Ed Appleby said he was "thrilled" to finish fourth in the Men's Singles at the European Youth Olympics Festival in Vuokatti, Finland.
He scored 115.88 in today's Free Skate, ending the competition with a total combined score of 184.46 – the fourth highest in a 17-strong field. Estonia’s Arlet Levandi claimed the gold with a score of 209.54.
The two-time Junior British Champions said: “I’m definitely happy – if somebody told me coming into the event that I’d be in the top 5 - I’d be thrilled. After today’s skate and seeing how close I was to third, I am slightly irritated with myself, but I’m still happy with the performance I left out there over the two days.
“I’m glad that it has shown all the effort that we have put into the training, which was all I wanted to do out here.
Whilst admitting there were areas he could've picked up the mark needed for a podium place there were valuable lessons to be learned for the future.
“I’m going to think about all the things that I could have done better, but then on reflection, I’m still here (at EYOF) and I performed the best I could with all the training I’ve done. Overall I’m irritated about the individual slip-ups, but I’m happy with the skates and I’m grateful for this opportunity that I’ve had to compete here and to represent my country.
“This week at EYOF has been amazing to get that bit of insight into all other sports as you don’t get that normally. Talking to other sports and understanding their insight into performance has been interesting.
The fourth place finish comes in a season in which Appleby became the first British skater to win a Junior Grand Prix medal in 19 years when he took bronze at the Junior Grand Prix Courchevel in August 2021. With such a successful 12 months behind him the Essex-born skater has his eyes set on the road to the Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games in 2026.
"That’s the one I’d like to push for as I’d be about 21 at the time of the Olympics, so most likely around the peak of my career. I’ll do junior competitions for a little bit longer, move into senior fully, and then I can work towards my dream."
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