Harley Windsor
Skating in the pairs event alongside partner Katia
Alexandrovskaya, Harley Windsor entered the Australian history books in his
Olympic debut at PyeongChang 2018 as the first ever Indigenous Winter Olympian.
The second pair on the ice, Windsor and Alexandrovskaya put
down a strong skate that included a huge opening triple twist, posting a score
of 61.55 – just below their seasons best. Needing to finish in the top sixteen
in their field to move through to the free skate, despite skating a clean
program, the pair finished in 18th place, just out of free skate contention.
The 20-year-old from Rooty Hill in Sydney’s west started the
sport as a nine-year-old, after he was inspired by skaters at the Blacktown ice
rink. He worked with Russian coaches Galina and Andrei Pachin at the Canterbury
Ice Rink, who trained him in the elegant Russian style; which matched perfectly
with Alexandrovskaya’s technique from her Russian skating heritage when their
pair were introduced in late 2015.
Windsor made his international debut with Katia at the
Junior Grand Prix in Czech Republic in September 2016. They placed eighth
overall in what was Windsor’s second-ever pairs competition. The dynamic duo
has been the first Australians to make an ISU Final event and to win an ISU
event.
The pair made history when they won the 2017 Junior World Figure Skating Championships in Taipei City, Taiwan. Coming into the final round ranked third after the short program, the Aussie couple defeated their rivals from the world’s skating powerhouse nations to claim the gold medal in a confident and attacking free program. Their performance followed a ground-breaking gold medal at a Junior Grand Prix in Estonia in 2016, another first for Australian figure skating.
