Lukas Britschgi

Lukas Britschgi (born 17 February 1998) is a Swiss figure skater. He is the 2023 European bronze medalist, 2023 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, a four-time ISU Challenger Series medalist (including gold at the 2023 Warsaw Cup), and a four-time Swiss national champion (2019–20, 2022, 2024). He represented Switzerland at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Personal life
Britschgi was born on February 17, 1998, in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

He has a brother and is bilingual, able to speak German and English fluently. He is also a university student, studying business administration.

His figure skating idol is Stéphane Lambiel.

Career
Britschgi began figure skating in 2005 at about seven years old, having been introduced to the sport by his mother who was a former ice dancer. Initially skating only for fun, he did not decide to become a competitive figure skater until around the age of fourteen.

He debuted at the 2014–15 Swiss Junior Championships, where he won the silver medal.

2015–16 season
Britschgi debuted on the 2015–16 Junior Grand Prix series, placing fifteenth at 2015 JGP Latvia. He then went on to finish fifth at the 2015 Leo Scheu Memorial, fourth at the 2015 Merano Cup, and seventh at the 2015 NRW Trophy.

At the 2015–16 Swiss Junior Championships, Britschgi won the gold medal. He closed his season with a fifth place finish at the 2016 Bavarian Open.

2016–17 season
Britschgi started the season on the 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix series, placing tenth at the 2016 JGP Czech Republic and thirteenth at the 2016 JGP Germany. He went on to place fourth at the 2016 Cup of Nice and thirteenth at the 2016 Tallinn Trophy.

Competing at his first senior Swiss Championships, Britschgi won the silver medal. He ended his season at the 2017 Bavarian Open, where he placed tenth.

2017–18 season
Prior to the season, Britschgi decided to relocate to Oberstdorf, Germany, with Michael Huth becoming his coach.

Britschgi opened the season with a fifteenth-place finish at the 2017 Ondrej Nepela Trophy, a tenth-place finish at the 2017 Cup of Nice, a bronze medal at the 2017 Golden Bear of Zagreb, and a twelfth-place finish at the 2017 Warsaw Cup.

He then went on to win the bronze medal at the 2017–18 Swiss Championships and closed his season with a silver medal at the 2018 Bavarian Open.

2018–19 season
Britschgi opened his season at the 2018 Finlandia Trophy, finishing in eighth place. He then went on to place eighth at the 2018 Ice Star, ninth at the 2018 CS Alpen Trophy, and eighth at the 2018 Warsaw Cup.

At the 2018–19 Swiss Championships, Britschgi won his first national title and was subsequently selected to represent Switzerland at the 2019 European Championships in Minsk, Belarus, and the 2019 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. At the European Championships, Britschgi placed thirty-first in the short program, failing to qualify for the free skate segment of the competition and finishing thirty-first overall. He then went on to win the bronze medal at the 2019 International Challenge Cup.

Britschgi concluded his season at the World Championships, where he placed thirty-fourth in the short program, not qualifying for the free skate segment of the competition and finished thirty-fourth overall.

2019–20 season
Britschgi started his season by winning the bronze medal at the 2018 Golden Bear of Zagreb as well as finishing sixth at both the 2019 Volvo Open Cup and the 2019 Warsaw Cup. Britschgi then went on to win his second consecutive title at the 2019–20 Swiss Championships.

At the 2020 European Championships in Graz, Austria, Britschgi finished in nineteenth place after placing twenty-second in the short program and nineteenth in the free skate. He then went on to place fourth at the 2020 International Challenge Cup.

Although selected to compete at the 2020 World Championships, the event was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020–21 season
Britschgi began the season with an eighth-place finish at the 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy.

Despite the 2020–21 Swiss Championships being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Britschgi was ultimately selected to compete at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden. He went on to place fifteenth at the event after placing seventeenth in the short program and sixteenth in the free skate. With this placement, Britschgi was able to secure one spot for Swiss men's singles skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

2021–22 season
Britschgi started the season by competing at the 2021 Finlandia Trophy, the 2021 Asian Open Trophy, and the 2021 Warsaw Cup, where he placed eighth, fifth, and seventh, respectively. He then went on to win the gold medal at the 2021 NRW Trophy.

At the 2021–22 Swiss Championships, Britschgi won his third national title and was subsequently named to the European, Olympic, and World team. He went on to place eleventh at the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, after placing thirteenth in the short program and eleventh in the free skate.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, Britschgi managed to qualify for the free skate segment of the competition after placing twenty-fourth in the short program. In the free program, Britschgi placed twenty-third and moved up to twenty-third place overall.

Shortly prior the 2022 World Championships, Britschgi tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw from the event.

2022–23 season
Britschgi began his season by finishing fifth at the 2022 Finlandia Trophy, before going on to compete at the 2022 Budapest Trophy where he won the silver medal. He then went on to make his Grand Prix series debut at 2022 Skate Canada International, where he finished sixth. Shortly before the 2022 Grand Prix de France, Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan withdrew and Britschgi was called up to replace him.

At the 2022 Warsaw Cup, Britschgi won the bronze medal after skating a clean short and free program, scoring personal bests in the process. Following the event, however, he fell off his bicycle and broke his collar bone and had to five weeks off the ice to recover. As a result, Britschgi had to miss the 2022–23 Swiss Championships.

Competing at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, Britschgi placed fifth in the short program after fall on his quad toe loop attempt. However, he managed to perform a near perfect free skate, placing third in that segment of the competition and winning the bronze medal. His bronze medal was the highest finish for a Swiss skater of any discipline at the European Championships in over a decade. Following the event, Britschgi said he was "relieved" to have performed so well with only four weeks of post-accident training. This placement granted two spots for Swiss men's singles skaters at the 2024 European Championships.

At the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Britschgi placed ninth in both the short and free program segments of the competition and finished in eighth place overall, scoring a new personal best free skate and combined total score in the process. 's top ten finish guaranteed two spots for Swiss men's singles skaters at the 2024 World Championships.

2023–24 season
Britschgi began the season with two appearances on the Challenger circuit, finishing fourth at the 2023 Finlandia Trophy before winning the silver medal the next week at the 2023 Budapest Trophy. At the Grand Prix, he placed fourth at the 2023 Grand Prix de France, including a third-place finish in the free skate with a new personal best score. His total score of 263.43 would have been sufficient to win the gold medal at the 2023 Skate Canada International the prior week. In between Grand Prix appearances, Britschgi competed at the 2023 Warsaw Cup, winning the gold medal, his first Challenger title. At the 2023 NHK Trophy, he placed third in both segments to win the bronze medal, a result he described as "amazing." This was the first Grand Prix medal for a Swiss skater since Sarah Meier and Stéphane Lambiel's silver medals on the 2007–08 circuit.

After winning another Swiss national title, Britschgi was assigned to the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas. He finished second in the short program, but errors in the free skate dropped him to fifth overall. At the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Britschgi came sixth, despite dealing with a left knee injury. Of finishing in the top six, he said "I never thought that would be possible."

Competitive highlights

 * GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
 * JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
 * CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
 * C – Event was cancelled

Detailed results

 * Small medals for the short program and free skating are only awarded at ISU Championships.