Stéphane Lambiel (born 2 April 1985) is a Swiss former competitive figure skater who now works as a coach and choreographer. He is a two-time (2005–2006) World champion, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time (2005, 2007) Grand Prix Final champion, and a nine-time (2001–08, 2010) Swiss national champion. Lambiel is known for his spins and is credited with popularizing some spin positions.
Lambiel was born in Martigny, Valais, Switzerland, and grew up in Saxon. His mother is originally from Lisbon, Portugal, and his father is from Isérables, Switzerland. He has a sister, Silvia (born in 1982), and a brother, Christophe (born in 1989). His parents divorced in 1999. Lambiel lives in Lausanne and received his "maturité" (matura) in biology and chemistry in June 2004.
A native speaker of French, Lambiel also speaks Portuguese, High German (not Swiss German), and English and is learning Italian.
Unlike most figure skaters, Lambiel can spin and jump in both counter-clockwise and clock-wise directions. He is able to do successive double Axels, changing his rotation direction between each one, but stopped training it. Lambiel had recurring injuries in both his knees, requiring him to miss exhibitions and training time, but his problems were resolved in 2009. He assisted in designing his own costumes.
Lambiel began skating when he was seven in Saxon, Switzerland, following in his sister's footsteps. His mother wanted him to play hockey but he was more interested in jumping. Around 1995, Lambiel began training in Geneva, coached by Peter Grütter. When ice was unavailable in Geneva, generally from April to June, he trained in Germany, sometimes in Oberstdorf. Salomé Brunner became his main choreographer in 1996.
Lambiel landed his first triple toe loop at age ten. As the novice national champion of Switzerland, he performed in the gala at the 1997 World Championships, held in Lausanne. He won the junior national champion for the next two years and spent three years on the junior Grand Prix circuit, winning two medals during this time. Due to the high cost of a season (100,000 Swiss francs), his village created a fan club to help raise funds after his parents' divorce in 1999. Lambiel won his first senior national title in the 2001 season, aged 15. He made his senior debut at the 2001 Europeans, finishing ninth, and was fifth at the 2001 World Junior Championships.
The next season, Lambiel turned senior and finished 6th in his first senior Grand Prix, the 2001 Trophée Lalique. The Swiss skating federation told him that they would send him to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City if he placed in the top twelve at the 2002 European Championships. Lambiel placed fourth and was sent to the Olympics, where he finished 15th. He was 18th at the 2002 Worlds.
Lambiel underwent knee surgery in November 2002. He placed fifth at the 2003 European Championships and moved up to tenth at Worlds. In the 2003–2004 season, he was sixth at the 2004 European Championships and fourth at the 2004 World Championships.
In autumn 2004, Lambiel underwent an operation on the meniscus in his left knee. Around October, he began training in Lausanne, coached by Cédric Monod. Majda and Jean-Sébastien Scharl became his physical trainers in November 2004.
Lambiel missed the 2004–05 ISU Grand Prix season but returned in time for the 2005 European Championships where he placed fourth. At the 2005 World Championships, held in Moscow, Russia, Lambiel was ahead of Evgeni Plushenko after the qualifying round and short program. Plushenko then withdrew from the competition with an injury. Skating to the King Arthur soundtrack in the long program, Lambiel landed two quadruple toe loops and gave an overall strong performance to win his first World championship; it was also his first medal at an ISU championship. He became the first Swiss man to win the event since Hans Gerschwiler did so in 1947.
With Lambiel training mostly in Geneva with Peter Grütter, Lambiel and Monod decided to end their collaboration in late September 2005.
Lambiel won silver medals at both his Grand Prix events and won the Grand Prix Final. He came in second at the 2006 European Championships in Lyon, France, behind Plushenko. Lambiel went into the 2006 Olympic Games, in Turin, Italy, with a strong chance to medal. He was third after the short program and only placed fourth in the long program, but was able to win the silver medal when other contenders faltered. Lambiel did not complete a triple Axel at the Olympics, but he did land a clean quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop-double loop combination. Lambiel became the first Swiss figure skater since 1948 to win an Olympic medal.
Plushenko chose not to go to the 2006 World Championships, and Lambiel was considered a favorite to defend his title. He was first after the qualifying round, fourth in the short program and first in the long program, and became the first Swiss skater ever to be a two-time World Champion.
After the 2005–06 season, Lambiel participated in the Champions on Ice tour.
Lambiel began the 2006–2007 season with a win at Skate Canada, where he finished seventh in the short program but first in the free skate. He was also assigned to the 2006 NHK Trophy, but withdrew prior to the event, citing health reasons. He recovered in time to skate at the Swiss Championships, where he won his seventh national title.
On 16 January, Lambiel withdrew from the 2007 European Championships, citing burnout. He returned to compete at the 2007 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. In the short program, Lambiel fell on his triple Axel and only tripled the first jump in his intended quadruple toe loop-double toe loop combination, finishing sixth. He did better in the long program, landing two quadruple toe loops and a triple Axel, and earning high program component scores and a level four for three of his spins. Lambiel finished in 2nd on the night and third overall behind Brian Joubert and Daisuke Takahashi.
In 2007, Lambiel finished 3rd at the Cup of China and 2nd at the Cup of Russia, qualifying him for the Grand Prix Final. He won the event for a second time in his career with 239.10 points, only 0.16 points ahead of Daisuke Takahashi.
At the 2008 European Championships in Zagreb, Lambiel had a disappointing short program, falling on his triple Axel and managing only a triple toe loop-double loop combination; he placed 4th. He finished 2nd in the long program after landing a quadruple toe loop-double toe loop-double loop combination and earning 80 points in program components score for his Flamenco program, a very high score at that time. He won his second European silver medal, behind Czech Tomáš Verner.