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Simon Shnapir (born August 20, 1987) is an American former competitive pair skater. With Marissa Castelli, he is the 2013 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2009 World Junior bronze medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion (2013 & 2014). The pair won a bronze medal in the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympics. After their split in May 2014, Shnapir teamed up with DeeDee Leng and competed in the 2014–15 season.
Shnapir graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in 2005, and went on to major in marketing at Emerson College.
Castelli/Shnapir qualified for the 2008 Junior Grand Prix Final and placed sixth. The pair won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Junior Championships.
In the 2009–10 season, Castelli was off the ice for a month after a collision with an Italian skater resulting in 15 stitches to her inner thigh. The pair placed tenth on the senior level at the 2010 U.S. Championships and were sent to the 2010 Four Continents Championships where they also finished tenth.
In 2012, Castelli/Shnapir split up for a month but decided to recommit to their partnership. They won gold at the 2012 Ice Challenge and then won bronze, their first Grand Prix medal, at the 2012 NHK Trophy. They won their first national title at the 2013 U.S. Championships. They were assigned to the 2013 Four Continents and won the bronze medal.
Castelli/Shnapir won their second national title at the 2014 U.S. Championships and were named in the U.S. team to the 2014 Winter Olympics, held in February in Sochi, Russia. They won a bronze medal in the team event and placed 9th in the pairs event. In March, Castelli/Shnapir finished 11th at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. They announced the end of their partnership on May 7, 2014.
In April 2015, Leng suffered a season-ending concussion during a practice session. On June 30, 2015, Shnapir announced his retirement from competitions. In November 2016, he became the director of the high performance program at the Skating Club of Boston.
Career
Shnapir began learning to skate in 1993. Early in his pairs career, he skated with Tanya Aziz and Courtney Gill. Bobby Martin became his coach in around 2000.
Partnership with Castelli
Shnapir and Marissa Castelli teamed up in April 2006 and began training together in earnest in June. They trained in Boston, coached by Bobby Martin, Carrie Wall (technical), Mark Mitchell (in-betweens, polishing), and Peter Johansson (throws). Castelli broke Shnapir's nose once while they were practicing the twist lifts.
Partnership with Leng
On May 28, 2014, the Associated Press reported that Shnapir had teamed up with DeeDee Leng. They were coached by Bobby Martin and Carrie Wall at the Skating Club of Boston. For the 2014-2015 Grand Prix season, they were assigned to Rostelecom Cup and NHK Trophy. After having placed 6th and 8th at these competitions, respectively, Leng and Shnapir placed 8th at the 2015 U.S. Championships.
Programs
With Leng
With Castelli
Competitive highlights
GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
With Leng
6th 8th 8th
With Castelli
9th 11th 4th 6th 4th 1st 3rd T Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior
T = Team result; P = Personal result; Medals awarded for team result only.
See also
External links
Categories: American Male Pair Skaters, Figure Skaters From Moscow, Living People, 1987 Births, Jewish American Sportspeople, American People Of Russian-jewish Descent, Russian Emigrants To The United States, Jewish Russian Sportspeople, World Junior Figure Skating Championships Medalists, Figure Skaters At The 2014 Winter Olympics, Medalists At The 2014 Winter Olympics, Olympic Medalists In Figure Skating, Olympic Bronze Medalists For The United States In Figure Skating, Lincoln-sudbury Regional High School Alumni, Four Continents Figure Skating Championships Medalists, 21st-century American Jews, 21st-century American Sportsmen
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