Edward Appleby
Birth date21 December 2004 (age 21)
Birth placeColchester, England,
United Kingdom
Height1.83 m
Skating clubRomford Ice Arena
Beganskating2009
HometownWivenhoe, England
DisciplineMen's singles

Edward Appleby (born 21 December 2004) is an English figure skater. He is a three-time British national champion. On the junior level, he is the 2021 JGP France II bronze medalist, 2020 Mentor Toruń Cup junior men's champion, and a two-time British junior national champion.

Appleby represented Great Britain at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Personal life

Edward Appleby was born on 21 December 2004 in Colchester, Essex, England.[1] He has an older sister, Alexandra, and brother, Elliot, who are also former competitive figure skaters.[2] He attended the Colne Community School in Brightlingsea.[3]

Career

Early years

Appleby began learning to skate in 2009.[1] In October 2018, he debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) circuit, finishing eighteenth in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He placed thirty-sixth at the 2019 World Junior Championships and twenty-sixth at the 2020 World Junior Championships.[4]

2021–22 season

In late August, Appleby won bronze in Courchevel, France, at the second event of the 2021–22 ISU Junior Grand Prix season. It was the first Junior Grand Prix medal won by a British skater in almost 20 years.[5] In April, he qualified to the final segment at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. Ranked eighteenth in the short program and twenty-first in the free skate, he finished twentieth overall.[4]

2022–23 season

Appleby made his senior ISU Grand Prix debut at the 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy, where he placed last overall. At the British Figure Skating Championships, he competed in the senior category for the first time and placed second behind Graham Newberry. He was selected to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships, where he placed seventeenth.[4]

2023–24 season

Competing in the 2023–24 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, Appleby placed sixth at the 2023 JGP Austria and fourth at the 2024 JGP Poland. In December, Appleby won his first senior national title at the 2024 British Championships. The week after, he competed at the Golden Spin of Zagreb, where he placed sixth and achieved the technical minimums to be eligible for the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships.[6] At his first European Championships, he placed twenty-fifth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate.[7]

Appleby was assigned to the 2024 World Junior Championships, and finished ninth, his highest-ever placement at the event.[8] Weeks later, he competed at the 2024 World Championships, placing thirty-eighth in the short program and failing to advance to the free skate.[7]

2024–25 season

Prior to the season, Appleby added Alina Mayer-Virtanen to his coaching team, making frequent trips to Laukaa, Finland to work with her, while also continuing to train in Romford with John Wicker.[9] He ultimately began the season with a sixth-place finish at the 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. He would then go on to finish fifth at the 2024 Tayside Trophy. Continuing to compete on the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series, he finished seventh at the 2024 CS Nepela Memorial.[7]

In December, Appleby won his second consecutive national title at the 2025 British Championships. The following month, he competed at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where he finished twentieth overall.[4]

Shortly before the 2025 World Championships, Appleby left his longtime coach, John Wicker, and relocated to Swindon to train under Christopher Boyadji and Lloyd Jones. In addition, he continued working with Alina Mayer-Virtanen in Laukaa.[10] At the World Championships, he placed thirty-second in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.[7]

2025–26 season: Milano Cortina Olympics

During the off-season, Appleby sustained an ankle injury. Still not fully recovered, he competed at the 2025 Skate to Milano, the final qualifying event for the 2026 Winter Olympics, in September. He ultimately finished in eighteenth place before going on to place sixth at the 2025 Swiss Open and fourth at the 2025 Cup of Innsbruck.[4][11] In December, Appleby won his third consecutive national title at the 2026 British Championships.[4] Following the event, he was selected as Great Britain's men's singles representative for the team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[12][13] One month later, Appleby competed at the 2026 European Championships as the home crowd favourite, finishing in twenty-fourth place.[4]

On 7 February, Appleby placed tenth in the short program and scored a season's best in the 2026 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Team Event. "Obviously it wasn’t a clean skate, but it felt very solid and it was one that just let me enjoy the moment a little more," he said. "I could just be proud of the hard work that we put in to get here." Team Great Britain ultimately finished in ninth place overall.[14][4]

In March, Appleby competed at the 2026 World Championships. He placed thirty-third in the short program and did not advance to the free skate.[15]

Programs

SeasonShort programFree skatingExhibition
2025–2026
[16]
2024–2025
[9]
2023–2024
[17]
2022–2023
[18]
  • Dawn of Faith
    by Eternal Eclipse
    choreo. by Wendi Ross, John Kerr
2021–2022
[1]
2019–2020
[19]
2018–2019
[20]
  • Ice Type Beat
    by Jorge Quintero
  • 300 Violin Orchestra
    by Jorge Quintero

Competitive highlights

*GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series

  • JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
  • CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
  • TBD – Assigned
  • WD – Withdrew from competition
  • Medals at team events are awarded for the team results only. Individual placements at team events are listed in parentheses.

References

  1. ^ "Edward Appleby: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022.
  2. ^ Collitt, Andrea. "Family's figure skating shows no end to their commitment". Gazette News. Gazette News. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  3. ^ "Family's figure skating shows no end to their commitment". The Gazette. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  4. ^ "GBR–Edward Appleby". SkatingScores
  5. ^ BritishIceSkating (2 September 2021). "Junior Grand Prix Bronze Medal "A Bit of a Blur" For Ed Appleby". British Ice Skating. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  6. ^ BritishIceSkating (12 December 2023). "Worlds Scores Achieved in Zagreb!". British Ice Skating. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Competition Results: Edward Appleby". International Skating Union. Archived 16 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ Slater, Paula (2 March 2024). "Minkyu Seo clinches men's title at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Edward Appleby: 2024/2025 (1st Coaches)". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Edward Appleby: 2024/2025 (2nd Coaches)". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 March 2025.
  11. ^ Eadie, Georgia & Glennon, Will. "Figure skaters prepare for their first Olympics". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Team GB Names Eight Figure Skaters for Milano Cortina 2026 in Biggest Squad Since 1988". British Ice Skating. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  13. ^ "Ed Appleby hopes Rubix cube is key to success on Winter Olympic debut". Irvine Times. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  14. ^ Slater, Paula (February 7, 2026). "Yuma Kagiyama shakes up Olympic Team event; adds padding to Team Japan’s standing". Golden Skate
  15. ^ "2026 WC Sr Mens Final Results". Skating Scores
  16. ^ "Edward Appleby: 2025/2026". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Edward Appleby: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Edward Appleby: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023.
  19. ^ "Edward Appleby: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Edward Appleby: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019.