Deividas Stagniūnas
| Deividas Stagniūnas | |
|---|---|
Tobias and Stagniūnas in 2011.
|
|
| Personal information | |
| Country represented | Lithuania |
| Born |
April 28, 1985 Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Former partner | Isabella Tobias, Katherine Copely, Kayla Nicole Frey, Laura Whipple |
| Former coach | Igor Shpilband, Marina Zueva, Elena Garanina, Valeri Spiridonov |
| Former choreographer | Igor Shpilband, Marina Zueva |
| Skating club | Baltų ainiai |
| Former training locations |
Novi, Michigan Canton, Michigan |
| Began skating | 1990 |
| Retired | May 2014 |
| ISU personal best scores | |
| Combined total | 142.31 2014 Europeans |
| Short dance | 59.66 2012 Europeans |
| Free dance | 85.55 2014 Europeans |
Deividas Stagniūnas (born April 28, 1985) is a Lithuanian former ice dancer. With Isabella Tobias, he is the 2011 Skate America bronze medalist and placed in the top ten at two European Championships. They represented Lithuania at the 2014 Winter Olympics, where Stagniūnas was the flagbearer.
Stagniūnas began skating at age five. He moved to the United States at age 15 to skate with a partner.
Early in his career, Stagniūnas was coached by Walter Wielunski and Natalia Dubova, who trained him in ice dancing. They trained in Darien, Illinois, where he lived with his partner, Laura Whipple. He and Whipple won the senior bronze medal at the Lake Placid ice dancing competition, representing Lithuania. In the 2003–2004 season, Stagniūnas began skating with Kayla Nicole Frey. They competed internationally on the junior level and were three-time (2004–2006) Lithuanian silver medalists.
In 2006, Stagniūnas formed a partnership with American Katherine Copely. They became the 2007 Lithuanian national champions and 2006 and 2007 Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalists. The duo qualified an entry for the 2010 Winter Olympics in the ice dancing event when they placed 14th at the 2009 World Championships. According to IOC rules, competitors must have citizenship of the country they are representing; however, Copely's special request for citizenship was denied by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė. The spot was left unfilled. Copely retired from competition due to an injury.
In spring 2010, Stagniūnas teamed up with American ice dancer Isabella Tobias. They initially trained under Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva in Canton, Michigan. Tobias/Stagniūnas made their debut at the 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy, where they placed 11th, and won their first international medal, bronze, at the 2010 NRW Trophy. At their first European and World Championships, they placed 12th and 14th, respectively.
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