# Filippo Clerici

Filippo Clerici (born 7 March 2001) is an Italian pair skater who currently competes for Finland. With his current skating partner, Milania Väänänen, he is the 2023 Golden Spin of Zagreb gold medalist, 2023 Tayside Trophy bronze medalist, and three-time Finnish national champion (2023–25).

## Personal life

Clerici was born on 7 March 2001 in Como, Italy. After pairing up with Milania Väänänen in 2022, Clerici began learning how to speak Finnish.

## Career
### Early career

Clerici began figure skating in 2008. He initially competed as a singles skater before switching to pairs in 2020. His first pair partner was Anna Valesi whom he won the 2021 Italian Championships with on the junior level.
The following season, he competed with Alyssa Montan on the junior level, placing eighth at 2021 JGP Slovakia and eleventh at 2021 JGP Austria. They went on to win gold at the 2022 Italian Junior Championships and competed at the 2022 World Junior Championships, finishing eighth. Montan/Clerici's partnership dissolved after the season ended.

### 2022–23 season

Clerici considered retiring from competitive figure skating following the end of his previous partnership due to no longer being eligible to compete on the junior level and the increasing level of depth in Italian pair skating. However, Clerici's coaches, Luca Demattè, Ondrej Hotarek, and Rosanna Murante were contacted by Finnish-based Italian skating coach, Maurizio Margaglio, and informed that Finnish pair skater, Milania Väänänen, was searching for a new partner. Following a successful tryout, Väänänen moved to Bergamo so they could train together. They decided to represent Finland.
The newly formed team of Väänänen and Clerici competed only once during the 2022–23 season, winning the 2023 Finnish Champions in December 2022. They were ineligible to compete at spring championship events as they had not attained their technical minimums through international competition in the fall.

### 2023–24 season

Väänänen and Clerici began their season with the goal of attaining their ISU technical minimum scores to be eligible to compete at the 2024 European Championships and the World Championships. The team mearned their minimums during their international debut at the 2023 Lombardia Trophy, where they finished in seventh place. Following the event, Clerici commented, "We are really happy to have reached the technical point limits for the European Championship and the World Championship... Next we will focus on the levels and the quality of the elements in order to increase our points."
At their next event, the 2023 Finlandia Trophy, Väänänen and Clerici were warmly received by a home audience. They placed sixth in the short program and rose to fourth in the free skate with a new personal best score to finish in fourth place overall. The following week, the team competed at the 2023 Tayside Trophy, where they won their first international medal: a bronze medal.
Selected to compete at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo, Väänänen/Clerici finished eighth. The pair then went on to win gold at both 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb and the 2023–24 Finnish Championships.
At the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, the pair finished in fourteenth place. They went on to compete at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the pair place nineteenth in the short program and seventeenth in the free skate, finishing eighteenth overall. Väänänen/Clerici became the first Finnish pair team to qualify for the free skate at a World Championships.

#### 2024–25 season

Väänänen/Clerici started the season by finishing seventh at the 2024 CS John Nicks International Pairs Competition. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, the pair placed eighth at 2024 Skate America and seventh at the 2024 Finlandia Trophy.
Following a tenth-place finish at the 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, the pair would go on to win their third consecutive national title at the 2025 Finnish Championships.

## Programs
### Pair skating with Milania Väänänen

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2024–25 | The Last Verdict (from La resa dei conti) by Ennio Morricone Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by Santa Esmeralda choreo. by Luca Lanotte | Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey Help by Hurts choreo. by Luca Lanotte | |
| 2023–24 | Bad to the Bone performed by 2WEI and Bri Bryant choreo. by Luca Lanotte | Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey Help by Hurts choreo. by Luca Lanotte | Ievan polkka by Eino Kettunen performed by Riikka |

### Pair skating with Alyssa Montan

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2021–2022 | Il Poeta en el Mar by Vicente Amigo choreo. by Anna Cappellini, Ondrej Hotarek | Lupin III '80 Theme (Live Version) The Village Inn (from The Pink Panther) Lupin III '78 Theme by Henry Mancini choreo. by Anna Cappellini, Ondrej Hotarek |

## 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

### Pair skating with Milania Väänänen (for Finland)

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| World Championships | | 18th | TBD |
| European Championships | | 14th | 14th |
| Finnish Championships | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| GP Finland | | 8th | 7th |
| GP Skate America | | | 8th |
| CS Finlandia Trophy | | 4th | |
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | | 1st | 10th |
| CS John Nicks Pairs | | | 7th |
| CS Lombardia Trophy | | 7th | |
| Tayside Trophy | | 3rd | |

### Pair skating with Alyssa Montan (for Italy)

Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2021–22 |
| World Junior Championships | 8th |
| Italian Championships | 1st |
| JGP Austria | 11th |
| JGP Slovakia | 8th |
| Bavarian Open | 4th |
| Budapest Trophy | 3rd |
| IceLab Cup | 2nd |

### Pair skating with Anna Valesi (for Italy)

Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2020–21 |
| Italian Championships | 2nd |

### Single skating (for Italy)

Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 |
| Italian Championships | 7th | 5th | 4th | 5th |
| Cup of Tyrol | 9th | | 4th | |
| Egna Spring Trophy | | 5th | | |
| Halloween Cup | | | | 7th |
| IceLab Cup | | | | 4th |
| Ice Star | | | 11th | |
| Prague Skate | | | 4th | 5th |
| Sofia Trophy | 5th | | | 5th |

## Detailed results
### Pair skating with Väänänen

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 172.31 | 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |
| Short program | TSS | 60.95 | 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |
| Short program | TES | 34.35 | 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |
| Short program | PCS | 26.70 | 2024 Skate America |
| Free skating | TSS | 111.36 | 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |
| Free skating | TES | 59.91 | 2024 CS John Nicks International Pairs Competition |
| Free skating | PCS | 53.54 | 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |