Zoe Wilkinson

Zoe Wilkinson

Wilkinson/Boyadji in June 2016
Personal information
Alternative names Zoe Jones
Zoe Wood
Country represented United Kingdom
Born (1980-01-14) 14 January 1980
Swindon, England
Height 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Partner Christopher Boyadji
Former coach Joy Sutcliffe, Lesley Norfolk-Pearce
Former choreographer Joy Sutcliffe
Former skating club Centrum Ayr
Training locations Swindon
Former training locations Ayr
Began skating 1986
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 134.48
2016 Coupe de Nice
Short program 52.58
2016 Coupe de Nice
Free skate 81.90
2016 Coupe de Nice

Zoe Wilkinson, née Jones, previous married name: Wood (born 14 January 1980) is a British figure skater. She is a two-time (2000, 2001) British national champion in ladies' singles. She reached the free skate at three ISU Championships and qualified for the 1998 Winter Olympics, but could not compete because of injury.

Personal life

Zoe Jones was born on 14 January 1980 in Swindon, England.[1] She is divorced from Dody Wood and now married to Matthew Wilkinson. She is the mother of twin girls, Zarah and Zinia, born in 2007, and a boy, Zkai, born c. 2012.[2] She lived in Canada for almost ten years before returning to England.[2]

Career

Single skating

Jones began skating at age five at the Link Centre in Swindon.[3] Early in her career, she was coached by Lesley Norfolk-Pearce.[4]

In late 1995, Jones represented the U.K. at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Brisbane, Australia, and reached the final segment by placing 10th in qualifying group A and then 19th in the short program. She finished 22nd in the free skate and overall. In late 1996, she appeared at the 1997 World Junior Championships in Seoul, South Korea. She placed 20th in the short, 17th in the free, and 18th overall. She was less successful at the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, being eliminated after placing 18th in qualifying group B.

In October 1997, Jones competed at the Karl Schäfer Memorial, the final opportunity to qualify for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. By finishing 6th, she earned an Olympic spot for the U.K., however, the British Olympic Association had additional requirements – a certain number of triple jumps at the British Championships. Jones sustained a torn hamstring a week before nationals and spent a year recovering.[2]

In the 2000–01 season, Jones won the first of two national titles and was sent to the European Championships, held in January 2001 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Making the final segment at an ISU Championship for the third time in her career, she placed 7th in qualifying group A, 17th in the short, 19th in the free, and 17th overall. In March 2001, she competed at the World Championships in Vancouver, Canada but was eliminated after placing 16th in her qualifying group. She trained under Joy Sutcliffe in Ayr.[4]

The following season, Jones had four falls at the British Championships. Weak performances from other skaters allowed her to hold on to her title but a NISA official said it was unlikely that they would send her to Europeans or Worlds.[5] Jones retired from competition after that season and became a coach, working in Canada for almost ten years.[2]

In 2014, she competed at the ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition and finished with two first places in Masters (Elite) Ladies I Artistic and Free Skating with the highest ever score in the Free of 71.33 points. In 2015, she repeated her success at the Adult Figure Skating Competition and competed last time as Zoe Wood.[6] In December 2015, at age 35, she competed in the British Championships as Zoe Wilkinson; she won the free skate and came in second overall, missing first place by only 0.09, and in fact, had been declared the winner until an error was realized.[7]

Pair skating

Following a tryout in April 2016, Wilkinson and Christopher Boyadji agreed to form a pair skating partnership and train at the Better Link Centre in Swindon.[8][9] Their first competition was the 2016 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial, where they finished 6th.

Programs

With Boyadji

Season Short program Free skating
2016–17
[10]

Single skating

Season Short program Free skating
2001–02
[1]
2000–01
[4]
  • Heart still Beating
    by Ottmar Liebert
  • Barcelona Nights
    by Ottmar Liebert

Results

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series

With Boyadji

International[11]
Event 2016–17
CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial 6th
International Cup of Nice 5th
National
British Championships 1st

Single skating

International[12]
Event 93–94 94–95 95–96 96–97 97–98 98–99 99–00 00–01 01–02 15–16
Worlds 35th 31st
Europeans 17th
GP Skate Canada 11th
Finlandia Trophy 13th
Golden Spin 5th 11th
Nebelhorn Trophy 20th 11th 9th
Schäfer Memorial 6th
Triglav Trophy 4th
International: Junior[12]
Junior Worlds 22nd 18th
EYOF 7th
St. Gervais 10th J 10th J
Ukrainian Souvenir 5th J
National[12]
British Champ. 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd
J: Junior level; WD: Withdrew

References

  1. 1 2 "Zoe JONES: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 November 2006.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Elfman, Lois (2 July 2015). "Wilkinson gets redemption at adult competitions". IceNetwork.com.
  3. ↑ Burchall, Kevin (7 July 2014). "Ice skating instructor turns back the clock to scoop gold medals". Swindon News.
  4. 1 2 3 "Zoe JONES: 2000/2001". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 April 2001.
  5. ↑ Stevenson, Sandra (9 December 2001). "Ice Skating: Standards take a tumble". The Telegraph.
  6. ↑ "Results ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition 2015 Masters (Elite) Ladies I Free Skating". ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition 2015. 29 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "Results British Championships 2015 Senior Ladies". British Championships 2015. 29 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Zoe Wilkinson and Christopher Boyadji confirmed as new skating partnership". National Ice Skating Association. 19 August 2016.
  9. ↑ "ICE SKATING: Wilkinson is excited by her new link-up with Boyadji". Swindon Advertiser. 24 August 2016.
  10. ↑ "Zoe WILKINSON / Christopher BOYADJI: 2016/2017". International Skating Union.
  11. ↑ "Competition Results: Zoe WILKINSON / Christopher BOYADJI". International Skating Union.
  12. 1 2 3 "Zoe JONES". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016.
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