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Robert Kunkel
German pair skater From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Robert Kunkel (born 28 April 1999) is a German pair skater. With his skating partner, Annika Hocke, he is the 2023 European bronze medalist, the 2023 Skate America champion, 2022 Grand Prix de France bronze medalist, and has won five medals on the ISU Challenger Series, including gold at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy. Domestically they are the 2023 German national champions.
With his former skating partner, Talisa Thomalla, he is a two-time two German junior national champion (2017, 2019).
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Career
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Early career
Kunkel began figure skating in 2004.[1] He originally competed as a singles skater before teaming up with Talisa Thomalla in 2014 to compete in the pairs discipline. The duo trained in Berlin, where they were coached by Romy Oesterreich and Rico Rex. Together, they won two German junior national titles and competed at three World Junior Championships, finishing as high as seventh. Their partnership would dissolve following the 2018–19 figure skating season.[2][3]
Partnership with Hocke
2019–20 season
It summer 2019, it was announced that Kunkel had teamed up with fellow German pair skater, Annika Hocke and that they would be coached in Berlin by Rico Rex, Dmitri Savin, Alexander Koenig, and Romy Oesterreich.[4] Despite Hocke having previously competed at the Olympics, the pair were still age-eligible for international junior competitions, and so began on the Junior Grand Prix, where they won two bronze medals at JGP Croatia and JGP Poland, and were the only non-Russian team to qualify to the Junior Grand Prix Final, where they placed sixth.[5] On the senior level, Hocke/Kunkel debuted at the 2019 CS Warsaw Cup, placing sixth, and then won silver medals at the German nationals championships and the 2020 Bavarian Open. They were seventh at the 2020 European Championships.[6]
Hocke/Kunkel concluded the season at the 2020 World Junior Championships, where they placed fourth and won a small bronze medal for a third-place finish in the free skate; only Kunkel invalidating their pair spin element by putting both feet down kept them from winning the overall bronze medal. Despite this, Hocke remarked, "our first and last Junior World Championships — it was amazing!"[7] They had been scheduled to make their senior World Championship debut in Montreal, but the Championships were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.[8]
2020–21 season
With the pandemic continuing to affect events, Hocke/Kunkel made their season debut at the 2020 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, which featured only pairs training in Europe.[9] They were second in the short program, behind countrymen Hase/Seegert, who subsequently had to withdraw because of injury. They were overtaken in the free skate by Italian team Ghilardi/Ambrosini and won the silver medal.[10]
Hocke/Kunkel were scheduled to make their Grand Prix debut at the 2020 Internationaux de France, but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic.[11]
Initially, both Hocke/Kunkel and Hase/Seegert were assigned to represent Germany at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, but Hase/Seegert were forced to withdraw after Hase sustained a leg injury, leaving Hocke/Kunkel as the lone representative.[12] They placed thirteenth in their Worlds debut.[13]
2021–22 season
Hocke/Kunkel began the season at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where they placed fourth. Hocke said afterward she was pleased with their performance in light of multiple disruptions to their summer training caused by injury and illness.[14] They went on to place eleventh at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy.[15]
Initially assigned to the 2021 Cup of China on the Grand Prix, Hocke/Kunkel were reassigned to the 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia following the former event's cancellation.[16] They placed eighth in the short program, and then withdrew for medical reasons.[17] In the new year, they finished thirteenth at the 2022 European Championships.[15]
2022–23 season
Before the season, Hocke/Kunkel relocated to Bergamo, Italy with Ondrej Hotarek, Franca Bianconi, and Rosanna Murante becoming their new coaches. They began the season with a bronze medal at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and a gold medal at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy. Kunkel contracted COVID-19 shortly after the Finlandia Trophy, impeding their preparations for the Grand Prix, but they were able to compete at their first assignment, the 2022 Grand Prix de France. They won the bronze medal, their first Grand Prix medal, with Kunkel saying they were "very happy with the outcome."[18]
On November 15, Hocke announced via her Instagram that she and Kunkel had withdrawn from the 2022 NHK Trophy due to Hocke testing positive for COVID-19 just prior to the event.[19]
Hocke/Kunkel returned to competition at the German championships, winning their first national gold medal and an assignment to compete at the 2023 European Championships. With Russian pairs banned from competing due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the podium was considered far more open than in prior years. Both made jump errors in the short program, but they finished second in the segment, winning a silver small medal.[20][21] Third in the free skate, they dropped to third overall, winning the bronze medal.[22][23] Hocke/Kunkel finished the season at the 2023 World Championships, where they came ninth.[24]
2023–24 season
Hocke/Kunkel began the season by winning the bronze medal at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy, finishing behind new domestic rivals Hase/Volodin.[25] They went on to win a second Challenger bronze on home soil at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, finishing 2.70 points behind Italian silver medalists Beccari/Guarise. Hocke said afterward that they were "very happy with where we are at this point in the season."[26] They were invited to the Shanghai Trophy, taking the silver medal.[15]
Beginning on the Grand Prix at the 2023 Skate America, Hocke/Kunkel narrowly won the short program despite Hocke falling on her triple Salchow attempt.[27] They won the free skate as well, winning their first Grand Prix gold.[28] In the interval between their Grand Prix assignments, Hocke was ill.[29] They finished fourth at the 2023 Cup of China after making multiple errors in both segments.[30] Their placements were sufficient to qualify them to the Grand Prix Final in fifth position.[31] However, they were forced to withdraw after Kunkel developed an injury causing "immense" pain.[32] They were replaced by first alternates Pavlova/Sviatchenko of Hungary.[31]
Kunkel recovered sufficiently for the team to resume practice three weeks before the 2024 European Championships, where they came seventh. He said that they "didn't feel any pressure. We had nothing to lose. Of course, mistakes are annoying. Overall the result is not that bad."[33] The team then finished the season at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, where they were seventh in the short program with a clean skate. Fifth in the free skate, they rose to fifth overall. Kunkel said that he was pleased that they had "finally" been able to prepare without dealing with injuries, while Hocke called it one of the "competitions you dream of."[34]
2024–25 season
Hocke/Kunkel started the season with a fifth-place finish at the 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy.[15] They would go on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series. At their first Grand Prix event, 2024 Skate Canada International, Hocke/Kunkel would place second in the short program but fourth in the free skate, falling to fourth place overall. Kunkel described the event as "a little bit frustrating."[35] They would subsequently finish fourth at the 2024 NHK Trophy.[15][36]
In mid-December, Hocke announced that she and Kunkel would miss the 2025 German Championships due to Hocke sustaining a foot injury.[37]
Returning to competition at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Hocke/Kunkel placed fifth in the short program and eighth in the free skate, finishing in eighth place overall. Two months later, they competed at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, where they finished eighteenth overall.[38]
Reflecting on the season, Hocke shared, "We really need to learn to enjoy competitions again. We love skating, we love training, we love doing run-throughs in practice, not many teams actually enjoy that. But it’s so frustrating when you can’t show it in competition. So we really have to find the joy in competing again."[39]
2025–26 season
In July, during a practice session, Hocke’s blade cut open Kunkel’s hand and finger. As a result, he was hospitalized and required a skin transplant.[40]
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Programs
With Hocke
With Thomalla
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Competition results
- GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
- JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
- CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
- WD – Withdrew from competition
- C – Event was cancelled
Pair skating with Annika Hocke
Pairs with Thomalla
Men's singles
Detailed results
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Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.
Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships.
With Hocke
Senior results
Junior results
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References
External links
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