Kevin van der Perren
Kevin van der Perren in 2009.
Born (1982-08-06) 6 August 1982
Ninove, Belgium
Height1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
CountryBelgium
Skating clubKSC Heuvelkouter, Liedekerke
Began skating1991
RetiredApril 2, 2012
Medal record
Representing  Belgium
Figure skating: Men's singles
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Helsinki Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Warsaw Men's singles
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place2002 HamarMen's singles
Junior Grand Prix Final
Bronze medal – third place2001–02 BledMen's singles

Kevin van der Perren (born 6 August 1982) is a Belgian former competitive figure skater. He is the 2007 & 2009 European bronze medalist, a three-time Grand Prix medalist, and an eight-time (2000–2004, 2007, 2011, 2012) Belgian national champion. Van der Perren was the flagbearer for Belgium at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.

Personal life

Kevin van der Perren was born on 6 August 1982 in Ninove, Belgium.[1] He married British skater Jenna McCorkell on 17 May 2008. The couple lives in Coleraine, Northern Ireland and have a son named Ben, born in 2019.[1][2][3]

Career

Van der Perren in 2003

Van der Perren became interested in figure skating after a traveling ice show came to his town to perform. Although his parents wanted him to play soccer and he was teased by his classmates at school, he refused to give up his dream of being an elite figure skater.

2001–02 to 2004–05

Making his first Olympic appearance, van der Perren finished 12th at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. At the 2002 World Junior Championships, he won the silver medal and also became the first skater to land a three jump combination, consisting of a 3S-3T-3L. He included this combination in his free program until the end of the 2003–04 season.

2005–06 season

In November 2005, van der Perren sustained a back injury.[4] He was the flagbearer for Belgium at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, where he finished 9th. He withdrew from the 2006 World Championships due to a hip injury he sustained after the Olympics.

2006–07 season: First European bronze medal

Van der Perren considered not going to the 2007 European Championships, but in the end he participated and finished on the podium, after edging Sergei Davydov by 0.07 for the bronze. This made him the first Belgian singles skater to win a medal at Europeans since 1947.[5] He missed the 2007 World Championships after re-injuring his back a week before the event when he slipped on back crossovers and fell into a barrier.[4] He trained in Belgium and also Coventry, England, due to ice being expensive in his native country.[4]

2007–08 season

In the 2007–08 season, van der Perren was assigned to the 2007 Skate Canada and the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard as his Grand Prix events. He finished second at Skate Canada, where he won the free skate, and fourth at Trophee Eric Bompard, qualifying him for the Grand Prix Final. He then finished 6th at the Grand Prix Final and 5th at Europeans. At the 2008 Worlds, van der Perren finished 9th in the SP and 3rd in the LP for 6th place overall. He underwent hip surgery shortly afterward.[6]

2008–09 season: Second European bronze medal

Van der Perren returned to competition at the start of the 2008–09 season. After being forced to withdraw from two events, he finished 5th at the 2008 Cup of Russia. Despite skating with a painful hip injury, Van der Perren won the bronze medal at the 2009 European Championships, his second medal at Europeans.[7]

2009–10 season

In the 2009–10 season, van der Perren competed at the Finlandia Trophy where he took a hard fall on his injured hip but completed the competition.[8] He finished 11th at the European Championships. He was the flagbearer for Belgium at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. He finished 17th at his third Olympics. At the 2010 World Championships, he finished 8th after a free skate in which he landed a 4T-3T-3T combination; he was the first skater ever to have performed this in competition. Van der Perren later said that he had never done this combination followed by a 3A in practice, and that he had skated in honor of his grandfather, who died the night before the free skate.[9]

2010–11 season

Although he had considered retirement following the 2009–10 season,[6] van der Perren decided to continue through the 2011 European Championships,[10] where he finished 4th. He decided to change coaches from Yuri Bureiko to Sylvie De Rijcke and continue on.[6] He competed at the 2011 World Championships, where he finished in 17th place.

2011–12 season

Van der Perren won the silver medal at the 2011 Skate America after finishing first in the free skating, equaling his best showing on the Grand Prix circuit.[11] It was the third Grand Prix medal of his career. He stated that the 2012 European Championships would be his final event.[6] He was forced to withdraw from the 2012 Europeans prior to the free skating due to a wrist injury.[12][13] Van der Perren later announced via his website that the injury was not a fracture but a ligament strain, and that he hoped to be able to compete at the 2012 World Championships in Nice, France. He finished 15th at the World Championships after placing 18th in the short program and 10th in the free skate, for which he received a standing ovation.[13] He then retired from competition.

Post-competitive career

Van der Perren is a full-time coach in Belgium as well as running a skating show, Ice Fantillusion, with his wife.[14][13] In September 2012, van der Perren said that he was discussing training in pair skating.[15]

In October 2012, van der Perren began training for the 5th edition of Sterren Op De Dansvloer (Belgium's Dancing with the Stars) with partner Charissa van Dipte and debuted on the show in November.[16] In January 2013, they were named as the champions.[17]

Jumping ability

Van der Perren is the first Belgian skater to land a quadruple jump (toe loop) in competition, and the first skater ever to have done a 4T-3T-3T combination in competition. At the 2005 World Championships, he completed a 3F-3T-3Lo combination in his free program, although he touched down with his hand on the final jump. Van der Perren landed the combination again at the 2008 Worlds, this time with no touchdown.[18]

Programs

Van der Perren at the 2010 World Championships
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2011–12
[1]
  • The Feeling Begins
    by Peter Gabriel
  • Incantation from Quidam
    (Cirque du Soleil)
    choreo. by Lorna Brown
2010–11
[19]
2009–10
[20][21]
2008–09
[22]
2007–08
[23][24]
2006–07
[25][26][27]
2005–06
[28][27]
  • Computer Game: Samba-Adagio
    by Safri Duo
    choreo. by Diana Goolsbey
2004–05
[29][30][27]
  • Everything
    by Safri Duo
  • The Matrix
2003–04
[31][27]
2002–03
[32][27]
  • Grease Lightning
  • Samson and Delilah
  • Quidam
    (from Cirque du Soleil)
2001–02
[33][27]
  • The Tango Lesson
    choreo. by Diana Goolsbey, Sandra Schär
  • Trouble Man
    by Marvin Gaye
    choreo. by Diana Goolsbey, Sandra Schär
2000–01
[34][27]
  • Reflection of Earth
    choreo. by Christelle Damman, Paul Oushasmay
  • Rhapsody in Blue
    by George Gershwin
    choreo. by Christelle Damman, Paul Oushasmay

Competitive highlights

Van der Perren and the other medalists at the 2009 Europeans

GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International[35]
Event 98–99 99–00 00–01 01–02 02–03 03–04 04–05 05–06 06–07 07–08 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12
Olympics12th9th17th
Worlds31st33rd14th19th14th8th6th14th8th17th15th
Europeans28th23rd13th10th11th6th7th3rd5th3rd11th4thWD
GP Final4th6th
GP Bompard2nd4th
GP NHK Trophy5th6th8th
GP Rostelecom6th5th
GP Skate Canada5th5th2nd11th8th
GP Skate America4th4th6th2nd
Finlandia4th3rdWD12th
Golden Spin2nd
Nebelhorn15thWD5th
Nepela Memorial6th9th4th2nd2nd1st2nd
NRW Trophy1st3rd
International: Junior[35]
Junior Worlds26th16th2nd
JGP Final3rd
JGP Czech Rep.2nd
JGP Japan14th
JGP Netherlands13th1st
JGP Norway11th
Gardena9th J.
National[35]
Belgian Champ.2nd1st1st1st1st1st1st1st1st
J. = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Ice skating champ ties the knot". newsletter.co.uk. 19 May 2008. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012.
  3. ↑ McCorkell, Jenna. "Ben". Instagram. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Mittan, Barry (27 November 2007). "Belgium's Best". SkateToday.
  5. ↑ "2007 European Figure Skating Championships: Men's Highlights". GoldenSkate. 21 January 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Rutherford, Lynn (23 October 2011). "Rink Notes: Van der Perren a retiring sort". Icenetwork. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  7. ↑ "ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2009 – Helsinki (FIN)". International Skating Union. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  8. ↑ Geurts, Mireille (2010). "Jenna McCorkell and Kevin Van Der Perren's bumpy ride through the season". AbsoluteSkating.com. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  9. ↑ Kondakova, Anna (25 March 2010). "Takahashi becomes first Japanese man to win World title". GoldenSkate. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  10. ↑ Flade, Tatjana (29 January 2011). "Amodio wins European title in his debut". GoldenSkate. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  11. ↑ "Brezina wins Skate America men's title". CBC. Associated Press. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  12. ↑ Flade, Tatjana (29 January 2012). "Plushenko takes seventh European title". Golden Skate.
  13. 1 2 3 Bőd, Titanilla (18 April 2012). "Kevin van der Perren: "I always hoped that my last skate would be like this"". Absolute Skating.
  14. ↑ Berlot, Jean-Christophe (2 April 2012). "Candid van der Perren gets nostalgic in last skate". Ice Network.
  15. ↑ "Van der Perren kiest voor het paarrijden" [Kevin van der Perren and pair skating]. sporza.be (in Flemish). 9 September 2012.
  16. ↑ Elfman, Lois (31 January 2013). "Solo skater van der Perren turns dance champ". IceNetwork.
  17. ↑ "Emotionele Kevin Van der Perren wint 'Sterren op de Dansvloer'". De Standaard. 11 January 2013.
  18. ↑ "ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2008". International Skating Union. 22 March 2008. Archived from the original on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  19. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011.
  20. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010.
  21. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009.
  22. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009.
  23. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 30 May 2008.
  24. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007.
  25. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007.
  26. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 November 2006.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Programs". Official website of Kevin van der Perren. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012.
  28. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 15 June 2006.
  29. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 April 2005.
  30. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 11 October 2004.
  31. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 June 2004.
  32. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 18 June 2003.
  33. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 5 August 2002.
  34. ↑ "Kevin VAN DER PERREN: 2000/2001". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 9 June 2001.
  35. 1 2 3 "Competition Results: Kevin VAN DER PERREN". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012.
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