Ondřej Hotárek

Ondřej Hotárek (born 25 January 1984) is a Czech-Italian pair skater and coach who began competing for Italy in 2006. He competed with Valentina Marchei until the end of their partnership in 2018. With former partner Stefania Berton, he is the 2013 European bronze medalist, the 2013 Skate Canada International champion, and a three-time Italian national champion. Berton/Hotárek are the first Italian pair skaters to win European and Grand Prix medals.

Earlier in his career, Hotárek competed as a single skater and pair skater for the Czech Republic.

Personal life
Ondřej Hotárek was born 25 January 1984 in Brno, Czechoslovakia. He moved from the Czech Republic to Italy in 2005 and became an Italian citizen in September 2010. In January 2012, he became a member of the sports group of the Italian police.

Hotárek's engagement to his girlfriend, Italian ice dancer Anna Cappellini, was announced in August 2014. The couple married on June 20, 2015, in Breccia, Italy. Figure skater Michal Březina was the best man at their wedding.

On July 2, 2021, Hotárek and Cappellini's first child, a girl named Diana, was born.

Early career
Hotárek began learning to skate in 1989. He competed in men's singles for the Czech Republic. He became the 2003 and 2004 Czech national bronze medalist and appeared in international events.

Hotárek found the jump elements difficult, and believed his skill set would be better suited to pair skating. His first partner was Veronika Havlíčková. In January 2006, he teamed up with Laura Magitteri to compete for Italy. They were the 2007 and 2008 Italian national champions. Their partnership ended in January 2009.

Partnership with Berton


Hotárek teamed up with Stefania Berton in early 2009. They won the silver medal at 2010 Italian Nationals and were selected to compete at the World Championships. They placed 11th in their debut at the event.

During the 2010–11 season, Berton/Hotárek won silver at the Nebelhorn Trophy and also debuted on the Grand Prix circuit, finishing sixth at Cup of Russia. They won their first Italian national title and were sent to the 2011 European Championships. They placed fourth in the short program and fifth in the free program, setting personal bests in both, and finished fifth overall with their best combined total to date, 164.83 points.

Berton/Hotárek began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 Ondrej Nepela Memorial, where they won the silver medal. In the Grand Prix season, they placed 4th at 2011 NHK Trophy and then won bronze at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, making them the first Italian pair to medal on the Grand Prix circuit. At the 2012 European Championships, they placed 4th, historically the highest Italian result in pairs.

In the 2012–13 season, Berton/Hotárek were assigned to the 2012 Skate Canada International and 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard. After taking bronze at both events, they won bronze at the 2013 European Championships, becoming the first Italian pair skaters to medal at Europeans.

Berton/Hotárek started the 2013–14 Grand Prix season at the 2013 Skate America and finished 5th. They won their first GP title at the 2013 Skate Canada and then finished 4th at the 2014 European Championships, behind Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov. Berton/Hotárek finished 11th in the pairs event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

For the 2014-15 season, Berton/Hotarek were assigned to 2014 Skate America and the 2014 Rostelecom Cup. On 2 July 2014, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that their partnership had ended.

Partnership with Marchei
On 2 July 2014, La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote that Hotárek and Valentina Marchei, a single skater, were considering a partnership. Bruno Marcotte confirmed on 26 July 2014 that the two were training together. They are coached by Marcotte in Montreal and by Franca Bianconi in Milan.

2014–15 season
Marchei/Hotárek began the season by winning the bronze medal at the 2014 CS Warsaw Cup as well as the silver medal at the 2014 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb. They then went on to win the 2015 Italian Championships.

Selected to compete at the European Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Marchei/Hotárek finished fourth.

At the World Championships in Shanghai, China, they finished eleventh.

2015–16 season
Marchei/Hotárek started the season by winning gold at the 2015 Lombardia Trophy.

Debuting on the Grand Prix series, Marchei/Hotárek competed in the short program at 2015 Skate Canada International but withdrew on the day of the free skate due to Hotárek sustaining a concussion while practicing a triple twist. They went on to compete at the 2015 Rostelecom Cup, finishing sixth.

At the Italian Figure Skating Championships, Marchei/Hotárek won the silver medal behind Nicole Della Monica / Matteo Guarise.

Going on to compete at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, Marchei/Hotárek finished fifth. They went on to compete at the 2015 Hellmut Seibt Memorial, where they won the gold medal.

At the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, Marchei/Hotárek finished fourteenth.

2016–17 season
Marchei/Hotárek began the season by winning the silver medal at the 2016 CS Lombardia Trophy.

They then competed on the Grand Prix series, finishing eighth at 2016 Skate America and fourth at the 2016 Rostelecom Cup. They went on to also win the gold medal at the 2016 CS Warsaw Cup.

At the 2017 Italian Championships, Marchei/Hotárek won the silver medal for the second consecutive year.

Selected to compete at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Marchei/Hotárek finished sixth.

Competing at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Marchei/Hotárek placed ninth.

2017–18 season
Marchei/Hotárek began the season with winning the bronze medal at the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy.

They then competed on the 2017–18 Grand Prix series, finishing fifth at the 2017 Cup of China and fourth at the 2017 Rostelecom Cup. They also won the gold medal at the 2017 CS Warsaw Cup.

At the 2018 Italian Championships, Marchei/Hotárek won the silver medal for the third year in a row.

Competing at the 2018 European Championships in Moscow, Russia, Marchei/Hotárek finished fifth.

Selected to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in both the Team and Pair events, Marchei/Hotárek placed second in the free program segment of the team event, helping Team Italy finish in fourth place overall. In the pairs event, Marchei/Hotárek placed seventh in the short program and sixth in the free skate, finishing in sixth place overall.

At the 2018 World Championships in Milan, Italy, Marchei/Hotárek finished in tenth place.

They ended their partnership in September 2018.

Post-competitive career
Following his retirement from competitive figure skating, Hotárek became a figure skating coach and currently coaches in Bergamo at the S.S.D. S.r.l. Icelab alongside his former coach, Franca Bianconi.

His current and former students include:
 * 🇮🇹 Anna Valesi / Manuel Piazza
 * 🇨🇿 Federica Simioli / Alessandro Zarbo
 * 🇩🇪 Annika Hocke / Robert Kunkel
 * 🇮🇹 Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo Ambrosini
 * 🇫🇮 Milania Väänänen / Filippo Clerici
 * 🇬🇧 Kristen Spours

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

Detailed results
Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.