# Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir

Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir (born 15 January 2005) is an Icelandic pair skater. With her current skating partner, Manuel Piazza, she is the 2024 NRW Trophy bronze medalist and the 2024 Icelandic national champion. Gunnarsdóttir and Piazza are the first pairs team to represent Iceland in international competition.
As a single skater, Gunnarsdóttir is the 2024 Reykjavík International Games champion, the 2023 Diamond Spin bronze medalist, the 2023 Icelandic national champion, and the 2022 Icelandic national Junior champion. She is the first Icelander figure skater to win an international competition.

## Personal life

Gunnarsdóttir was born on 15 January 2005 in Reykjavík, Iceland.

## Career
### 2024–25 season: Debut of Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza

Gunnarsdóttir transitioned from singles to pair skating over the summer before the 2024–25 season. Her coaches were contacted by Italian pair skater Manuel Piazza's coaches, inquiring as to whether she would be interested in switching disciplines. Gunnarsdóttir traveled to Italy for a tryout with Piazza and his team, and the pair officially announced their partnership for Iceland in August 2024. They split their training between Reykjavík, Iceland with coach Benjamin Naggiar and Bergamo, Italy with coaches, Ondřej Hotárek and Rosanna Murante.
Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza made their international debut in November 2024 at the 2024 NRW Trophy. They placed third in both the short program and the free skate to claim the bronze medal behind new Swiss team Oxana Vouillamoz / Tom Bouvart and Swedish sibling pair Greta Crafoord / John Crafoord. At their second international event, the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup, Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza placed 12th.
Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza competed at the 2024 Icelandic Championships at the end of November unchallenged, winning their first national pairs title by default. Having earned their ISU technical minimum scores at the NRW Trophy, Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza were assigned to compete at the 2025 European Championships in Estonia in January. At Europeans, Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza scored a personal best of 48.58, placing 18th in the segment. They did not advance to the free skate portion of the competition.

## Programs
### With Piazza

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2024–2025 | Pray (from Game of Thrones) by Matt Bellamy choreo. by Benjamin Naggiar | Maria Tonight (from West Side Story) by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim choreo. by Benjamin Naggiar |

### As a single skater

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2023–2024 | Lie by BTS choreo. by Benjamin Naggiar | Yo soy María by Astor Piazzolla and Horacio Ferrer choreo. by Benjamin Naggiar |
| 2022–2023 | Lie by BTS choreo. by Benjamin Naggiar | To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra In This Shirt by The Irrepressibles choreo. by Benjamin Naggiar |
| 2021–2022 | Megapolis by Bel Suono choreo. by Yulia Lipnitskaya | A Time For Us performed by David Davidson Mother's Journey by Yann Tiersen Forbidden Love (from Romeo & Juliet) by Abel Korzeniowski choreo. by Clair Anne |

## Competitive highlights

* CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
* JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series

### Pair skating with Piazza

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2024–25 |
| European Championships | 18th |
| Icelandic Championships | 1st |
| CS Warsaw Cup | 12th |
| NRW Trophy | 3rd |
| Road to 26 Trophy | 7th |

### Single skating

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2023–24 |
| Icelandic Championships | 1st |
| Diamond Spin | 3rd |
| Nordic Championships | 9th |
| Reykjavik Games | 1st |
| Volvo Open Cup | 8th |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
| Icelandic Championships | | 2nd | 1st | |
| JGP Czech Republic | | | 31st | |
| JGP Italy | | | 36th | |
| JGP Slovenia | | 28th | | |
| JGP Turkey | | | | 19th |
| Nordic Championships | | 19th | 16th | |
| Reykjavik Games | 2nd | 6th | | |
| Santa Claus Cup | | | 30th | |