THE FRENCH ICE DANCER OF GREEK DESCENT GABRIELLA PAPADAKIS IS THE NEW ICE DANCE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Gabriella Papadakis (born 10 May 1995) is a French ice dancer of Greek descent. With partner Guillaume Cizeron, she is the 2015 European Champion, the 2014 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist and 2015 French national champion. They have won two gold medals on the Grand Prix series. Earlier in their career, they won silver at the 2012 Junior Grand Prix Final and 2013 World Junior Championships.

Gabriella Papadakis was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

Her mother, Catherine, is a skating coach. Her father lives in Texas.  She moved from France to Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 14 July 2014.

Papadakis and Cizeron teamed up when they were about 9 or 10 years old in Clermont-Ferrand at the suggestion of her mother, Catherine Papadakis, who coached them from the beginning of their partnership.  They debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in 2009–10, placing 15th at JGP United States. They were 22nd at the 2010 World Junior Championships.

In 2010–11, Papadakis/Cizeron finished 4th at JGP France and then won bronze at their second event, in Austria. They advanced to 12th at the 2011 World Junior Championships.

In 2011–12, Papadakis/Cizeron finished 4th at both of their Junior Grand Prix events. They rose to 5th at the 2012 World Junior Championships.

In mid-June 2012, Papadakis/Cizeron decided to move to Lyon to train with new coaches Muriel Zazoui, Romain Haguenauer, and Olivier Schoenfelder. They competed in their fourth season of the Junior Grand Prix, winning their first title at JGP France and then taking another gold medal at JGP Austria, where they scored their personal best of 142.08 points. Their wins qualified them for the 2012–13 JGP Final in Sochi, Russia.  Papadakis/Cizeron won the silver medal in Sochi behind Russian ice dancers Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin. At the 2013 World Junior Championships in Milan, the French placed second in the short dance. On the day of the free dance, Papadakis sprained her ankle in an off-ice warm up before the morning practice.  During the competition, she paused after 2:52 minutes and was allowed a medical break, after which she and Cizeron completed the dance. They placed third in the free dance and second overall, stepping onto the podium along with gold medalists Stepanova/Bukin and bronze medalists Aldridge/Eaton.

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriella_Papadakis