Gheorghe Chiper

Gheorghe Chiper (born 8 April 1978) is a Romanian former competitive figure skater. He is an eight-time Romanian national champion and competed at two Olympic Games. He is the first Romanian skater to win a medal on the Grand Prix circuit and the first Romanian to land a quadruple toe loop in competition.

Career
Competitive Figure Skating Career

Chiper competed at three World Junior Championships; his best result was 15th in 1997.

Chiper made his senior World Championships debut in 1998, finishing 16th in the qualifying round. The following season, Chiper won his first senior national title.

In the 2000–01 season, he was coached by Sylvia Holtes in Groningen, Netherlands. In 2001–02, Sandra Schär became his coach in Küsnacht, Switzerland. Chiper competed at his first Olympics in 2002, placing 23rd.

At the 2005 European Championships, Chiper achieved his best European result, 8th.

In winning bronze at the 2005 Trophee Eric Bompard, Chiper became the first Romanian to ever medal on the Grand Prix series. He placed 14th at his second Olympics in Torino, Italy. He competed for the final time at the 2006 World Championships where he also placed 14th, his career-best Worlds result.

Since his competitive retirement, he has worked as a coach in Switzerland.

Coaching career

Chiper has worked as a figure skating coach in Zurich Switzerland since 2001. In 2009 he co-founded Skate Academy Switzerland GmbH where he works as head-coach overseeing a team of assistant coaches, conditioning staff and choreographers.

Chiper's figure skating students have achieved numerous national titles and competed in international competitions. Chiper has coached his teammembers to qualify and compete at Junior Grand Prix, Junior World Championships, European Youth Olympic Festivals, Youth Olympic Games, European and World Championships, Grand Prix and Olympic Games 2014 and 2022. Former and current students include Myriam Leuenberger, Moris Pfeiffhofer, Tina Stürzinger, Zoltan Kelemen, Tanja Odermatt, Leon Auspurg, Eveline Brunner, Alexia Paganini, Georgii Pavlov, and Sarina Joos.

In October 2022 Chiper was nominated for the Swiss Olympic Coach Award.

Personal life
Chiper was born on 8 April 1978 in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania. He speaks Romanian, Hungarian, English, Dutch, Italian, French and German. He is of part-Hungarian descent. In 2000, he married Sandra Schär, with whom he has a daughter, Flora, and a son, Aurel.

Results
GP: Grand Prix