Siblings Kateřina and Daniel Mráz are junior world champions in ice dancing. At the championship in Calgary, after the rhythmic dance, they also won the free dance and beat the Korean couple Hannah Limová and Je Quan by about three points. For Czech figure skating, they won the second gold at the Junior World Championships in history. March 4, 2023
Calgary (Canada) – The triumph at the Junior World Championships was a goal for figure skaters Kateřina and Daniel Mrázkova. This was stated by the partner in the union's press release. They have been dancing together for two and a half years, at the beginning of their dancing career was Mrázka's injury.
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On Saturday in Calgary, they wrote down the history of Czech figure skating when they were the first in the category of dance pairs to win a valuable metal at the junior world championship. “It's beautiful to be junior world champions. I still don't believe it 100 percent,” Mrázek said. “We are very happy to have achieved the goals we set before the start of the season. This success is a huge motivation for us to do the same at the senior level,” added his sister.
From the beginning of the season, the performances at the Grand Prix showed that they are the world's elite pair in this category. They failed to make the final of the Junior Grand Prix, where they failed in both programs and finished third. Even at the Junior World Championship, it was mentally challenging for them. “The rhythmic dance wasn't so great for us because we were nervous, we were afraid of making a mistake. So we tried to be more relaxed in the free dance and I think we did better,” Mrázek said at Saturday's press conference.
< p>The natives of Nymburk skated as soloists for a long time. “My mother trained us. We weren't good enough jumpers for the highest level. Then I got injured and it dawned on me that I would never be the best among individuals. So I decided to start a dancing career, I asked my sister and she agreed,” described Mrázek the events that sent them on a golden path two and a half years ago.
Sixteen-year-old Kateřina and Daniel, who is three years older, now await the next big step, the transition to the senior category. “We have no expectations, it will be a completely new category for us,” said Mrázková. But Saturday's success gives them determination. “It's a big motivation for us to do something similar at the senior level. But we don't know how it will go next season, so we'll just work hard like we worked last year,” her brother added.
< p>Mrážek are preparing at Matteo Zanni's in the Italian town of Egna. They are training together with the elite Czech couple Natália and Filip Taschler, the sixth dancers from this year's senior European championship.
