# Gina Zehnder

Gina Zehnder (born 5 August 2005) is a Swiss ice dancer. With her skating partner, Beda Leon Sieber, she is the 2023 JGP Turkey bronze medalist, and a two-time Swiss junior national champion. Zehnder/Sieber are the first Swiss ice dance team, junior or senior, to win a medal at an ISU Grand Prix event.

## Personal life

Zehnder was born on 5 August 2005 in Zürich, Switzerland. She has two sisters.

## Career
### Early years

Zehnder began learning how to skate at age five after following her older sister into the sport. She competed as a single skater at the novice level through the 2018–19 season. In January 2019, Zehnder's coach Cornelia Leroy presented both her and her now partner, Beda Leon Sieber, with the opportunity to compete as a dance team at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, a home event for the Swiss teenagers, and together, they chose to switch disciplines with that goal in mind.

### 2019–20 season: Debut of Zehnder and Sieber

Zehnder and Sieber made their junior international debut as an ice dance team at the 2019 Ice Star in October, where they finished 23rd. They gained further competitive experience at two additional international events over the fall of 2019, the 2019 Pavel Roman Memorial and the 2019 Bosphorus Cup, where they placed 16th and 19th, respectively.
In order to achieve their goal of receiving the ice dance host pick spot at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Zehnder and Sieber needed to be the top junior dance team at the 2020 Swiss Figure Skating Championships in December. Despite being newcomers to ice dance with less than a year of training together under their belts, Zehnder and Sieber won the national title by an over nine-point margin over silver medalists Alina Klein and Maxim Kobelt, and were named to the Swiss Youth Olympic team.
At the Youth Olympics in January, then-14-year-old Zehnder had the honor of lighting the cauldron at the event's opening ceremony as the youngest athlete in the Swiss delegation. During the ice dance competition, Zehnder and Sieber placed 12th in both the rhythm dance and the free dance for a 12th-place finish overall in the individual event. The duo were also included in the Mixed NOC Team Trophy, grouped into Team Motivation with Ukrainian and Italian single skaters Andrey Kokura and Alessia Tornaghi, and Russian pair team Diana Mukhametzianova and Ilya Mironov. Zehnder and Sieber placed eighth in the team ice dance event, and Team Motivation finished fifth of eight overall.
Zehnder and Sieber concluded their debut season at the 2020 World Junior Championships where they placed 29th in the rhythm dance and did not advance to the final segment of competition.

### 2021–22 season

Travel restrictions and health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Zehnder and Sieber from competing during the 2020–21 season. The team returned to international competition in September 2021 for their ISU Junior Grand Prix debut at the 2021 JGP Russia. In Krasnoyarsk, the team placed 15th in the rhythm dance and 14th in the free dance for 14th-place finish overall. They replicated this placement at their next event in October, the 2021 JGP Austria. Zehnder and Sieber competed at one final event in the fall in the lead up to their national championships, the 2021 Autumn Talents Cup, where they claimed their first international medal, a silver behind Ukrainian team Myroslava Tkachenko and Andrii Kapran
In November, Zehnder and Sieber defended their junior national title at the 2021 Swiss Figure Skating Championships, winning gold again by an approximately nine-point margin, this time over compatriots Kayleigh Maksymec and Maxmilien Rahier. The team was initially named to the Swiss berth at the 2022 World Junior Championships, but were forced to withdraw after Zehnder sustained a knee injury. Zehnder and Sieber ultimately concluded their season at the 2022 Egna Dance Trophy, where they finished 13th.

### 2022–23 season

Zehnder's knee injury continued to impact the team's ability to train throughout 2022. They finally returned to the ice in September, opting to withdraw from their Junior Grand Prix assignments due to lack of preparation time. Zehnder and Sieber opened their competitive season at the 2022 Bosphorus Cup where they placed fourth. The team's only other event during the season was the 2022 Swiss Figure Skating Championships where they placed second in the junior dance category behind Milla O'Brien and Laurin Wiederkehr.

### 2023–24 season: Junior Grand Prix bronze

Fully recovered from injury, Zehnder and Sieber returned to the Junior Grand Prix circuit for their fourth competitive season as a team. At their first assignment, the 2023 JGP Turkey, the team placed fourth in the rhythm dance, but rose to first in the free dance, ultimately placing third overall. Their bronze medal marked the first medal for a Swiss ice dance team at any ISU Grand Prix event, junior or senior.
At their second JGP assignment, the 2023 JGP Poland, Zehnder and Sieber set new personal bests in both segments of competition, as well as overall, and finished just off the podium in fourth place.

## Programs
### Ice dance with Beda Leon Sieber

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2024–2025 | Barbken Dollhouse by Karl Hugo Put Your Head on My Shoulder by Paul Anka Let's Twist Again by Chubby Checker choreo. by Cornelia Leroy, Alisa Besseghier | Edward Scissorhands by Danny Elfman Black Marlin by Parov Stelar Voices from a Gothic Castle by Karl Hugo choreo. by Cornelia Leroy, Alisa Besseghier |
| 2023–2024 | The Race by Yello arr. by Hugo Chouinard Joe le taxi by Vanessa Paradis choreo. by Cornelia Leroy, Alisa Besseghier | This Bitter Earth / On the Nature of Daylight by Dinah Washington and Max Richter choreo. by Cornelia Leroy, Alisa Besseghier |
| 2022–2023 | Tango: Dark Tango by Edo Notarloberti Spanish Waltz: Amor Dulce Muerte Flamenco: Poeta en el Mar by Vicente Amigo choreo. by Cornelia Leroy, Alisa Besseghier | This Bitter Earth / On the Nature of Daylight by Dinah Washington and Max Richter choreo. by Cornelia Leroy, Alisa Besseghier |
| 2021–2022 | Proud Mary performed by Ike & Tina Turner choreo. by Cornelia Leroy, Alisa Besseghier | Time by Nathan Lanier Time Lapse Run by Ludovico Einaudi choreo. by Cornelia Leroy, Alisa Besseghier |
| 2020–2021 | Will You Love Me Tomorrow Take Good Care of My Baby (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (from Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) choreo. by Cornelia Leroy, Alisa Besseghier | Time by Nathan Lanier Time Lapse Run by Ludovico Einaudi choreo. by Cornelia Leroy, Alisa Besseghier |
| 2019–2020 | I Wanna Be Loved by You performed by Marilyn Monroe Sparkling Diamonds (from Moulin Rouge!) by Nicole Kidman choreo. by Karine Arribert-Narce | Overture (from Ghost) by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard Latch (acoustic) by Sam Smith Unchained Melody performed by Glee Cast choreo. by Karine Arribert-Narce |

## Competitive highlights
### Ice dance with Beda Leon Sieber

* JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| World Championships | 32nd | TBD |
| European Championships | | 23rd |
| Swiss Championships | | 1st |
| Bosphorus Cup | 2nd | 4th |
| Pavel Roman Memorial | | 3rd |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2019–20 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| Winter Youth Olympics | 12th | | | | |
| Winter Youth Olympics (Team event) | 5th | | | | |
| World Junior Championships | 29th | | | 14th | 12th |
| Swiss Championships | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | |
| JGP Austria | | 14th | | | |
| JGP Poland | | | | 4th | |
| JGP Russia | | 14th | | | |
| JGP Slovenia | | | | | 5th |
| JGP Turkey | | | | 3rd | 5th |
| Autumn Talents Cup | | 2nd | | | |
| Bosphorus Cup | 19th | | 4th | | |
| Budapest Trophy | | | | | 2nd |
| Egna Dance Trophy | | 13th | | | |
| Ephesus Cup | | | | 2nd | |
| Ice Star | 23rd | | | | |
| Pavel Roman Memorial | 16th | | | 3rd | |
| Swiss Open | | | | 1st | |

## Detailed results
### Ice dance with Beda Leon Sieber

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 153.29 | 2024 JGP Slovenia |
| Short program | TSS | 62.71 | 2024 JGP Slovenia |
| Short program | TES | 34.63 | 2024 JGP Slovenia |
| Short program | PCS | 28.59 | 2024 JGP Turkey |
| Free skating | TSS | 90.58 | 2024 JGP Slovenia |
| Free skating | TES | 47.94 | 2024 JGP Slovenia |
| Free skating | PCS | 43.08 | 2023 JGP Poland |

#### Senior level

Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2023 | 2023 Bosphorus Cup | 2 | 73.18 | 2 | 113.29 | 2 | 186.47 |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 | 2024 World Championships | 32 | 58.19 | — | — | 32 | 58.19 |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 8–10, 2024 | 2024 Pavel Roman Memorial | 3 | 66.88 | 3 | 102.19 | 3 | 169.07 |
| Nov 25 – Dec 1, 2024 | 2024 Bosphorus Cup | 5 | 64.77 | 4 | 100.01 | 4 | 164.78 |
| Dec 13–15, 2024 | 2025 Swiss Championships | 1 | 67.58 | 1 | 102.79 | 1 | 170.37 |
| Jan 28 – Feb 2, 2025 | 2025 European Championships | 23 | 53.44 | — | — | 23 | 53.44 |

#### Junior level

Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 6–9, 2023 | 2023 JGP Turkey | 4 | 55.35 | 1 | 88.30 | 3 | 143.65 |
| Sep 27–30, 2023 | 2023 JGP Poland | 4 | 59.65 | 4 | 88.92 | 4 | 148.57 |
| Oct 26–29, 2023 | 2023 Swiss Open | 1 | 59.09 | 1 | 87.63 | 1 | 146.72 |
| Nov 10–12, 2023 | 2023 Pavel Roman Memorial | 3 | 63.46 | 3 | 89.97 | 3 | 153.43 |
| Dec 15–17, 2023 | 2024 Swiss Championships (Junior) | 1 | 61.19 | 1 | 90.18 | 1 | 151.37 |
| Jan 25–28, 2024 | 2024 Ephesus Cup | 2 | 60.19 | 1 | 95.75 | 2 | 155.94 |
| Feb 26 – Mar 3, 2024 | 2024 World Junior Championships | 9 | 58.90 | 16 | 77.15 | 14 | 136.05 |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 18–21, 2024 | 2024 JGP Turkey | 4 | 60.85 | 6 | 85.73 | 5 | 146.58 |
| Oct 2–5, 2024 | 2024 JGP Slovenia | 5 | 62.71 | 5 | 90.58 | 5 | 153.29 |
| Oct 11–13, 2024 | 2024 Budapest Trophy | 2 | 61.19 | 2 | 94.25 | 2 | 155.44 |
| Feb 25 – Mar 2, 2025 | 2025 World Junior Championships | 12 | 55.72 | 13 | 83.27 | 12 | 138.99 |