Victor Kraatz

Victor Kraatz
Victor Kraatz with Shae-Lynn Bourne.
Personal information
Country represented	Canada
Born	(1971-04-07) April 7, 1971 (age 45) West Berlin, West Germany
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Former partner	Shae-Lynn Bourne Taryn O'Neill
Former coach	Nikolai Morozov Uschi Keszler Natalia Dubova Tatiana Tarasova Josée Picard Eric Gilles
Retired	2003
Medal record Figure skating: Ice dancing Representing  Canada World Championships 2003 Washington, D.C. Ice dancing 2002 Nagano Ice dancing 1999 Helsinki Ice dancing 1998 Minneapolis Ice dancing 1997 Lausanne Ice dancing 1996 Edmonton Ice dancing Four Continents Championships 2003 Beijing Ice dancing 2001 Salt Lake City Ice dancing 1999 Halifax Ice dancing Grand Prix Final 2001–2002 Kitchener Ice dancing 1998–1999 St. Petersburg Ice dancing 1997–1998 Colorado Springs Ice dancing

Victor Kraatz, MSC (born April 7, 1971) is a Canadian former ice dancer. In 2003, he and his partner, Shae-Lynn Bourne, became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship.

Born on April 7, 1971 in West Berlin, Victor Kraatz grew up in Switzerland. At age 15, he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Kraatz married Finnish ice dancer Maikki Uotila on June 19, 2004 in Helsinki, Finland. They have two sons – Oliver, born September 14, 2006 in North Vancouver, British Columbia; and Henry, born on July 10, 2010.

Kraatz began to skate in 1980. In Switzerland, former pair skaters Mona and Peter Szabo taught him basic skills. His first ice dancing partner was Analisa Beltrami of Switzerland.

After his move to Canada, Kraatz was coached by Joanne Sloman in Vancouver. In the early 1990s, he switched to Eric Gillies and Josee Picard in Montreal. He had a partnership with Taryn O'Neill.

On April 20, 1991, Kraatz began skating with Shae-Lynn Bourne, who had been a pair skater until that time. Bourne tried out with him in Boucherville, Quebec on the suggestion of a coach, Paul Wirtz.

During their career, Bourne/Kraatz were coached at various times by Tatiana Tarasova, Natalia Dubova, Uschi Keszler, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, and Nikolai Morozov. For the 1997–98 season, their free dance was modeled after Riverdance, with footwork instruction provided by Riverdance lead dancer Colin Dunne. Bourne/Kraatz became known for their deep edges and soft knees. They were credited with perfecting and popularizing the hydroblading technique.