# Manuel Piazza

Manuel Piazza (born 13 October 1999) is an Italian pair skater. With his former partner, Anna Valesi, he is the 2024 Italian national bronze medalist and has won seven senior international medals, including silver at the 2022 Bavarian Open.
As of August 2024, he is competing for Iceland with Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir.

## Career
### Early years

Piazza began learning to skate in 2006. He placed sixth in junior men's singles at the Italian Championships in December 2016 and again in December 2017.
In 2018, he teamed up with Alyssa Montan to compete in junior pairs. Making their international debut, Montan/Piazza won silver at the Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy in November 2018. The following month, they took silver in the junior event at the Italian Championships.
In their second and final season together, Montan/Piazza won the Italian national junior title and placed 16th at the 2020 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. The two were coached by Ondřej Hotárek, Luca Demattè, and Franca Bianconi in Bergamo, Italy.

### 2021–22 season

In the 2021–22 season, Piazza began competing in the senior ranks with Anna Valesi. Making their international debut, Valesi/Piazza took bronze at the Tayside Trophy in November 2021. The following month, they placed fourth at the Italian Championships.
In January 2022, Valesi/Piazza were awarded silver medals at two events – the Icelab International Cup and Bavarian Open.

### 2022–23 season

In September 2022, Valesi/Piazza won bronze at the Lombardia Trophy and placed seventh at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. In October, they were invited to their first Grand Prix event, the 2022 Skate America, where they finished fifth. They were seventh at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo.

### 2023–24 season

Beginning the international season at the John Nicks Pairs Challenge, where they won the silver. They continued to the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Valesi/Piazza finished ninth. They next competed at the 2023 Diamond Spin, where they won the bronze.
On the Grand Prix, they came sixth at their lone assignment, the 2023 Grand Prix de France. They were subsequently invited to the 2023 Cup of China, following the withdrawal of Americans Chan/Howe. They were sixth at that event as well.
Valesi / Piazza continued to the 2024 Italian Figure Skating Championships, where they won the bronze medal. They were assigned to the 2024 Bavarian Open, but withdrew prior to the competition. It June, it was confirmed that the pair had split.

### 2024-25 season

In August, it was announced that Piazza had teamed up with Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir to compete for Iceland, the first ever pair to compete internationally for Iceland.

## Programs
### With Valesi

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2023–24 | The Loneliest by Måneskin choreo. by Luca Lanotte | Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol performed by Sleeping at Last, Tommee Profitt, Fleurie choreo. by Luca Lanotte |
| 2022–23 | La La Land by Justin Hurwitz choreo. by Anna Cappellini, Luca Lanotte | Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol performed by Sleeping at Last, Tommee Profitt, Fleurie choreo. by Luca Lanotte |

### With Montan

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2019–20 | Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran | Here We Go Again by ABBA The Winner Takes It All by ABBA Dancing Queen by ABBA |

## Competitive highlights

* GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
* CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
* WD – Withdrew from competition

### Pair skating with Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir (for Iceland)

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 |

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

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
| Italian Championships | 4th | | 3rd |
| GP Cup of China | | | 6th |
| GP Finland | | 7th | |
| GP France | | | 6th |
| GP Skate America | | 5th | |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | | 7th | 9th |
| CS Warsaw Cup | | 5th | |
| Bavarian Open | 2nd | | |
| Challenge Cup | | 8th | |
| Diamond Spin | | | 3rd |
| IceLab Cup | 2nd | | |
| John Nicks Pairs | | | 2nd |
| Lombardia Trophy | | 3rd | |
| Tayside Trophy | 3rd | 3rd | |

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

Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 |
| World Junior Championships | | 16th | |
| Italian Championships | 2nd | 1st | 1st |
| Alpen Trophy | 2nd | | |
| Bavarian Open | 8th | 3rd | |
| Egna Spring Trophy | 1st | | |

### Single skating (for Italy)

Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 |
| Italian Championships | | 6th | 6th |
| Cup of Tyrol | 3rd | 8th | |
| Egna Spring Trophy | 7th | 6th | |
| Merano Cup | | WD | |

## Detailed results
### Pair skating with Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir (for Iceland)

Results in the 2024-25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 13-17, 2024 | 2024 NRW Trophy | 3 | 47.04 | 3 | 93.46 | 3 | 140.50 |
| Nov 20-24, 2024 | 2024 CS Warsaw Cup | 14 | 41.93 | 11 | 87.42 | 12 | 129.35 |
| Nov 29–Dec 1, 2024 | 2025 Icelandic Championships | 1 | 42.30 | 1 | 95.31 | 1 | 137.61 |
| Jan 28–Feb 2, 2025 | 2025 European Championships | 18 | 48.58 | — | — | 18 | 48.58 |
| Feb 18–20, 2025 | Road to 26 Trophy | 6 | 50.54 | 7 | 87.76 | 7 | 138.30 |

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

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 160.65 | 2023 Cup of China |
| Short program | TSS | 55.55 | 2023 Cup of China |
| Short program | TES | 30.67 | 2023 Grand Prix de France |
| Short program | PCS | 26.79 | 2023 Cup of China |
| Free skating | TSS | 105.10 | 2023 Cup of China |
| Free skating | TES | 56.59 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| Free skating | PCS | 51.40 | 2023 Cup of China |

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

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 116.22 | 2020 World Junior Championships |
| Short program | TSS | 44.69 | 2020 World Junior Championships |
| Short program | TES | 24.26 | 2020 World Junior Championships |
| Short program | PCS | 20.43 | 2020 World Junior Championships |
| Free skating | TSS | 71.53 | 2020 World Junior Championships |
| Free skating | TES | 34.22 | 2020 World Junior Championships |
| Free skating | PCS | 39.31 | 2020 World Junior Championships |