Balazs Nagy (figure skater)

Balazs Nagy (born July 9, 1998) is an American pair skater. With his former skating partner, Kate Finster, he is the 2020 U.S. national junior champion, the 2019 U.S. national junior silver medalist, and the 2019 JGP Poland silver medalist.

Balazs Nagy
Finster/Nagy at the 2019 World Junior Championships
Personal information
Native name	Balázs Nagy
Country represented	United States
Former country(ies) represented	Hungary
Born	July 9, 1998 Budapest, Hungary
Home town	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Residence	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9 ^1⁄2 in)
Former partner	Kate Finster, Krystal Edwards
Coach	Dalilah Sappenfield, Larry Ibarra
Former coach	Jessica Miller, Stephanie Miller, Oleg Efimov, Natalia Efimova
Choreographer	Dalilah Sappenfield
Skating club	Broadmoor SC
Training locations	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Former training locations	Wake Forest, North Carolina Budapest, Hungary
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	166.22 2019 JGP Poland
Short program	60.91 2019 JGP Poland
Free skate	105.31 2019 JGP Poland

Personal life

Balazs Nagy was born on July 9, 1998 in Budapest, Hungary and later emigrated with his parents to the United States. He has three sisters.[1] Nagy is fluent in both Hungarian and English. He moved back to Budapest for several years during his childhood, before returning to the U.S. to finish high school.[2] Nagy holds dual citizenship between Hungary and the United States.[2] He is currently a student at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, studying exercise science.[1] [2]

Nagy's hobbies include reptiles and crystal healing.[3] He enjoys watching movies, driving, and dancing and he loves desserts with cinnamon.[1]

Career

Early career

Nagy began skating under coaches Oleg Efimov and Natalia Efimova, a former Soviet pairs skater and ice dancer, respectively, in Wake Forest, North Carolina.[2] During this time, he also trained as a gymnast at Apex Gymnastics under coaches Todd McLaughlin and Jeremy Waters. He trained primarily in singles skating, representing first the United States, and then Hungary internationally after his family moved back to Budapest. At the suggestion of his coaches, Nagy briefly tried pairs with Krystal Edwards during the 2011–12 season, but the team split due him being "not ready" and his family returning to Hungary.[2]

Nagy briefly quit skating in 2017, before deciding to return and switch to pairs full-time.[2] He tried out with Kate Finster in the fall of 2017, around Thanksgiving, and they officially teamed up in early 2018.[2] The pair relocated from training with her coaches, Jessica Miller and Stephanie Miller, in Louisville to work full-time with Dalilah Sappenfield and Larry Ibarra in Colorado Springs.[2][1]

2018–2019 season

In their first season as a team, Finster / Nagy were assigned to 2018 JGP Czech Republic, where they finished ninth. They then won silver at Midwestern Sectionals. At the 2019 U.S. Championships, Finster / Nagy won the junior silver medal behind Laiken Lockley / Keenan Prochnow. As a result, they were named to the 2019 World Junior Championships team. At Junior Worlds, they were tenth after the short program and thirteenth in the free skating, to finish eleventh overall. Nagy called the experience "humbling" and motivation for the next season.[2]

2019–2020 season

Finster / Nagy opened the season with a sixth-place finish at 2019 JGP United States. They then won their first international medal at 2019 JGP Poland, earning the silver medal, behind Apollinariia Panfilova / Dmitry Rylov of Russia and ahead of Germany's Annika Hocke / Robert Kunkel.[4] Their results qualified them as first alternates to the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final.

Finster / Nagy won the inaugural U.S. Pairs Final to qualify to the 2020 U.S. Championships. They won their first junior pairs title at the 2020 U.S. Championships, ahead of Anastasiia Smirnova / Danil Siianytsia and Winter Deardorff / Mikhail Johnson. Their result earned them a berth on the 2020 World Junior Championships team.[5]

2020–2021 season

Finster / Nagy placed ninth at the ISP Points Challenge.

In December, Nagy announced that the pair had split.[6]

Programs

With Finster

Season	Short program	Free skating
2020–2021 [1]	Lost Without You by Freya Ridings	O (Fly On) Fix You by Coldplay
2019–2020 [3]	Hallelujah performed by Jeff Buckley choreo. by Delilah Sappenfield	To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra Rain, In Your Black Eyes by Ezio Bosso choreo. by Delilah Sappenfield
2018–2019 [7]	Harlem Nocturne performed by Fausto Papeth	Hollywood Wiz (from Cirque du Soleil)

Competitive highlights

JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Finster

International: Junior[8]
Event	18–19	19–20	20–21
Junior Worlds	11th	6th
JGP Czech Republic	9th
JGP Poland		2nd
JGP United States		6th
National[8]
U.S. Champ.	2nd J	1st J
U.S. Pairs Final		1st J
Midwestern Sect.	2nd J
ISP Points Challenge			9th
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew Levels: J = Junior

Men's singles (for Hungary)

International: Junior[9]
Event	2013–14	2014–15
Ice Challenge		9th
Santa Claus Cup		15th
International: Adv. novice[9]
Santa Claus Cup	3rd
National[9]
Hungarian Adv. Nov. & Jun. Champ.	2nd N	4th J
Eastern Hungary Cup		2nd J
Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior

With Edwards

National[10]
Event	2011–12
U.S. Junior Championships	9th V
Eastern Sectionals	3rd V
Levels: V = Juvenile

Men's singles (for the United States)

National[9]
Event	09–10	10–11	11–12	12–13
U.S. Junior Championships	11th Q V	7th Q V 10th V	8th Q I 11th I
Eastern Sectionals				5th I
South Atlantic Regionals	5th V	3rd V	4th I	5th I
Levels: V = Juvenile; I = Intermediate Q = Qualifying round

Detailed results

Junior results

2019–20 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 2–8, 2020	2020 World Junior Championships	5 58.33	7 97.93	6 156.26
January 20–26, 2020	2020 U.S. Championships	1 63.89	2 105.48	1 169.37
November 12–16, 2019	2019–20 U.S. Pairs Final	1 55.60	1 92.48	1 148.08
September 18–21, 2019	2019 JGP Poland	2 60.91	2 105.31	2 166.22
August 28–31, 2019	2019 JGP United States	5 54.33	9 78.76	6 133.09
2018–19 season
March 4–10, 2019	2019 World Junior Championships	10 50.30	13 81.99	11 132.29
January 18–27, 2019	2019 U.S. Championships	2 59.65	2 89.83	2 149.48
November 15–17, 2018	2018–19 Midwestern Sectionals	2 48.17	2 83.32	2 131.49
September 26–29, 2019	2019 JGP Czech Republic	7 50.29	9 78.02	9 128.31

References

1. "Kate Finster and Balazs Nagy". U.S. Figure Skating.
2. Cloutier, Claire (August 28, 2019). "Finster/Nagy: Young Team on the Rise". A Divine Sport.
3. "Kate FINSTER / Balazs NAGY". International Skating Union.
4. "Team USA collects four medals at two international competitions" (Press release). U.S. Figure Skating. September 21, 2019.
5. "U.S Figure Skating Announces Selections for World Junior Team" (Press release). U.S. Figure Skating. January 29, 2020.
6. Nagy, Balasz (December 7, 2020). "Kate Finster and I have ended our partnership". Instagram.
7. "Kate FINSTER / Balazs NAGY". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019.
8. "Kate FINSTER / Balazs NAGY: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
9. "Balazs Nagy". Stats on Ice.
10. "Krystal Edwards & Balazs Nagy". Stats on Ice.

External links

• Kate Finster / Balazs Nagy at the International Skating Union
• Kate Finster / Balazs Nagy at U.S. Figure Skating