2009 Coupe Internationale de Nice
Senior-level results -- Senior men
Table:
Rank	Name	Nation	Total points	SP	FS

1	Artur Gachinskiy	Russia	189.59	2	2

2	Alban Préaubert	France	188.26	1	6

3	Javier Fernández	Spain	184.33	11	1

4	Konstantin Menshov	Russia	182.33	4	3

5	Chafik Besseghier	France	179.13	3	5

6	Aleksandr Kazakov	Belarus	170.86	16	4

7	Keiji Tanaka	Japan	169.46	8	7

8	Stéphane Walker	Switzerland	168.15	5	8

9	Daniel Dotzauer	Germany	162.53	6	9

10	Jason Wong	United States	148.71	10	13

11	Javier Raya	Spain	148.41	19	11

12	Ari-Pekka Nurmenkari	Finland	148.23	13	12

13	Konstantyn Tupikov	Poland	148.07	20	10

14	Michael Solonoski	United States	146.31	12	14

15	Takuya Kondoh	Japan	140.87	9	17

16	Matthew Parr	United Kingdom	138.65	14	15

17	Laurent Alvarez	Switzerland	135.77	15	18

18	Justus Strid	Denmark	135.44	17	16

19	Valtter Virtanen	Finland	131.14	18	19

20	Fabio Mascarello	Italy	128.27	21	20

Consulting the tabular data and the background passages listed.

Give the answer to the question: Which country is the homeland of a person who placed 14th at Winter Olympics held in 2010 ? Output only the correct answer as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Base your answer solely on the given information.

The short program of figure skating is the first of two segments of competitions , skated before the free skating program . It lasts , for both senior and junior singles and pair skaters , 2 minutes and 40 seconds . In synchronized skating , for both juniors and seniors , the short program lasts 2 minutes and 50 seconds . Vocal music with lyrics is allowed for all disciplines since the 2014-2015 season . The short program for single skaters and for pair skaters consists of seven required elements , and there are six required elements for synchronized skaters .
The free skating segment of figure skating , also called the free skate and the long program , is the second of two segments of competitions , skated after the short program . Its duration , across all disciplines , is four minutes for senior skaters and teams , and three-and-one-half minutes for junior skaters and teams . Vocal music with lyrics is allowed for all disciplines since the 2014 - 2015 season . The free skating program , across all disciplines , must be well-balanced and include certain elements described and published by the International Skating Union ( ISU ) .
Artur Andreyevich Gachinski ( Russian : Артур Андреевич Гачинский ; born 13 August 1993 ) is a Russian figure skater . He is the 2011 World bronze medalist , the 2012 European silver medalist , the 2010 World Junior bronze medalist , and a two-time Russian national silver medalist ( 2011 , 2012 ) . He announced his retirement from competitive skating in December 2015 , citing injuries .
Russia ( Russian : Росси́я , tr . Rossiya , IPA : [ rɐˈsʲijə ] ) , or the Russian Federation , [ e ] is a European country located in Eastern Europe with a vast expanse of territory that stretches across Northern Asia . At 17,125,200 square kilometres ( 6,612,100 sq mi ) , it is by far the largest country in the world by area , covering more than one-eighth of the Earth 's inhabited land area , spanning eleven time zones , and bordering 16 sovereign nations . The territory of Russia extends from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east , and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea and the Caucasus in the south . With 146.7 million inhabitants living in the country 's 85 federal subjects as of 2020 , Russia is the most populous nation in Europe and the ninth-most populous nation in the world . Russia 's capital and largest city is Moscow ; other major urban areas include Saint Petersburg , Novosibirsk , Yekaterinburg , Nizhny Novgorod , Kazan and Chelyabinsk . The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD . Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants , the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century . In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire , beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium . Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states , until it was finally reunified by the Grand Duchy of Moscow in the 15th century . By the 18th century , the nation had greatly expanded through conquest , annexation , and exploration to become the Russian Empire , which was the third largest empire in history , stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on the east . Following the Russian Revolution , the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ( Russian SFSR ) became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR/Soviet Union ) , the world 's first constitutionally socialist state .
Alban Préaubert ( born 20 September 1985 ) is a French former competitive figure skater . He won six ISU Grand Prix medals and five French national bronze medals ( 2006 , 2008-11 ) .
France ( French : [ fʁɑ̃s ] ( listen ) ) , officially the French Republic ( French : République française , pronounced [ ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz ] ( listen ) ) , is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . [ XIII ] The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . It is bordered by Belgium , Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast , Switzerland and Italy to the east , and Andorra and Spain to the south . The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . The country 's 18 integral regions ( five of which are situated overseas ) span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres ( 248,573 sq mi ) and a total population of 67.02 million ( as of July 2019 [ update ] ) . France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris , the country 's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban areas include Lyon , Marseille , Toulouse , Bordeaux , Lille and Nice . France , including its overseas territories , has the most number of time zones of any country , with a total of 12 . During the Iron Age , what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls , a Celtic people . Rome annexed the area in 51 BC , holding it until the arrival of Germanic Franks in 476 , who formed the Kingdom of Francia . The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned Francia into East Francia , Middle Francia and West Francia . West Francia , which became the Kingdom of France in 987 , emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages , following its victory in the Hundred Years ' War ( 1337-1453 ) .
Javier Fernández López ( Spanish pronunciation : [ xaˈβjeɾ feɾˈnandeθ ˈlopeθ ] ; born 15 April 1991 ) is a former Spanish figure skater . He is the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist , a two-time World champion ( 2015 , 2016 ) , a two-time World bronze medalist ( 2013 , 2014 ) , a seven-time European champion ( 2013-2019 ) , a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalist ( 2014 , 2015 ) , a three-time Rostelecom Cup champion ( 2014-2016 ) , a two-time Grand Prix in France champion ( 2016-2017 ) and an eight-time Spanish national champion ( 2010 , 2012-2018 ) . In addition to his bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics , Fernández placed 14th at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 4th at the 2014 Winter Olympics . He is the first skater from Spain to medal at an Olympic Games , ISU Championship or a Grand Prix event . Fernández is the second man to break the 100-point barrier in the short program , the 200-point barrier in the long program , and the 300-point barrier in the total score . As of 24 May 2017 , he has the second highest personal best scores in both segments and third highest in the combined score . In recognition of his achievements , Fernández received the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit by the Spanish government on 19 April 2016 .
Spain ( Spanish : España [ esˈpaɲa ] ( listen ) ) , officially the Kingdom of Spain ( Spanish : Reino de España ) , [ a ] [ b ] is a country in Southwestern Europe with some pockets of Spanish territory across the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean . Its continental European territory is situated on the Iberian Peninsula . Its territory also includes two archipelagoes : the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa , and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea . The African enclaves of Ceuta , Melilla , and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera make Spain the only European country to have a physical border with an African country ( Morocco ) . [ h ] Several small islands in the Alboran Sea are also part of Spanish territory . The country 's mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar ; to the north and northeast by France , Andorra , and the Bay of Biscay ; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean . With an area of 505,990 km2 ( 195,360 sq mi ) , Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe , the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union , and the fourth largest country in the European continent . By population ( about 47 million ) , Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union . Spain 's capital and largest city is Madrid ; other major urban areas include Barcelona , Valencia , Seville , Zaragoza , Málaga and Bilbao . Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago . Iberian cultures along with ancient Phoenician , Greek , Celtic and Carthaginian settlements developed on the peninsula until it came under Roman rule around 200 BCE , after which the region was named Hispania , based on the earlier Phoenician name Sp ( a ) n or Spania . At the end of the Western Roman Empire the Germanic tribal confederations migrated from Central Europe , invaded the Iberian peninsula and established relatively independent realms in its western provinces , including the Suebi , Alans and Vandals .
Konstantin Alexandrovich Menshov ( Russian : Константин Александрович Меньшов , born 23 February 1983 ) is a Russian former competitive figure skater . He is the 2014 European bronze medalist , the 2015 Finlandia Trophy champion , a two-time ( 2010 , 2012 ) Nebelhorn Trophy silver medalist , a two-time ( 2007 , 2012 ) NRW Trophy champion , and the 2011 Russian national champion . Menshov is one of the skaters to have landed two quad jumps in a short program and three quad jumps in a free program .
Chafik Besseghier ( born 11 October 1989 ) is a French figure skater . He is a two-time International Cup of Nice champion and the 2016 and 2018 French national champion . He has won a total of fourteen senior international medals and finished in the top ten at three ISU Championships ( 2014 Worlds , 2013 Europeans , 2017 Europeans ) .
Belarus ( /bɛləˈruːs/ ; Belarusian : Беларусь , IPA : [ bʲɛlaˈrusʲ ] ) , officially the Republic of Belarus ( Belarusian : Рэспубліка Беларусь , Russian : Республика Беларусь ) , formerly known by its Russian name Byelorussia or Belorussia ( Russian : Белоруссия ) , is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe bordered by Russia to the northeast , Ukraine to the south , Poland to the west , and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest . Its capital and most populous city is Minsk . Over 40% of its 207,600 square kilometres ( 80,200 sq mi ) is forested . Its major economic sectors are service industries and manufacturing . Until the 20th century , different states at various times controlled the lands of modern-day Belarus , including the Principality of Polotsk ( 11th to 14th centuries ) , the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , and the Russian Empire . In the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution , Belarus declared independence as the Belarusian People 's Republic , which was conquered by Soviet Russia . The Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922 and was renamed as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic ( Byelorussian SSR ) . Belarus lost almost half of its territory to Poland after the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921 . Much of the borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939 , when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were reintegrated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland , and were finalized after World War II . During WWII , military operations devastated Belarus , which lost about a quarter of its population and half of its economic resources . The republic was redeveloped in the post-war years . In 1945 the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations , along with the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR .
Keiji Tanaka ( 田中 刑事 , Tanaka Keiji , born November 22 , 1994 ) is a Japanese figure skater . He is the 2016 NHK Trophy bronze medalist , 2019 U.S. Classic champion , 2017 Winter Universiade silver medalist , 2011 World Junior silver medalist , and a two-time Japanese national silver medalist ( 2016 , 2017 ) .
Japan ( Japanese : 日本 , Nippon [ ɲippoꜜɴ ] ( listen ) or Nihon [ ɲihoꜜɴ ] ( listen ) ) is an island country located in East Asia . It is bordered by the Sea of Japan to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east , and spans more than 3,000 kilometers ( 1,900 mi ) along the coast of the continent from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Philippine Sea in the south . Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire , Japan encompasses a stratovolcanic archipelago of about 6,852 islands , with five main islands ( Hokkaido , Honshu , Kyushu , Shikoku , and Okinawa ) comprising 97% of the country 's total area of 377,975 square kilometers ( 145,937 sq mi ) . Japan is officially divided into 47 prefectures and traditionally into eight regions . Approximately two-thirds of the country 's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested , and less than one-eighth of land is suitable for agriculture . Consequently , Japan is among the most densely populated and urbanized countries in the world , with over 90% of its population living in urban areas . The largest of these is the metropolitan area centered on the capital city of Tokyo , which is the most populous in the world and home to more than 38 million people . Japan itself is the world 's eleventh most populous country with a population of 126.2 million , of which 97.8% are ethnically Japanese . The kanji ( or Chinese characters ) that make up the name of Japan in the Japanese language mean sun origin ; in the Western world , the country is often known by the sobriquet Land of the Rising Sun . Periods of influence from other regions , primarily China , followed by periods of isolation , particularly from Western Europe , have characterized the history of Japan . While archaeological evidence indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period , the first written mention of the archipelago appears in Chinese texts from the first century AD . Between the fourth and ninth centuries , the kingdoms of Japan became gradually unified under an Emperor and imperial court based in Heian-kyō ( modern Kyoto ) .
Stéphane Walker ( born 25 December 1990 ) is a Swiss figure skater . Competing in men 's singles , he won ten international medals , including two on the ISU Challenger Series , and became a five-time Swiss national champion ( 2013-14 , 2016-18 ) . He appeared in the final segment at seven ISU Championships ( six European Championships and the 2014 World Championships ) .
Switzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a country situated in the confluence of western , central , and southern Europe . [ note 4 ] It is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons , with federal authorities seated in Bern . [ note 1 ] Switzerland is a landlocked country bordered by Italy to the south , France to the west , Germany to the north , and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east . It is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau , the Alps , and the Jura , spanning a total area of 41,285 km2 ( 15,940 sq mi ) , and land area of 39,997 km2 ( 15,443 sq mi ) . While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory , the Swiss population of approximately 8.5 million is concentrated mostly on the plateau , where the largest cities are located , among them the two global cities and economic centres of Zürich and Geneva . The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the late medieval period , resulting from a series of military successes against Austria and Burgundy . Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 . The Federal Charter of 1291 is considered the founding document of Switzerland which is celebrated on Swiss National Day . Since the Reformation of the 16th century , Switzerland has maintained a strong policy of armed neutrality ; it has not fought an international war since 1815 and did not join the United Nations until 2002 . Nevertheless , it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world . Switzerland is the birthplace of the Red Cross , one of the world 's oldest and best known humanitarian organisations , and is home to numerous international organisations , including the second largest UN office . It is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association , but notably not part of the European Union , the European Economic Area or the Eurozone .
Daniel Dotzauer ( born 23 September 1991 in Chemnitz ) is a German figure skater . He is the 2010 senior national bronze medalist and 2006-08 junior national champion . Dotzauer represented Germany at the 2010 World Junior Championships and reached the free skate . He was coached by Anett Pötzsch Rauschenbach .
Germany ( German : Deutschland , German pronunciation : [ ˈdɔʏtʃlant ] ) , constitutionally the Federal Republic of Germany ( German : Bundesrepublik Deutschland , listen ( help·info ) ) , [ f ] is a country in Central and Western Europe . It borders Denmark to the north , Poland and the Czech Republic to the east , Austria and Switzerland to the south , France to the southwest , and Luxembourg , Belgium , and the Netherlands to the west . Germany includes 16 constituent states , covers an area of 357,386 square kilometres ( 137,988 sq mi ) , and has a largely temperate seasonal climate . With 83 million inhabitants , it is the second most populous state of Europe after Russia , the most populous state lying entirely in Europe , as well as the most populous member state of the European Union . Germany is a very decentralised country . Its capital and largest metropolis is Berlin , while Frankfurt serves as its financial capital and has the country 's busiest airport . Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity . A region named Germania was documented before AD 100 . Beginning in the 10th century , German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire . During the 16th century , northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation . After the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire , the German Confederation was formed in 1815 . The German revolutions of 1848-49 resulted in the Frankfurt Parliament establishing major democratic rights .
Jason Wong ( born 1986 in London , England ) is a British actor . Wong is best known for his role as Kai on ITVs Strangers .
The United States of America ( USA ) , commonly known as the United States ( U.S. or US ) or America , is a country consisting of 50 states , a federal district , five major self-governing territories , and various possessions . [ g ] At 3.8 million square miles ( 9.8 million km2 ) , it is the world 's third or fourth-largest country by total area [ b ] and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe . Most of the country is located in central North America between Canada and Mexico . With an estimated population of over 328 million , the U.S. is the third most populous country in the world . The capital is Washington , D.C. , and the most populous city is New York City . Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago . European colonization began in the 16th century . The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast . Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolutionary War lasting between 1775 and 1783 , leading to independence . The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century - gradually acquiring new territories , displacing Native Americans , and admitting new states - until by 1848 it spanned the continent . During the second half of the 19th century , the American Civil War led to the abolition of slavery in the United States . The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the country 's status as a global military power .
Francisco Javier Raya Buenache ( born 20 April 1991 ) is a Spanish figure skater . He is the 2011 Spanish national senior champion and has competed in the free skate at eight ISU Championships .
Ari-Pekka Nurmenkari ( born 8 July 1983 ) is a Finnish figure skater . He is a seven-time ( 2003-2007 , 2009 , 2010 ) Finnish national champion and has represented Finland at the World Figure Skating Championships . He is the 2008 & 2009 Nordic champion . Nurmenkari withdrew from the 2012 European Championships due to an ankle injury .
Finland ( Finnish : Suomi [ ˈsuo̯mi ] ( listen ) ; Swedish : Finland [ ˈfɪ̌nland ] ( listen ) , Finland Swedish : [ ˈfinlɑnd ] ) , officially the Republic of Finland ( Finnish : Suomen tasavalta , Swedish : Republiken Finland ( listen to all ) ) , [ note 1 ] is a Nordic country in Northern Europe bordering the Baltic Sea , Gulf of Bothnia , and Gulf of Finland , between Sweden to the west , Russia to the east , Estonia to the south , and north-eastern Norway to the north . The capital and largest city is Helsinki . Other major cities are Espoo , Tampere , Vantaa , Oulu , Turku , Jyväskylä , Lahti and Kuopio . Finland 's population is 5.52 million as of July 2019 , the majority of whom live in the central and south of the country and speak Finnish , a Finnic language from the Uralic language family , unrelated to the Scandinavian languages . Finland is the eighth-largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union . It is a parliamentary republic of 310 municipalities , and includes an autonomous region , the Åland Islands . Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area , which produces one third of the country 's GDP . Swedish is the second official language of Finland , which is mainly spoken in certain coastal areas and on Åland . A large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church . Finland was inhabited when the last ice age ended , approximately 9000 BC . Comb Ceramic culture introduced pottery 5200 BC and Corded Ware culture coincided with the start of agriculture between 3000 and 2500 BC . The Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions .
Konstantin Tupikov ( born 25 April 1983 ) is a former competitive figure skater who represented Ukraine until 2005 and then decided to compete for Poland . He is the 2003 Ukrainian national champion and 2008 Polish national champion .
Poland ( Polish : Polska [ ˈpɔlska ] ( listen ) ) , officially the Republic of Poland ( Polish : Rzeczpospolita Polska [ c ] [ ʐɛt͡ʂpɔˈspɔlita ˈpɔlska ] ( listen ) ) , is a country located in Central Europe . It is divided into 16 administrative subdivisions , covering an area of 312,696 square kilometres ( 120,733 sq mi ) , and has a largely temperate seasonal climate . With a population of nearly 38.5 million people , Poland is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union . Poland 's capital and largest metropolis is Warsaw . Other major cities include Kraków , Łódź , Wrocław , Poznań , Gdańsk , and Szczecin . Poland is bordered by the Baltic Sea , Lithuania , and Russia 's Kaliningrad Oblast to the north , Belarus and Ukraine to the east , Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the south , and Germany to the west . The history of human activity on Polish soil spans almost 500,000 years . Throughout the Iron Age the area became extensively diverse , with various cultures and tribes settling on the vast Central European Plain . However , it was the Western Polans who dominated the region and gave Poland its name . The establishment of Polish statehood can be traced to AD 966 , when Mieszko I , ruler of the realm coextensive with the territory of present-day Poland , converted to Christianity . The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025 , and in 1569 it cemented its longstanding political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin . This union formed the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , one of the largest ( over 1,000,000 square kilometres - 400,000 square miles ) and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe , with a uniquely liberal political system which adopted Europe 's first written national constitution , the Constitution of 3 May 1791 .
Takuya Kondoh ( 近藤 琢哉 , Kondō Takuya , born September 3 , 1991 in Meguro , Tokyo ) is a Japanese figure skater . He is a two season competitor on the Junior Grand Prix circuit and placed 14th at the 2006 Junior Grand Prix Norway .
Matthew Parr ( born 1 March 1990 ) is an English figure skater . He is a four-time British national champion ( 2009-10 , 2013-14 ) .
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK or U.K. ) or Britain , [ note 11 ] is a sovereign country located off the north­western coast of the European mainland . Existing under its current name since 1921 , the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain , the north­eastern part of the island of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland . Otherwise , the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to the east , the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the southwest , giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland . The total area of the United Kingdom is 94,000 square miles ( 240,000 km2 ) . The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy . [ note 12 ] The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II , who has reigned since 1952 , making her the world 's longest-serving current head of state . The United Kingdom 's capital and largest city is London , a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million . Other major cities include Birmingham , Manchester , Glasgow , Leeds and Liverpool . The United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries : England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland . Their capitals are London , Edinburgh , Cardiff , and Belfast , respectively .
Laurent Alvarez ( born 23 September 1990 in Geneva ) is a Swiss former competitive figure skater . He is the 2012 Swiss national champion and competed at three ISU Championships , reaching the free skate at the 2011 European Championships . He was coached by Peter Grütter and retired from competition in 2012 .
Justus Strid ( born 29 April 1987 ) is a Danish figure skater . He is the 2012 Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist , a three-time Nordic silver medalist , and a seven-time Danish national champion .
Denmark ( Danish : Danmark , pronounced [ ˈtænmak ] ( listen ) ) , officially the Kingdom of Denmark , [ N 10 ] [ N 2 ] is a Nordic country in Northwest Europe . Denmark proper , which is the southernmost of the Scandinavian countries , consists of a peninsula , Jutland , and an archipelago of 443 named islands , [ N 2 ] with the largest being Zealand , Funen and the North Jutlandic Island . The islands are characterised by flat , arable land and sandy coasts , low elevation and a temperate climate . The southernmost of the Scandinavian nations , Denmark lies southwest of Sweden and south of Norway , [ N 11 ] and is bordered to the south by Germany . The Kingdom of Denmark also includes two autonomous territories in the North Atlantic Ocean : the Faroe Islands and Greenland . Denmark has a total area of 42,924 km2 ( 16,573 sq mi ) , land area of 42,394 km2 ( 16,368 sq mi ) , and the total area including Greenland and the Faroe Islands is 2,210,579 km2 ( 853,509 sq mi ) , and a population of 5.8 million in Denmark proper ( Danish egentlige Danmark ) ( as of 2020 [ update ] ) . The unified kingdom of Denmark emerged in the 8th century as a proficient seafaring nation in the struggle for control of the Baltic Sea . Denmark , Sweden , and Norway were ruled together under one sovereign ruler in the Kalmar Union , established in 1397 and ending with Swedish secession in 1523 . The areas of Denmark and Norway remained under the same monarch until 1814 , Denmark-Norway . Beginning in the 17th century , there were several devastating wars with the Swedish Empire , ending with large cessions of territory to Sweden . After the Napoleonic Wars , Norway was ceded to Sweden , while Denmark kept the Faroe Islands , Greenland , and Iceland . In the 19th century there was a surge of nationalist movements , which were defeated in the First Schleswig War .
Valtter Virtanen ( born 4 June 1987 ) is a Finnish figure skater . He is a two-time Nordic medalist ( silver in 2016 , bronze in 2014 ) and a five-time Finnish national champion ( 2013 , 2015-2018 ) . He has qualified for the free skate at three ISU Championships .
Fabio Mascarello ( born 10 September 1983 ) is an Italian former competitive figure skater . He won the 2003 Merano Cup and two Italian national bronze medals .
Italy ( Italian : Italia [ iˈtaːlja ] ( listen ) ) , officially the Italian Republic ( Italian : Repubblica Italiana [ reˈpubblika itaˈljaːna ] ) , is a European country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and surrounded by several islands . Italy is located in south-central Europe , and it is also considered a part of Western Europe . The country covers a total area of 301,340 km2 ( 116,350 sq mi ) and shares land borders with France , Switzerland , Austria , Slovenia , and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino . Italy has a territorial exclave in Switzerland ( Campione ) and a maritime exclave in the Tunisian Sea ( Lampedusa ) . With around 60 million inhabitants , Italy is the third-most populous member state of the European Union . The capital and largest city is Rome ; other major cities are Milan , Naples , Turin , Palermo , Genoa , Bologna , Florence and Venice . Due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean , Italy has historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures . In addition to the various ancient peoples dispersed throughout what is now modern-day Italy , the most predominant being the Indo-European Italic peoples who gave the peninsula its name , beginning from the classical era , Phoenicians and Carthaginians founded colonies mostly in insular Italy , Greeks established settlements in the so-called Magna Graecia of Southern Italy , while Etruscans and Celts inhabited central and northern Italy respectively . An Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom in the 8th century BC , which eventually became a republic with a government of the Senate and the People . The Roman Republic initially conquered and assimilated its neighbours on the Italian peninsula , eventually expanding and conquering parts of Europe , North Africa and Asia . By the first century BC , the Roman Empire emerged as the dominant power in the Mediterranean Basin and became a leading cultural , political and religious centre , inaugurating the Pax Romana , a period of more than 200 years during which Italy 's law , technology , economy , art , and literature developed . Italy remained the homeland of the Romans and the metropole of the empire , whose legacy can also be observed in the global distribution of culture , governments , Christianity and the Latin script .