Nóra Hoffmann (born 8 April 1985 in Budapest) is a Hungarian ice dancer. With Maxim Zavozin, she is the 2010 Cup of Russia silver medalist and a two-time (2009, 2010) Hungarian national champion. With Attila Elek, she is a two-time (2003–2004) World Junior silver medalist, the 2003 JGP Final champion, and a five-time (2003–2007) Hungarian national champion.

Nóra Hoffmann
Hoffmann and Zavozin in 2009.
Full nameNóra Hoffmann
Born (1985-04-08) 8 April 1985 (age 39)
Budapest, Hungarian People's Republic
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Figure skating career
CountryHungary
Skating clubPiruett S.E. Budapest
Began skating1991

Career

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With Elek

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Hoffmann trained in both ice dancing and single skating until age 11 when she broke her leg on a jump.[1] She was paired with Attila Elek by coaches in the early 1990s.[1] They twice won the silver medal at Junior Worlds, in 2003 and 2004. Hoffmann / Elek were silver medalists at the 2002–2003 Junior Grand Prix Final and won the title in 2003–2004. On the senior Grand Prix series, their best placement was 5th at 2006 Cup of Russia. Their best finish at senior Worlds was 15th in 2005. They competed at the 2006 Olympics, finishing 17th. During the warm-up at 2006 Worlds, another couple was performing a lift nearby and the woman's skates accidentally cut Hoffmann's back and elbow.[2] Despite the pain, Hoffmann skated with Elek a few minutes later and they finished 18th.

At the 2007 European Championships, they were 7th after the original dance but they were forced to withdraw – Elek broke his leg during the morning practice before the free dance.[2] They split up at the end of the season.

With Zavozin

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Hoffman teamed up with Maxim Zavozin in September 2007.[3] They had competed against each other at 2004 Junior Worlds, with Zavozin and his partner in third behind Hoffmann and Elek.[2]

During the 2008–09 season, Hoffmann / Zavozin did not compete on the Grand Prix circuit but won the 2009 Hungarian national title and were given a berth to the 2009 European Championships. Despite Zavozin having a fever, they skated in the original dance at Europeans, but his condition worsened and they had to withdraw before the free dance.[2] They missed the 2009 World Championships due to a serious head injury to Hoffmann while training in the U.S. on 4 March 2009.[4] Hoffmann stumbled over an open gate and cracked her skull, losing consciousness and suffering three hemorrhages.[4] She had a long stay in hospital and was given morphine for the pain but, hoping to compete at Worlds, she eventually decided to refuse it to avoid violating doping rules.[4]

Even after one day I had withdrawal symptoms; I was cold, I vomited... And because of the bleeding I didn't hear on my left ear for three months. The skull was cracked exactly where the middle ear is so I also had problems with my balance. I had to learn to walk a straight line, I couldn't stand on one leg and my head was constantly spinning."
—Nóra Hoffmann on her accident.[4]

Zavozin stayed with her at the hospital until her boyfriend arrived to take her back to Hungary.[4] Oxygen therapy helped reactivate her brain cells, "This therapy brought me back to a normal life. Until then I was just sleeping or staring at nothing. In the oxygen tent my vitality returned and not so much later I even dared to go back on the ice."[4] She returned to the ice in the second half of May 2009 and eventually began training again with Zavozin, although they had to omit lifts and spins for a while.[4] The accident also resulted in a torn nerve in the sciatic muscle which took half a year to heal.[4]

During the 2009–10 season, Hoffmann / Zavozin missed the Grand Prix series. They competed at the 2010 European Championships where they placed 10th. They qualified for the 2010 Olympics where they finished 13th. At the 2010 World Championships, they finished in 10th.

In the 2010–11 season, Hoffmann / Zavozin made their first appearance together on the Grand Prix series. Their first event was 2010 Cup of China where they placed fourth. At 2010 Cup of Russia, they won silver, their first medal on the senior Grand Prix series. They finished third in both the short and free dance and set personal best scores in both. They competed at the 2011 European Championships where they finished 8th after receiving some low levels from the technical panel and a small stumble.[5] On 30 March 2011, Hoffmann was hospitalized with an unknown illness in Moscow where she was training.[6] Doctors later said they were fairly certain it was pyelonephritis.[7] She and Zavozin had to withdraw from the 2011 World Championships. They did not compete in the 2011–2012 season but said in March 2012 that they were considering returning to competition.[8]

Programs

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With Zavozin

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Season Short dance Free dance
2010–2011
[3]
  • Nagyidai Cigányok
    (Gypsy Witch)
    by Experidance
Original dance
2009–2010
[9]
2008–2009
[10]
  • Blues: Minnie the Moocher
  • Lindy Hop
  • So Excited
    by Janet Jackson
  • Too Late to Apologize
  • Rock This Party

With Elek

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Season Original dance Free dance
2006–2007
[11]
  • Tango
  • Swing, Brother Swing
  • Why don't you do Right?
    by Julie London
  • Swing, Brother Swing
2005–2006
[12]
  • Cha Cha
  • Rhumba
  • Samba
  • Flamenco medley
2004–2005
[1][13]
  • Slow foxtrot: Singing in the Rain
  • Quickstep: Music from "Ballroom Dancers"
2003–2004
[14]
  • Rock'n'roll: Great Balls of Fire
  • Blues: Big Legged Woman
  • Rock'n'roll: Great Balls of Fire
Dance with Me:
  • Black Machine
    by Jazz Machine
  • You are my Everything
    by Ana Gabriel
  • Pantera en Libertad
    by Monica Navanjo
2002–2003
[15]
  • Quickstep
  • Slow foxtrot
  • Quickstep
2001–2002
[16]
  • Tango: Sombras
  • Flamenco: Granada
2000–2001
[17]

Results

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With Zavozin

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Results[18]
International
Event 2008–2009 2009–2010 2010–2011
Olympics 13th
Worlds 10th WD
Europeans WD 10th 8th
Grand Prix Final 6th
GP Cup of China 4th
GP Cup of Russia 2nd
Finlandia 2nd
Ice Challenge 1st
Nebelhorn 7th
Ondrej Nepela 1st 1st
Golden Spin WD
National
Hungarian 1st 1st 1st

With Elek

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Hoffmann / Elek at the 2007 European Championships
Results[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
International
Event 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07
Olympics 17th
Worlds 18th 18th 15th 18th
Europeans 14th 11th 10th 12th WD**
GP Bompard 7th 6th
GP Cup of China 6th
GP Cup of Russia 5th
GP NHK Trophy 7th
Bofrost Cup 5th
Golden Spin 1st
Karl Schäfer 8th
International: Junior
Junior Worlds 21st 17th 9th 5th 2nd 2nd
JGP Final 5th 2nd 1st
JGP Bulgaria 3rd 1st
JGP China 9th
JGP Germany 1st
JGP Italy 2nd
JGP Japan 6th
JGP Mexico 7th 3rd
JGP Netherlands 8th
JGP Norway 4th
JGP Slovenia 1st
JGP USA 1st
National
Hungarian 2nd J. 1st J. 1st J. 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st

References

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  1. ^ a b c Mittan, Barry (6 February 2005). "Hoffmann and Elek Revive Hungarian Ice Dancing". Skate Today.
  2. ^ a b c d Bod, Titanilla (2009). "Nóra Hoffmann – haunted by bad luck". AbsoluteSkating.com. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Nora HOFFMANN / Maxim ZAVOZIN: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Bőd, Titanilla (2010). "Nóra Hoffmann: "We've gone through really tough times"". AbsoluteSkating.com. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  5. ^ Bod, Titanilla (5 May 2011). "Nóra Hoffmann and Maxim Zavozin: "We like to explore ourselves"". Absolute Skating. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  6. ^ Shibanov, Serafim (30 March 2011). Венгерская фигуристка госпитализирована в Москве [Hungarian figure skater hospitalized in Moscow]. infox.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 14 May 2011.
  7. ^ "Elbagatellizálta Hoffmann betegségét a korcsolyaszövetség" [Hoffmann illness]. origo.hu (in Hungarian). 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022.
  8. ^ Kakas, Péter (5 March 2012). "Csipkerózsika-álmomat alszom – Kósa Lajosra várnak a jegelt jégtáncbajnokok". origo.hu (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 17 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Nora HOFFMANN / Maxim ZAVOZIN: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010.
  10. ^ "Nora HOFFMANN / Maxim ZAVOZIN: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009.
  11. ^ a b "Nora HOFFMANN / Attila ELEK: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 August 2007.
  12. ^ a b "Nora HOFFMANN / Attila ELEK: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 April 2006.
  13. ^ a b "Nora HOFFMANN / Attila ELEK: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 April 2005.
  14. ^ a b "Nora HOFFMANN / Attila ELEK: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 June 2004.
  15. ^ a b "Nora HOFFMANN / Attila ELEK: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 August 2003.
  16. ^ a b "Nora HOFFMANN / Attila ELEK: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002.
  17. ^ a b "Nora HOFFMANN / Attila ELEK: 2000/2001". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 18 April 2001.
  18. ^ "Competition Results: Nora HOFFMANN / Maxim ZAVOZIN". International Skating Union.
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