Nicole Schott

Nicole Schott (born 12 September 1996) is a German figure skater. She is the 2016 CS Warsaw Cup champion, the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy bronze medalist, a two-time NRW Trophy champion (2014, 2016), and a seven-time German national champion (2012, 2015, 2018–20, 2022–23). She has finished within the top ten at two World and four European Championships.

Schott represented Germany at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, placing eighteenth and seventeenth, respectively.

Personal life
Schott was born in Essen. Her father played ice hockey and her younger sister, Vivienne, has competed in figure skating.

Early career
Schott began figure skating in 1999. Her first coach was Gudrun Pladdies.

She won the 2009 German Novice Championships.

2010–11 season: Junior international debut
Making her international junior debut at the 2010 NRW Trophy, Schott finished fourteenth. She then went on to finish sixth at the 2011 German Championships.

Schott represented Germany at the World Junior Championships in Gangneung, South Korea. Ranked fifteenth in the short program, she qualified for the free skate and finished twenty-second overall.

2011–12 season: Senior international debut and first national title
Beginning her season by competing the 2011 Ice Challenge and the 2011 Warsaw Cup, finishing seventh at the former and winning gold at the latter. She then competed on the senior level at the 2011 NRW Trophy, finishing twenty-first.

Schott won the German national senior title.

2012–13 season
Schott began the season by competing on the junior level, finishing fifth at both the 2012 Crystal Skate of Romania and the 2012 Warsaw Cup. She then competed at the 2012 NRW Trophy, finishing sixth.

She went on to compete on the senior level at the 2013 German Championships, finishing eighth.

Schott then finished twelfth on the senior level at the 2013 Bavarian Open and fourteenth at the 2013 Coupe du Printemps.

2013–14 season
Debuting on the Junior Grand Prix series, competing at the 2013 JGP Poland, finishing fourteenth. She went on to win gold at the 2013 Crystal Skate of Romania, place fourth at the 2013 Skate Celje and ninth at the 2013 NRW Trophy.

At the 2014 German Championships, Schott won the bronze medal.

She then finished ninth at the 2014 Bavarian Open and sixth at the 2014 Hellmut Seibt Memorial.

2014–15 season
In the summer of 2014, Schott left longtime coach, Gudrun Pladdies, to train under Michael Huth in Oberstdorf.

She began the season by competing on the Junior Grand Prix series, placing seventh at the 2014 JGP Slovenia and tenth at the 2014 JGP Estonia.

She then went on to finish ninth at the 2014 CS Warsaw Cup as well as win her first senior international medal, gold, at the 2014 NRW Trophy. She then placed eleventh at the 2014 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.

At the 2015 German Championships, Schott won the gold medal ahead of Nathalie Weinzierl by nine points.

Selected to compete at the 2015 European Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Schott finished ninth. She then competed at the 2015 Bavarian Open, where she placed fifth.

She then won the bronze medal at the 2015 Coupe du Printemps.

Making her World Championship debut at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, China, Schott qualified for the free skate after placing nineteenth in the short program. She then placed twenty-third in the free skate and finished the event in twenty-third place overall.

2015–16 season
Schott began the season on the Junior Grand Prix series, finishing eleventh at the 2015 JGP Slovakia. She went on to compete at the 2015 CS Warsaw Cup and the 2015 CS Tallinn Trophy, placing fourth and ninth, respectively.

At the 2016 German Championships, Schott won the bronze medal behind Lutricia Bock and Nathalie Weinzierl.

She then placed fourth at the 2016 Mentor Toruń Cup and won the silver medal at the 2016 FBMA Trophy.

2016–17 season
Schott started the season by placing ninth at the 2016 CS Lombardia Trophy and fifth at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy. She also went on to win the bronze medal at the 2016 Golden Bear of Zagreb.

Schott then stepped on her first ISU Challenger Series podium, taking gold at the Warsaw Cup ahead of Australia's Kailani Craine. She then went on to win the gold medal at the 2016 NRW Trophy as well.

Competing at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Schott finished tenth.

At the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Schott advanced to the free skate segment of the competition by placing twenty-fourth in the short program. She then placed nineteenth in the free skate and moved up to nineteenth place overall.

2017–18 season: PyeongChang Olympics
Schott began the season at the 2017 Cup of Nice, where she finished fourth.

Making her debut on the Grand Prix series, Schott placed tenth at the 2017 Rostelecom Cup and seventh at the 2017 Internationaux de France. She also competed at the 2017 CS Ice Star between each Grand Prix event, where she placed fifth.

Competing at the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy and 2017 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, Schott placed fifth and fourth, respectively.

Schott won her third national title at the 2018 German Championships, and was ultimately selected to compete at the European Championships, the Winter Olympics, and the World Championships.

At the European Championships, held in Moscow, Russia, Schott finished tenth for the second year in a row.

Competing for Team Germany in the short program of the team event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Schott placed eighth and ultimately earned Team Germany three points. She then competed in the ladies' singles event, placing fourteenth in the short program and seventeenth in the free skate, ultimately finishing eighteenth overall.

At the World Championships, held in Milan, Italy, Schott placed twelfth in the short program and fourteenth in the free skate, ultimately finishing the event in thirteenth place overall.

2018–19 season
Although assigned to compete on the Grand Prix series at the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki and the 2018 Rostelecom Cup, Schott withdrew from both events due to the flu and a still-healing knee injury.

Competing at the 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy and the 2018 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, Schott finished tenth at both events.

At the 2019 German Championships, Schott won her fourth national title.

Competing at the 2019 European Championships in Minsk, Belarus, Schott finished sixteenth.

She then went on to win silver at both the 2019 Jégvirág Cup and the 2017 Cup of Tyrol.

At the 2019 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Schott placed twelfth in the short program and seventeenth in the free skate, ultimately finishing sixteenth overall.

2019–20 season
Beginning her season by competing at the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Schott won the bronze medal. She went on to compete at the 2019 Golden Bear of Zagreb, where she placed fourth.

Competing at the 2019 Internationaux de France, Schott finished seventh. She then competed at the 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where she won the bronze medal.

At the 2020 German Championships, Schott won the national title for the fifth time.

Selected to compete at the European Championships in Graz, Austria, Schott finished thirteenth.

Although assigned to compete at the 2020 World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, the event was ultimately cancelled due to rising concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020–21 season
Schott began the season at the 2020 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, finishing fourth.

Although assigned to compete at the 2020 Internationaux de France, the event was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to several COVID-19 cases at her training rink in Obsterstorf, Schott made the decision to withdraw from the 2021 German Championships. Nonetheless, Schott was selected to compete at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, where she finished eighteenth.

2021–22 season: Beijing Olympics
Schott started the season at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy, placing seventeenth.

She went on to compete on the Grand Prix series, finishing tenth at the 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia and eighth at the 2021 NHK Trophy. She then competed at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup and the 2022 Asian Open Trophy, finishing fourth and sixth, respectively.

At the 2022 German Championships, Schott won her sixth national title.

Selected to compete at the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Schott placed ninth.

Named to her second German Olympic team, Schott competed in the team event short program for Team Germany at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, Schott finished sixth in that segment and ultimately earned five points for Team Germany. Schott then competed in the Women's singles event, placing fourteenth in the short program and nineteenth in the free skate, finishing seventeenth overall.

International Skating Union banned all Russian and Belarusian skaters from competing at the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier, France. This had a major impact on the women's field, dominated by Russians for most of the preceding eight years. Schott unexpectedly placed sixth in the short program with a new personal best. Fourteenth in the free skate, she was tenth overall.

2022–23 season
Schott began the season by competing at the 2022 CS Budapest Trophy, where she finished tenth. She then competed on the Grand Prix series, finishing seventh at 2022 Skate America and sixth at the 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy.

Competing at the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup and the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, Schott placed fourth and seventh, respectively.

At the 2023 German Championships, Schott won the national title for the seventh time.

Competing at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, Schott placed sixteenth in the short program and ninth in the free skate, finishing in ninth-place overall.

At the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Schott delivered a clean short and free program, ultimately scoring personal bests in all segments of the competition. She placed seventh in the short program and ninth in the free skate, finishing the event in seventh place overall.

2023–24 season: Retirement
Schott withdrew from her Grand Prix assignments for the 2023–2024 season in August 2023 before ultimately announcing her retirement from competitive figure skating on November 30, 2023.

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

Detailed results
Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.