# Aleksa Rakic

Aleksa Rakic (born September 14, 2004) is a Canadian figure skater. He is the 2019 Canadian Junior national champion and the 2024 Canadian national silver medalist.

## Personal life

Rakic was born on September 14, 2004, in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to figure skating, he also enjoys reading, biking, drawing, and listening to music.

## Career
### Early career

Rakic began figure skating in 2013 after deciding to take lessons with CanSkate, a Canadian learn-to-skate program. His first figure skating coach was Josie Leeworthy before he would eventually begin training under Joanne McLeod at the Champs International Skating Center of BC in Burnaby.
As an advanced novice skater, Rakic won bronze at the 2017 International Challenge Cup and gold at the 2018 Egna Spring Trophy.

### 2018–19 season

Making his junior international debut on the 2018–19 ISU Junior Grand Prix, Rakic finished eighth at 2018 JGP Slovakia and sixth at 2018 JGP Czech Republic. In January, he would win the 2019 Canadian Junior Championship title.

### 2019–20 season

Competing on the Junior Grand Prix circuit for a second time, Rakic won the silver medal at 2019 JGP France and twelfth at 2019 JGP Croatia. Selected to represent Canada at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland. He would finish fourth in the boys' singles event.

### 2020–21 season

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 ISU Junior Grand Prix series and the 2021 Canadian Championships were cancelled. This meant that Rakic was unable to compete for the whole season.

### 2021–22 season

Rakic's only major competition of the season was the 2022 Canadian Championships, where he would finish eighth at the event.

### 2022–23 season

Making his return to the Junior Grand Prix series, Rakic finished seventh at 2022 JGP Czech Republic and fifth at 2022 JGP Italy. Going on to compete at the 2023 Canadian Championships in January, Rakic would finish twelfth. Selected to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Rakic finished thirteenth at the event.

### 2023–24 season

Rakic started the season with a silver medal win at the 2023 Cranberry Cup International. He then went on to compete on the 2023–24 ISU Challenger Series, finishing fifth at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. Selected to compete at 2023 Skate Canada International following the withdrawal of Roman Sadovsky, Rakic made his senior Grand Prix at the event, finishing in twelfth place.
In January, Rakic competed at the 2024 Canadian Championships, where he won the silver medal behind Wesley Chiu. With this result, he was selected to represent Canada at the 2024 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Taiwan, where he finished eighth.

### 2024–25 season

Rakic began his season by finishing fifth at the 2024 Philadelphia Summer Championships and eighth at the 2024 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge. Selected to compete at 2024 Skate Canada International, Rakic finished seventh, scoring new personal best free skate and combined total scores in the process.

## Programs

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2018–2019 | The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice choreo. by Mark Pillay, Joanne McLeod, Megan Wing | 5 Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18: II. Adagio sostenuto Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor, Op.18: 3. Allegro Scherzando by Sergei Rachmaninoff choreo. by Mark Pillay, Joanne McLeod, Megan Wing | |
| 2019–2020 | Stargazing by Kygo & Justin Jesso choreo. by Mark Pillay, Joanne McLeod, Megan Wing | 5 Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18: II. Adagio sostenuto Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor, Op.18: 3. Allegro Scherzando by Sergei Rachmaninoff choreo. by Mark Pillay, Joanne McLeod, Megan Wing | |
| 2020–2021 | Stargazing by Kygo & Justin Jesso choreo. by Mark Pillay, Joanne McLeod, Megan Wing | 5 Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18: II. Adagio sostenuto Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor, Op.18: 3. Allegro Scherzando by Sergei Rachmaninoff choreo. by Mark Pillay, Joanne McLeod, Megan Wing | |
| 2021–2022 | Libertango by Astor Piazzolla performed by Cello Project choreo. by Joanne McLeod, Neil Wilson, Mark Pillay | Alone Together by HAUSER & Damir Urban Benedictus by Karl Jenkins performed by HAUSER choreo. by Joanne McLeod, Neil Wilson, Mark Pillay | |
| 2022–2023 | Halo by Beyoncé performed by Peter Katz choreo. by Joanne McLeod, Neil Wilson | No One Like You by Red Electric choreo. by Mark Pillay | Only the Winds by Ólafur Arnalds choreo. by Joanne McLeod, Neil Wilson |
| 2023–2024 | Biblical by Calum Scott Epiphany by Karl Hugo choreo. by Mark Pillay | No One Like You by Red Electric choreo. by Mark Pillay | Rescue Me by OneRepublic |
| 2024–2025 | Biblical by Calum Scott Epiphany by Karl Hugo choreo. by Mark Pillay | Va, vis et deviens (from Va, vis et deviens) by Armand Amar Steppe by René Aubry Uncovered by Joseph William Morgan choreo. by Benoît Richaud | |

## Competitive highlights

* GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
* JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
* CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| Four Continents Championships | | | | 16th |
| Canadian Championships | 8th | 12th | 2nd | WD |
| GP Skate Canada | | | 12th | 7th |
| CS Denis Ten Memorial | | | | 8th |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | | | 5th | |
| Cranberry Cup | | | 4th | |
| Philadelphia Summer | | | | 5th |
| Skate Canada Challenge | 2nd | 6th | 2nd | 1st |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
| Winter Youth Olympics | | 4th | | |
| World Junior Championships | | | 13th | 8th |
| Canadian Championships | 1st | | | |
| JGP Croatia | | 12th | | |
| JGP Czech Republic | 6th | | 7th | |
| JGP France | | 2nd | | |
| JGP Italy | | | 5th | |
| JGP Slovakia | 8th | | | |

## Detailed results

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 222.49 | 2024 Skate Canada International |
| Short program | TSS | 77.74 | 2024 World Junior Championships |
| Short program | TES | 42.79 | 2024 World Junior Championships |
| Short program | PCS | 35.80 | 2024 Skate Canada International |
| Free skating | TSS | 145.75 | 2024 Skate Canada International |
| Free skating | TES | 78.75 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| Free skating | PCS | 72.20 | 2024 Skate Canada International |

### Senior level

Results in the 2021–22 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 1–5, 2021 | 2021 Skate Canada Challenge | 3 | 72.03 | 3 | 133.03 | 2 | 205.06 |
| Jan 7–13, 2022 | 2022 Canadian Championships | 13 | 61.47 | 7 | 131.68 | 8 | 193.15 |
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 30 – Dec 3, 2022 | 2022 Skate Canada Challenge | 11 | 50.01 | 2 | 141.96 | 6 | 191.97 |
| Jan 9–15, 2023 | 2023 Canadian Championships | 10 | 68.51 | 14 | 117.26 | 12 | 185.77 |
Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 10–14, 2023 | 2023 Cranberry Cup International | 7 | 69.13 | 4 | 133.69 | 4 | 202.82 |
| Sep 20–23, 2023 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 7 | 65.03 | 5 | 144.85 | 5 | 209.88 |
| Oct 27–29, 2023 | 2023 Skate Canada International | 9 | 72.56 | 12 | 116.82 | 12 | 189.38 |
| Nov 29 – Dec 3, 2023 | 2023 Skate Canada Challenge | 2 | 77.11 | 2 | 139.81 | 2 | 216.92 |
| Jan 8–14, 2024 | 2024 Canadian Championships | 2 | 75.49 | 1 | 149.90 | 2 | 225.39 |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 3–5, 2024 | 2024 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge | 13 | 56.06 | 7 | 142.41 | 8 | 198.47 |
| Oct 25–27, 2024 | 2024 Skate Canada International | 9 | 76.74 | 6 | 145.75 | 7 | 222.49 |
| Jan 14–19, 2025 | 2025 Canadian Championships | 7 | 62.39 | — | — | – | WD |
| Feb 19–23, 2025 | 2025 Four Continents Championships | 12 | 69.35 | 16 | 128.56 | 16 | 197.91 |

### Junior level

Results in the 2018–19 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 22–25, 2018 | 2018 JGP Slovakia | 8 | 60.79 | 8 | 119.34 | 8 | 180.13 |
| Sep 26–29, 2018 | 2018 JGP Czech Republic | 6 | 66.01 | 7 | 119.07 | 6 | 185.08 |
| Jan 13–20, 2019 | 2019 Canadian Championships (Junior) | 2 | 68.44 | 1 | 130.66 | 1 | 199.10 |
Results in the 2019–20 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 21–24, 2019 | 2019 JGP France | 3 | 69.54 | 3 | 131.17 | 2 | 200.71 |
| Sep 25–28, 2019 | 2019 JGP Croatia | 14 | 52.57 | 10 | 111.96 | 12 | 164.53 |
| Jan 10–15, 2020 | 2020 Winter Youth Olympics | 4 | 70.96 | 4 | 134.27 | 4 | 205.23 |
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 31 – Sep 3, 2022 | 2022 JGP Czech Republic | 7 | 65.33 | 7 | 117.49 | 7 | 182.82 |
| Oct 11–15, 2022 | 2022 JGP Italy | 5 | 71.50 | 8 | 126.06 | 5 | 197.56 |
| Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2023 | 2023 World Junior Championships | 11 | 71.34 | 11 | 129.60 | 13 | 200.94 |
Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Feb 26 – Mar 3, 2024 | 2024 World Junior Championships | 4 | 77.74 | 9 | 134.00 | 8 | 211.74 |