2021–2022 season

Březina opened his season with a win at the 2021 U.S. International Classic.^[44] Following the results of the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, he was announced as part of the Czech Olympic team, this time alongside his sister Eliška.^[45] Competing on the Grand Prix at the 2021 Skate America, he finished in sixth.^[46] At the 2021 Rostelecom Cup, he finished in tenth place. Discussing his results afterward, he cited his work with a mental coach as having improved his mindset, noting, "I wish I would have worked with a mental coach when I was younger. Maybe my career would have looked different."^[47]

At the 2022 European Championships, Březina had a poor short program and finished in fifteenth place in that segment. He was fifth in the free skate, rising to tenth place overall.^[48]

Březina began the 2022 Winter Olympics as the Czech entry in the men's short program of the Olympic team event. He placed seventh in the segment, securing four points for the Czech team.^[49] They ultimately did not advance to the second phase of the competition, finishing eighth.^[50] In the individual event, he placed twenty-fifth in the short program, not advancing to the free program.^[51] He announced his retirement shortly after the event.^[52]

Senior level

Results in the 2006–07 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Nov 16–19, 2006	2006 Golden Spin of Zagreb	7	44.17	4	91.24	5	135.41

Results in the 2007–08 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 27–30, 2007	2007 Nebelhorn Trophy	3	61.30	1	124.25	1	185.55
Dec 14–16, 2007	2008 Czech Championships	2	66.66	4	105.10	3	171.76
Jan 21–27, 2008	2008 European Championships	14	54.13	15	106.24	16	160.37

Results in the 2008–09 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 25–29, 2008	2008 Nebelhorn Trophy	2	75.84	2	144.45	2	220.29
Jan 20–25, 2009	2009 European Championships	17	59.35	8	123.84	10	183.19

Results in the 2009–10 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 23–26, 2009	2009 Nebelhorn Trophy	2	73.23	3	132.11	3	205.34
Oct 8–11, 2009	2009 Finlandia Trophy	6	62.89	4	127.42	4	190.31
Nov 5–8, 2009	2009 NHK Trophy	6	70.80	2	146.68	3	217.48
Nov 19–22, 2009	2009 Skate Canada International	5	71.92	5	130.40	4	202.32
Jan 18–24, 2010	2010 European Championships	4	79.60	5	145.14	4	224.74
Feb 12–27, 2010	2010 Winter Olympics	9	78.80	11	137.93	10	216.73
Mar 22–28, 2010	2010 World Championships	5	81.75	3	154.31	4	241.74

Results in the 2010–11 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 21–24, 2010	2010 Nebelhorn Trophy	9	55.40	5	128.91	7	184.31
Oct 2, 2010	2010 Japan Open	–	–	3	134.90	3 (5)	–
Dec 8–12, 2010	2010 Golden Spin of Zagreb	1	55.44	2	128.20	2	183.64
Dec 16–18, 2010	2010 Czech Championships	1	75.05	1	148.48	1	223.53
Jan 24–30, 2011	2011 European Championships	2	76.13	10	125.26	8	201.39
Feb 11–15, 2011	2011 Bavarian Open	1	73.01	2	122.59	1	195.60
Apr 24 – May 1, 2011	2011 World Championships	7	77.50	5	156.11	4	233.61

Results in the 2011–12 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 21–24, 2011	2011 Nebelhorn Trophy	4	69.77	2	145.23	2	215.00
Oct 21–23, 2011	2011 Skate America	1	79.08	1	136.92	1	216.00
Nov 18–20, 2011	2011 Trophée Éric Bompard	3	74.32	4	144.28	3	218.00
Nov 25–27, 2011	2011 Rostelecom Cup	3	79.01	3	147.34	4	226.35
Dec 8–11, 2011	2011–12 Grand Prix Final	6	75.26	6	143.72	6	218.98
Dec 15–18, 2011	2011 Czech Championships	1	72.12	2	135.45	2	207.57
Feb 7–12, 2012	2012 European Championships	6	76.13	4	153.17	4	229.30
Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2012	2012 World Championships	2	87.67	7	151.88	6	239.55

Results in the 2012–13 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 27–29, 2012	2012 Nebelhorn Trophy	5	67.78	7	133.93	5	201.71
Oct 6, 2012	2012 Japan Open	–	–	5	151.53	3 (5)	–
Oct 19–21, 2012	2012 Skate America	6	69.26	4	140.41	6	209.67
Nov 9–11, 2012	2012 Rostelecom Cup	6	73.83	4	150.73	3	224.56
Dec 5–9, 2012	2012 NRW Trophy	2	70.29	5	142.80	2	213.09
Jan 23–27, 2013	2013 European Championships	4	79.84	2	163.68	3	243.52
Mar 10–17, 2013	2013 World Championships	6	83.09	11	145.91	10	229.00

Results in the 2013–14 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Aug 31 – Sep 1, 2013	2013 Slovenia Open	1	71.49	2	125.83	1	197.32
Oct 5, 2013	2013 Japan Open	–	–	6	125.74	3 (6)	–
Oct 24–27, 2013	2013 Skate Canada International	7	71.71	5	146.61	4	218.32
Nov 15–17, 2013	2013 Trophée Éric Bompard	6	71.91	4	134.31	5	206.22
Dec 20–22, 2013	2013 Czech Championships	2	72.81	2	136.59	2	209.40
Jan 15–19, 2014	2014 European Championships	5	82.80	4	154.18	4	236.98
Feb 13–14, 2014	2014 Winter Olympics	13	81.95	13	151.67	10	233.62

Results in the 2014–15 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 24–27, 2014	2014 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	2	78.27	2	150.21	2	228.48
Oct 31 – Nov 2, 2014	2014 Skate Canada International	7	73.29	8	134.95	7	208.24
Nov 14–16, 2014	2014 Rostelecom Cup	4	80.89	3	160.34	3	241.23
Dec 4–7, 2014	2014 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	3	81.62	1	158.00	2	239.62
Dec 18–21, 2014	2014 Czech Championships	1	71.97	1	138.72	1	210.69
Jan 26 – Feb 1, 2015	2015 European Championships	3	80.86	7	139.25	5	220.11
Feb 25–28, 2015	2015 Hellmut Seibt Memorial	2	70.48	1	159.97	1	230.45
Mar 23–29, 2015	2015 World Championships	10	76.84	15	136.99	15	213.84

Results in the 2015–16 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 17–20, 2015	2015 Lombardia Trophy	4	62.54	1	143.67	2	206.21
Sep 24–26, 2015	2015 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	3	74.12	6	129.49	6	203.61
Oct 9–11, 2015	2015 CS Finlandia Trophy	5	67.48	4	137.58	5	205.06
Oct 15–18, 2015	2015 International Cup of Nice	4	74.21	4	141.34	4	215.55
Oct 30 – Nov 1, 2015	2015 Skate Canada International	5	75.46	8	143.12	8	218.58
Nov 27–29, 2015	2015 NHK Trophy	5	81.64	9	140.85	7	222.49
Dec 18–20, 2015	2015 Czech Championships	1	68.83	1	154.72	1	223.55
Jan 26–31, 2016	2016 European Championships	3	84.30	13	127.51	10	211.81
Feb 23–27, 2016	2016 Hellmut Seibt Memorial	1	73.64	2	138.92	2	212.56
Mar 28 – Apr 3, 2016	2016 World Championships	11	79.29	10	158.70	9	237.99
Apr 22–24, 2016	2016 Team Challenge Cup	8	64.54	5	158.30	2 (5)	–

Results in the 2016–17 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 28–30, 2016	2016 Skate Canada International	9	70.36	4	157.06	4	227.42
Nov 18–20, 2016	2016 Cup of China	7	75.87	9	135.91	10	211.77
Jan 25–29, 2017	2017 European Championships	8	78.61	13	136.91	12	215.52
Feb 1–5, 2017	2017 Winter Universiade	8	75.57	8	149.48	7	225.05
Mar 29 – Apr 2, 2017	2017 World Championships	15	80.02	18	146.24	18	226.26

Results in the 2017–18 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 13–17, 2017	2017 CS U.S. International Classic	7	75.78	11	118.17	9	193.95
Oct 6–8, 2017	2017 CS Finlandia Trophy	5	77.26	5	156.02	6	233.28
Oct 27–29, 2017	2017 Skate Canada International	7	80.34	4	156.70	6	237.04
Nov 10–12, 2017	2017 NHK Trophy	9	76.24	10	144.21	9	220.45
Jan 15–21, 2018	2018 European Championships	10	72.72	8	152.48	8	225.20
Feb 16–17, 2018	2018 Winter Olympics	9	85.15	18	160.92	16	246.07
Mar 19–25, 2018	2018 World Championships	17	78.01	8	165.98	10	243.99

Results in the 2018–19 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 12–16, 2018	2018 CS U.S. International Classic	2	79.57	4	128.70	2	208.27
Oct 19–21, 2018	2018 Skate America	2	82.09	2	157.42	2	239.51
Nov 2–4, 2018	2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki	2	93.31	2	164.67	2	257.98
Dec 6–9, 2018	2018–19 Grand Prix Final	3	89.21	4	166.05	4	255.26
Jan 21–27, 2019	2019 European Championships	8	83.66	6	150.59	7	234.25
Mar 18–24, 2019	2019 World Championships	8	86.96	8	167.32	8	254.28

Results in the 2019–20 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 3–5, 2019	2019 Shanghai Trophy	4	74.94	4	143.54	4	218.48
Oct 18–20, 2019	2019 Skate America	5	81.11	11	132.06	11	213.17
Nov 15–17, 2019	2019 Rostelecom Cup	8	80.27	8	156.20	9	236.47
Dec 13–14, 2019	2020 Czech Championships	1	82.95	1	164.58	1	247.53
Jan 20–26, 2020	2020 European Championships	1	89.77	11	141.48	7	231.25

Results in the 2020–21 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Dec 10–12, 2020	2021 Czech Championships	1	81.03	1	140.49	1	221.52
Mar 22–28, 2021	2021 World Championships	13	81.43	21	129.30	19	210.73

Results in the 2021–22 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 15–19, 2021	2021 U.S. International Classic	1	87.48	1	151.17	1	238.65
Oct 22–24, 2021	2021 Skate America	6	75.43	5	152.04	6	227.47
Nov 26–28, 2021	2021 Rostelecom Cup	6	82.31	11	137.28	10	219.59
Jan 10–16, 2022	2022 European Championships	15	71.60	5	166.78	10	238.38
Feb 4–7, 2022	2022 Winter Olympics – Team event	7	76.77	—	—	8	—
Feb 8—10, 2022	2022 Winter Olympics	25	75.19	—	—	25	75.19

Results in the 2022–23 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 8, 2022	2022 Japan Open	—	—	6	98.26	3	—

Junior level

Results in the 2004–05 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 1–5, 2004	2004 JGP Hungary	12	43.23	9	84.05	12	127.28
Jan 22–29, 2005	2005 European Youth Olympic Festival	8	–	7	–	7	–

Results in the 2005–06 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Mar 28–31, 2006	2006 Gardena Spring Trophy					3

Results in the 2006–07 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 5–7, 2006	2006 JGP Netherlands	7	48.06	6	99.33	5	147.39
Oct 19–22, 2006	2006 JGP Czech Republic	6	52.56	17	69.23	16	121.79
Dec 15–18, 2005	2006 Czech Championships (Junior)	1	47.53	1	95.15	1	142.68
Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2007	2007 World Junior Championships	19	50.36	16	92.97	16	143.33

Results in the 2007–08 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 13–16, 2007	2007 JGP Austria	8	51.62	8	103.58	7	155.20
Oct 11–14, 2007	2007 JGP Germany	1	61.77	2	114.66	2	176.43
Feb 25 – Mar 2, 2008	2008 World Junior Championships	5	62.11	6	122.29	5	184.40

Results in the 2008–09 season 

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Aug 27–31, 2008	2008 JGP France	1	63.13	1	119.59	1	182.72
Sep 3–6, 2008	2008 JGP Italy	3	63.52	1	128.96	1	192.48
Feb 22 – Mar 1, 2009	2009 World Junior Championships	2	69.55	2	135.33	2	204.88

Media related to Michal Březina at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 January 2020) (in Czech and English)
• Michal Březina at the International Skating Union
• Michal Březina at Olympedia
• Michal Březina at Olympics.com
• Michal Březina at Olympijskytym.cz (in Czech)

Olympic Games
Preceded by Eva Samková	Flagbearer for  Czech Republic Beijing 2022 with Alena Mills	Succeeded by incumbent