Ruben Blommaert (born 5 March 1992) is a retired Belgian-born German pair skater. With his skating partner, Alisa Efimova, he is the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo silver medalist.
He also holds Belgian citizenship and competed for Belgium in single skating until 2010. Blommaert began representing Germany after teaming up with Annabelle Prölß to compete in pairs. They won the 2013 Cup of Nice and the 2013 German national title. He and his next partner, Mari Vartmann, won four ISU Challenger Series medals and the 2015 Cup of Nice. With Annika Hocke, Blommaert won silver medals at the 2017 CS Minsk-Arena Ice Star and 2017 International Cup of Nice and competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics. He competed for one season with Elena Pavlova.
Personal life Ruben Blommaert was born on 5 March 1992 in Bruges, Belgium. He became a German citizen on 1 July 2014 while retaining his Belgian citizenship. He has a twin brother, Sander, who dances with the Royal Ballet in London.
Career Blommaert began learning to skate in 1998. He competed for Belgium in single skating until 2010, appearing at the European Championships (finishing twenty-fifth in 2008 and 2009) and the Junior World Championships (finishing thirty-eighth in 2008 and twenty-eighth in 2009).
Partnership with Prölß Blommaert teamed up with Annabelle Prölß in October 2011. They won the junior pairs title at the 2012 German Junior Championships.
In 2012–13, Prölß/Blommaert made their Junior Grand Prix debut in Lake Placid, finishing 6th, and then placed 4th in Germany. They won gold medals in the junior events at the 2013 Ice Challenge and 2013 Bavarian Open. Prölß/Blommaert won gold in their senior national debut at the 2013 German Championships. They finished 7th at the 2013 World Junior Championships.
In 2013–14, Prölß/Blommaert debuted on the senior international level. After finishing 4th at their first two events, they took gold at the International Cup of Nice. They received their first senior Grand Prix assignment, the 2013 Trophée Éric Bompard, after France's Daria Popova / Bruno Massot withdrew, finishing seveneth. They then closed their season with a silver medal at the 2014 International Challenge Cup.
In 2014–15, Prölß/Blommaert placed seventh at 2014 Skate America and sixth at the 2014 Rostelecom Cup. The pair soon parted ways after that.
Partnership with Vartmann In the 2015–16 season, Blommaert started skating with Mari Vartmann. They won the 2015 Cup of Nice. At the 2016 Europeans, they placed 4th in the short program, 8th in the free program and 8th overall.
Vartmann and Blommaert started the 2016–17 season on the Challenger Series, winning bronze at both Nebelhorn Trophy and Finlandia Trophy. On 10 January 2017, the Deutsche Eislauf-Union announced that the two had parted ways.
Partnership with Hocke Blommaert and Annika Hocke announced their partnership on 9 February 2017. They competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, as well as at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships, before dissolving their partnership.
Partnership with Pavlova
Blommaert announced in July 2019 that he had formed a new partnership with Russian pair skater Elena Pavlova. Due to Pavlova's visa issues, they indicated they would initially have to split time training between Russia and Germany. The pair split after one season.
Partnership with Efimova Blommaert formed a new partnership with Alisa Efimova, who had previously competed with Alexander Korovin for Russia. They placed 2nd at the 2022 German Championships but were not allowed compete internationally until Efimova had been released by the Russian federation. They had their international debut at the 2022 Nebelhorn Trophy, where they placed second.
Competing on the Grand Prix series, Efimova/Bloomaert competed at 2022 Skate Canada International, however, after a hard fall on a throw in the short program, Efimova bruised her thigh and the pair withdrew from the event before the free skate. Going on to compete at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo, Efimova/Bloomaert won the silver medal behind Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo Ambrosini of Italy. At the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, Efimova/Bloomaert finished fifth.
The pair didn't compete at the 2023 German Championships due to Bloomaert coming down with a high fever a couple of days before the event.
Regardless, they were still selected to compete at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, Efimova/Bloomaert placed third in the short program but fifth in the free skate and dropped to fifth place overall.
Going on to compete at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Efimova/Bloomaert placed seventh in the short program and tenth in the free skate, finishing in tenth place overall.
Bloomaert retired from competitive figure skating following the season, citing a lack of funding from the German Skating Union as one of the main reasons.
Programs
Pair skating with Alisa Efimova (for Germany) Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2022–23 Piano Sonata No. 14 Moonlight Sonata (Epic Trailer Version) Private Investigations Sold My Soul The Danger Zone Hit the Road Jack
Pair skating with Elena Pavlova (for Germany) Season Short program Free skating 2019–20 Bloodstream Unsteady
Pair skating with Annika Hocke (for Germany) Season Short program Free skating 2018–19 Malagueña Land of All 2017–18 Big Spender Romeo & Juliet
Pair skating with Mari Vartmann (for Germany) Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2016–17 They Don't Care About Us Second Law I Put a Spell on You 2015–16 Stranger in Paradise West Side Story
Pair skating with Annabelle Prölß (for Germany) Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2014–2015 O mio babbino caro The Artist 2013–2014 Pirates of the Caribbean Maria 2012–2013 Italian Fantasia Robin Hood Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman performed by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson
Single skating (for Belgium) Season Short program Free skating 2009–2010 Bolero Henry V 2008–2009 Reel Around the Sun Blood Diamond 2007–2008 Moonlight Sonata Soundtracks 2006–2007 Fire Guerilleros
Competitive highlights
Pair skating with Alisa Efimova (for Germany)
Pair skating with Elena Pavlova (for Germany)
Pair skating with Annika Hocke (for Germany)
Pair skating with Mari Vartmann (for Germany)
Pair skating with Annabelle Prölß (for Germany)
Single skating (for Belgium)
Detailed results
Pair skating with Alisa Efimova (for Germany) 2022–2023 season Date Event SP FS Total March 22–26, 2023 2023 World Championships 7 65.23 10 119.23 10 184.46 January 25–29, 2023 2023 European Championships 3 62.77 5 110.89 4 173.66 November 25–27, 2022 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo 4 62.46 2 108.29 2 170.75 October 28–30, 2022 2022 Skate Canada International 7 51.49 WD WD October 4–9, 2022 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy 2 62.54 2 114.57 2 177.11 September 21–24, 2022 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy 3 67.05 2 119.12 2 186.17 2021–2022 season Date Event SP FS Total December 9–11, 2021 2022 German Championships 2 66.20 2 118.03 2 184.23
Pair skating with Elena Pavlova (for Germany) 2019–2020 season Date Event SP FS Total December 4–7, 2019 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 5 59.40 12 92.41 10 151.81 November 14–17, 2019 2019 CS Warsaw Cup 11 51.38 5 104.59 5 155.97 November 5–10, 2019 2019 Volvo Open Cup 3 54.19 5 91.70 4 145.89
Pair skating with Annika Hocke (for Germany) 2018–19 season Date Event SP FS Total March 18–24, 2019 2019 World Championships 16 53.16 13 113.20 14 166.36 February 21–24, 2019 2019 International Challenge Cup 3 58.67 3 108.46 3 167.13 February 5–10, 2019 2019 Bavarian Open 2 55.34 1 108.92 2 164.26 December 21–23, 2018 2019 German Championships 2 57.03 2 112.34 2 169.37 December 5–8, 2018 2018 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 6 59.34 6 101.13 6 160.47 October 19–21, 2018 2018 Skate America 6 53.36 7 91.17 7 144.53 2017–18 season Date Event SP FS Total March 19–25, 2018 2018 World Championships 16 63.26 13 121.57 13 184.83 February 14–15, 2018 2018 Winter Olympics 16 63.04 16 108.94 16 171.98 January 15–21, 2018 2018 European Championships 9 57.05 8 113.16 8 170.21 December 14–16, 2017 2018 German Championships 3 57.19 3 107.47 3 164.66 November 16–19, 2017 2017 CS Warsaw Cup 3 58.84 4 103.11 4 161.95 October 26–29, 2017 2017 CS Ice Star 2 59.58 2 113.06 2 172.64 October 11–15, 2017 2017 International Cup of Nice 2 55.86 2 116.84 2 172.70 September 27–30, 2017 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy 8 56.76 4 123.61 5 180.37
Pair skating with Mari Vartmann (for Germany) 2016–17 season Date Event SP FS Total December 15–17, 2016 2017 German Championships 1 61.22 1 119.68 1 180.90 November 25–27, 2016 2016 NHK Trophy 4 61.23 6 109.47 5 170.70 November 18–20, 2016 2016 Cup of China 7 60.88 5 113.00 7 173.88 October 6–10, 2016 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy 3 56.58 3 108.33 3 164.91 September 22–24, 2016 2016 CS Nebelhorn Trophy 3 57.74 3 104.64 3 162.38 2015–16 season Date Event SP FS Total January 25–31, 2016 2016 European Championships 4 62.90 8 108.40 8 171.30 December 11–13, 2015 2016 German Championships 2 67.09 2 112.01 2 179.10 November 18–22, 2015 2015 CS Tallinn Trophy 2 61.62 2 115.75 2 177.04 November 6–8, 2015 2015 Cup of China 5 63.45 7 107.96 6 171.41 October 27–31, 2015 2015 CS Ice Challenge 3 56.38 2 99.24 2 155.62 October 14–18, 2015 2015 International Cup of Nice 1 59.42 1 105.98 1 165.40 September 24–26, 2015 2015 CS Nebelhorn Trophy 2 61.10 4 105.40 4 166.50
Pair skating with Annabelle Prölß (for Germany) 2014–2015 season Date Event Level SP FS Total November 14–16, 2014 2014 Rostelecom Cup Senior 6 48.69 6 96.47 6 145.16 October 24–26, 2014 2014 Skate America Senior 7 48.87 8 87.48 7 136.35 2013–2014 season Date Event Level SP FS Total March 6–9, 2014 2014 International Challenge Cup Senior 3 49.21 2 90.83 2 140.04 November 15–17, 2013 2013 Trophée Éric Bompard Senior 7 54.18 7 103.44 7 157.62 October 23–27, 2013 2013 International Cup of Nice Senior 2 57.44 3 102.81 1 160.25 September 26–28, 2013 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy Senior 5 55.24 4 103.14 4 158.38 September 19–22, 2013 2013 Lombardia Trophy Senior 2 57.88 4 98.14 4 156.02 2012–2013 season Date Event Level SP FS Total February 27–March 3, 2013 2013 World Junior Championships Junior 6 49.95 4 97.88 7 147.83 February 6–11, 2013 2013 Bavarian Open Junior 1 50.25 1 99.35 1 149.60 December 21–22, 2012 2013 German Championships Senior 1 50.60 2 97.02 1 147.62 December 4–9, 2012 2012 NRW Trophy Junior 1 46.36 1 94.27 1 140.63 November 15–18, 2012 2013 Warsaw Cup Junior 2 48.68 2 88.17 2 136.85 November 6–11, 2012 2012 Ice Challenge Junior 1 40.83 1 80.52 1 121.35 October 10–13, 2012 2012 JGP Germany Junior 2 47.84 5 85.64 4 133.48 August 30–September 1, 2012 2012 JGP USA Junior 7 40.53 6 81.92 6 122.45 2011–2012 season Date Event Level SP FS Total January 6–7, 2012 2012 German Championships Junior 1 - 1 - 1 118.01
References
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