Anita Östlund (born 30 January 2001) is a Swedish figure skater. She is the 2017 Nordic bronze medalist, 2017 Sofia Trophy silver medalist, and a two-time Swedish national champion (2018, 2020). She represented Sweden at the 2018 Winter Olympics and has competed in the final segment at three ISU Championships.

Personal life Anita Östlund was born on 30 January 2001 in Odesa, Ukraine. She is the daughter of Yulia, an ethnic Russian, and Peter Östlund. She has three younger sisters – Nicole, Melina, and Michelle.

In 2023, Anita shared the violence she and her siblings endured from her mother.

She is currently studying psychology in Stockholm.

Career

Early years Östlund started learning to skate in 2006. For two seasons beginning in 2012–2013, she competed internationally on the advanced novice level. She won gold at the 2013 Ice Challenge, silver at the 2014 Nordics, and silver at the 2014 Bavarian Open.

2014–2015 season: Junior debut Östlund made her ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut in the 2014–2015 season, placing 17th in Courchevel and 14th in Ostrava. She won the junior ladies' silver medal at the Swedish Championships and was sent to the 2015 World Junior Championships, but did not advance to the free skate after placing 32nd in the short program.

2015–2016 season Östlund placed 9th at her 2015 JGP assignment in Linz, Austria, and 5th in junior ladies at the 2015 Tallinn Trophy. She won the junior silver medal at the Swedish Championships.

2016–2017 season: Senior debut Östlund began her season on the JGP series, placing 12th in Yokohama, Japan, and 7th in Tallinn, Estonia. Making her senior international debut, she placed 7th at the Warsaw Cup, a Challenger Series event in November 2016. In December, she finished third to Joshi Helgesson and Matilda Algotsson at the Swedish Championships.

Östlund's first senior international medal, silver, came in February 2017 at the Sofia Trophy in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she finished second to Isadora Williams. At the Nordics Open, held in March in Reykjavík, Iceland, she outscored both of her national co-medalists for the bronze medal and joined former world champions Carolina Kostner and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva on the podium. Later in the same month, she competed at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Taiwan. She qualified to the free skate by placing 15th in the short and went on to finish 13th overall.

2017–2018 season: Pyeongchang Olympics In September, Sweden qualified a spot at the 2018 Winter Olympics due to Matilda Algotsson's result at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy.

In December, Östlund won the Swedish senior national title by a 19-point margin over Algotsson. In January, she finished as Sweden's top ladies' entry at the 2018 European Championships, having placed 6th in the short program, 20th in the free skate, and 17th overall. On 23 January 2018, the Swedish Olympic Committee selected Östlund to compete at the Olympics under the committee's "future" criterion. The following month, she competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Ranked 28th in the short program, she did not advance to the final segment.

2018–2019 season Östlund opened her season at the CS Finlandia Trophy, placing 12th overall. She later placed 16th at the CS Alpen Trophy.

At the 2019 European Championships, she placed 18th overall. Subsequently, finishing 30th in the short program at the 2019 World Championships, failing to advance onto the free skating segment.

2020–2021 season Östlund opened her season with two Challenger Series events; Nebelhorn Trophy and Warsaw Cup. She placed 8th and 19th respectively. In December, Anita won the Swedish national title.

At the 2020 European Championships, Östlund placed 9th in the short program, scoring a new personal best short program score of 60.57 points. She placed 21st in the free skate, dropping to 18th place overall.

2021–2022 season Östlund began the season by placing 9th at the 2021 Tallink Hotels Cup. She later won bronze at the Sofia Trophy.

Closing her season, she placed 10th at the Budapest Trophy and 7th at the Swedish Championships.

2023–2025: Hiatus, Mother's abuse In 2023 Östlund disappeared from the competitive stage and opened up about violence she and her sisters had endured from her mother. “My three sisters and I were both physically and psychologically abused by our mother throughout our upbringing...Because it was hard for me at home, the skating rink became a refuge for me and a place where I could disconnect from everything that was hard. It meant a lot.” Anita additionally shared that she had apply for social services and live in a special shelter. “I took a break from competitive figure skating to focus on my wellness and my education. I didn’t say I was leaving, but let’s see how I feel. Now I focus on my well-being and work on myself" shares Anita.

2025–2026 season: Return to competition Östlund made her return to competitive ice after four years at the Volvo Open; placing 6th. She later won silver at the Swedish Championships and placed 4th at the Nordic Championships. She subsequently closed her season with a 4th place finish at the 2026 Tallink Hotels Cup.

2026–2027 season Östlund opened the new season with a 7th place finish at the 2026 CS Lombardia Trophy scoring new personal best scores in the free skate and overall.

Programs Season Short program Free skating2026–2027La La Land

Audition (The Fools Who Dream) Someone in the Crowdby Emma Stone Epilogueby Justin Hurtwitz2025–2026 Ordinaryby Alex WarrenMe Voy Tu no sabesby Yasmin Levy 2020–2021 Sixteen Tons Soda Pop The Show Must Go On 2018–2019 Je t'aime Summer of '42 2017–2018 Carmen Fantasie Papa, Can You Hear Me? 2016–2017 Carmen Fantasie

Je t'aime And the Waltz Goes On

Carmen Fantasie 2015–2016 A Comme Amour Bacchanale 2014–2015 Dark Eyes

Competitive highlights CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International Event 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21 21–22 25–26 26-27 Olympics 28th Worlds 29th 30th Europeans 17th 18th 18th Alpen Trophy 16th Finlandia 12th Ice Star 8th Lombardia 8th Nebelhorn 8th Warsaw Cup 7th 5th 19th Bavarian Open WD Budapest Trophy 10th Halloween Cup 2nd Jégvirág Cup 5th Nordics 3rd Santa Claus Cup 6th Sofia Trophy 2nd 3rd Tallink Hotels Cup 9th 4th Toruń Cup 11th Volvo Open Cup 6th International: Junior Junior Worlds 32nd 13th Austria 9th 7th Czech Rep. 14th Estonia 7th France 17th Italy 9th Japan 12th Avas Cup 1st Coupe Printemps 2nd FBMA Trophy 1st Ice Star 1st Nordics 6th 4th Tallinn Trophy 5th National Swedish Champ. 2nd J 2nd J 3rd 1st WD 1st 7th 2nd

References

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