Daniel Grassl

Daniel Grassl (born 4 April 2002) is an Italian figure skater.

He is the 2022 European silver medalist, the 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy champion, the 2019 World Junior bronze medalist, and a four-time Italian national champion (2019–2022).

Grassl began learning to skate in 2009.

His first coach was Ludmila Mladenova in Merano.

He competed internationally in the advanced novice ranks from the 2012–2013 season through 2014–2015.

Making his junior international debut, Grassl won the bronze medal at the Lombardia Trophy in September 2015.

He won his first Italian national junior title in December of the same year.

During the season, Grassl trained in Egna, Italy, coached by Lorenzo Magri.

In August 2016, he competed at his first ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) assignment in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains.

After finishing 7th in France, he had the same result at his next JGP event, in Yokohama, Japan.

In December, he repeated as Italy's national junior champion.

In February 2017, Grassl won silver at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Erzurum, Turkey.

Coached by Magri, Grassl began his season on the JGP series, placing 6th in Brisbane, Australia, and then 7th in Egna, Italy.

His senior international debut came in late October 2017 at the Golden Bear of Zagreb in Croatia; ranked first in both segments, Grassl outscored British champion Graham Newberry by 13.33 points for the gold medal.

During his time in Croatia, he was the youngest skater ever to land a quad Lutz.

In November, he stepped onto two more senior international podiums, taking gold at the Ice Challenge in Austria (27.33 points ahead of silver medalist Javier Raya from Spain) and then bronze at the Merano Cup in Italy.

In August, Grassl won bronze at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Slovakia.

In October, he received the senior gold medal at the Golden Bear of Zagreb after becoming the first European to land a quad loop in international competition.

In December, he outscored Matteo Rizzo by 4.48 points to become the Italian national senior champion.

Grassl next competed at his first European Championships, where he placed ninth in the short program and fifth in the free skate, for sixth place overall.

He has won ten senior international medals, including gold at four ISU Challenger Series events (2018 CS Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy, 2019 CS Asian Open Trophy, 2019 CS Ice Star, 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy).

As Rizzo won the bronze medal at Europeans, he was assigned to Italy's lone men's place at the 2019 World Championships, whilst Grassl was sent to the 2019 World Junior Championships.

He placed third in the short program, winning a bronze small medal, despite a minor error on his triple Axel.

Grassl began his season on the Junior Grand Prix in Poland, where he won the bronze medal.

His second event was the Italian JGP event, held in his home rink, where he won the gold medal, qualifying to the Junior Grand Prix Final.

Moving to the senior level Challenger series, Grassl won both the Asian Open and the Ice Star.

At the JGP Final in Torino, Grassl was the lone Italian skater to qualify at either the senior or junior level.

Two days before the competition began, his right skate broke, which he attempted to remedy with tape.

This proved inadequate in skating the short program, where he placed fifth after missing the second part of his jump combination.

Grassl then replaced his skates with only a day's preparation and struggled in the free skate, finishing last among the competitors.

Shortly afterward, he won his second consecutive Italian national title.

Returning to the European Championships, Grassl placed eleventh in the short program with multiple errors.

Staging a comeback in the free skate, he was second in that segment with a new personal best score and rose to fourth place overall, under two points short of the silver medal.

Grassl placed sixth in the short program at the 2020 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

Grassl attempted the quad flip in competition for the first time in the free skate, underrotating both it and his quad Lutz, as well as a triple Axel.

He placed third in the segment, winning a small bronze medal, and was fourth overall, 1.74 points behind bronze medalist Petr Gumennik.

Grassl was scheduled to make his senior World Championship debut in Montreal, but these were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Grassl won the 2020 CS Budapest Trophy and was assigned to make his Grand Prix debut at the 2020 Internationaux de France, but this event was also cancelled as a result of the pandemic.

Grassl won his third consecutive Italian national title in December, after which he tested positive for COVID-19, as a result of which he was off the ice for a month and a half due to quarantine and subsequent concerns about the condition of his heart.

Grassl was assigned to compete at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, where he placed twelfth.