# Vanesa Šelmeková

Vanesa Šelmeková (born 20 January 2007) is a Slovak figure skater. She is the 2024 Tirnavia Ice Cup champion, the 2023 Tirnavia Ice Cup silver medalist, the 2024 Dragon Trophy bronze medalist, and a two-time Slovak national champion (2024, 2025).

## Personal life

Šelmeková was born on 20 January 2007 in Žilina, Slovakia. She trains in both Žilina and Bratislava. Her favorite jump is the flip jump.

## Career
### Early years

Šelmeková began learning how to skate when she was five years old. Her mother Monika put her into the sport on the recommendation of a friend based on Šelmeková's early love of singing, dancing, and listening to music.

### 2023–2024 season

Šelmeková won the Slovak Figure Skating Championships, held as part of the Four Nationals Figure Skating Championships, where she placed second overall. She then went on to compete at her first European Championships; she was the youngest competitor. She placed 29th in the short program and did not advance to the free skate.
She met the required minimum technical scores to compete at the 2024 World Championships late in the season, and the Slovak Figure Skating Union was divided about whether to send her; they ultimately decided to do so, but if she did not mean a target technical and overall score, she would have to pay the travel expenses for the competition herself. Šelmeková therefore finished her season by competing at the World Championships. In the short program, she under-rotated her triple Lutz jump-triple toe loop jump combination and fell on her triple flip. She finished in 28th place and did not advance to the free skate. She expressed disappointment about her fall, and she did not reach the score targets set for her by the Slovakian federation.

### 2024–2025 season

Šelmeková competed in one stage on the Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series, the JGP Slovenia. She placed 13th in the short program, 23rd in the free skate, and 20th overall.
Šelmeková traveled to France to refine the choreography for her programs ahead of the 2025 European Championships in January. At the championships, she reached the free skate after placing 22nd in the short program; it was the first time in six years that a Slovak woman had qualified for the free skate at the European championships. In the free skate, she had one fall but otherwise landed her jumps to rise to 20th place overall.

## Programs

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2024–2025 | Is It Love by Loreen choreo. by Florent Amodio | Hometown Glory by Adele choreo. by Floren Amodio |
| 2023–2024 | Golden Hour (Instrumental) Golden Hour by Jvke choreo. by Georgi Chernyshov and Libor Hlaváček | Forbidden Love (from Romeo & Juliet) by Abel Korzeniowski Le di ala caza alcance by Estrella Morente choreo. by Georgi Chernyshov and Libor Hlaváček |
| 2022–2023 | Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation Supermassive Black Hole by Muse choreo. by Georgi Chernyshov | Forbidden Love (from Romeo & Juliet) by Abel Korzeniowski Le di ala caza alcance by Estrella Morente choreo. by Georgi Chernyshov and Libor Hlaváček |
| 2021–2022 | It's a New Day by Anouk choreo. by Dmytro Ignatenko and Bibiána Srbecká | California Dreamin' performed by Sia choreo. by Dmytro Ignatenko and Bibiána Srbecká |

## Competitive highlights

* CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
* JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix
Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| World Championships | | 30th | |
| European Championships | | 29th | 20th |
| Slovak Championships | 3rd | 1st | 1st |
| Four Nationals Championships | 11th | 2nd | 1st |
| CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial | | 8th | 9th |
| CS Warsaw Cup | | 12th | 14th |
| Dragon Trophy | | 3rd | |
| Santa Claus Cup | 10th | | |
| Tirnavia Ice Cup | 4th | 2nd | 1st |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| World Junior Championships | 35th | 28th | | |
| Slovak Championships | 1st | 2nd | | |
| JGP Austria | | | 22nd | |
| JGP Czech Republic | | 14th | | |
| JGP France | 14th | | | |
| JGP Hungary | | | 19th | |
| JGP Poland | | 22nd | | |
| JGP Slovakia | 14th | | | |
| JGP Slovenia | | | | 19th |
| Bellu Memorial | 3rd | | | |
| European Youth Olympic Festival | | 16th | | |
| Santa Claus Cup | 10th | | | |
| Skate Celje | 2nd | | | |
| Sofia Trophy | | 1st | | |
| Tirnavia Ice Cup | 1st | | | |

## Detailed results

Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Jan 28 – Feb 2, 2025 | 2025 European Championships | 22 | 48.94 | 20 | 86.50 | 20 | 135.44 |