On cusp of senior transition, Nikolaj Memola looks for golden finish at World Junior Championships 2023
The Italian made a strategic move this season - and ended up with a home gold at the Junior Grand Prix Final. The Milan native speaks to Olympics.com about 2026 dreams - and more.
Figure Skating
As figure skater Nikolaj Memola straddles the line between the junior and senior ranks, the Italian made a strategic move this season: He wanted to compete on the Junior Grand Prix circuit with the hope of qualifying for the prestigious Grand Prix Final, set to be held in Torino.
His plan worked.
Not only did Memola qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final, the 19-year-old became the first Italian man to ever win the event, capturing gold in front of a boisterous home crowd in December.
It’s a scenario he’s dreaming of playing out come the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. And while a gold medal there may be a far reach, he has his eyes on making his Olympic debut – and even landing on the podium.
“[My goal] is to participate in Milano Cortina 2026 because it's at home,” a smiling Memola told Olympics.com in an interview after his win in Torino.
He grew up in Monza, a Milano suburb.
“Of course, I will try to get a medal, [which] I guess is the dream of every athlete: To get a medal at the Olympics,” he added. “But for me it's... Yeah, a dream just to be there to participate. It will be a great honour.”
His Junior Grand Prix Final gold served as a sort of buoy in the weeks following, as well: Days later, he finished with the silver medal at the Italian Championships, behind only two-time Olympian Matteo Rizzo; and in January he won bronze at the World University Games in Lake Placid, New York.
“It's an incredible honour,” Memola said about his win in Torino. “It's very prestigious... gold at the Junior Grand Prix Final. It's extremely amazing for me to have such a boost for my confidence and to try to improve a lot [ahead of] World Juniors.”
Which is exactly where Memola is headed next – again with his eyes fixed on the podium: The ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships are set for 2-5 March in Calgary, Canada.
Nikolaj Memola: Another Italian male figure skater to watch
The atmosphere was already competitive among the senior Italian men, with Rizzo, four-time national champion Daniel Grassl and Gabriele Frangipani all with CVs on the international scene.
Enter Memola.
“It's amazing to have such competition in our team because we can [motivate] each other and also look to try to get something from everyone,” Memola, the youngest of the quartet, said.
“I want to start to work harder and harder to be the top man in Italy,” he said. “Yes, a gold medal [at the Junior Grand Prix Final] is a very nice boost of confidence for me... but we also have seen Daniel [do] great competitions and Matteo, too. So we will see.”
Memola made his way up the junior ranks beyond Italy beginning in 2017, and in 2020 he participated in the Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020, where he finished in eighth place. It was his first taste of a major international event beyond the Junior Grand Prix.
For Memola, skating is a family affair: He is coached by his mother, Olga Romanova, a Russian who immigrated to Italy and first brought Nikolaj onto the ice as a child in Milan.
“It all started with my mum,” Memola said in an interview with Golden Skate this season. “I will always thank her.”
Nikolaj Memola on... Hanyu Yuzuru, adding quads and more
Memola professes to be a forever student of skating: As a kid – and even in recent years – he would watch competitions on TV from the first skater to the last, something he said he still does today to try and pick up little tips for himself.
Who does he admire? His answer is no great shock – but there’s a caveat.
“Yeah, of course we can talk about Yuzuru Hanyu, just one of the greatest skaters ever,” Memola said when asked about whom he looks up to.
He went on: “But I just want to say that I look to every athlete that participates in great competitions because I think that everyone has something very special. You can take something from everyone.”
“You can really improve yourself by not only looking to a certain specific athlete... you just need to look to everyone because everyone has something great.”
Memola said his focus as he makes the move from the junior ranks up into the senior level is the quadruple jump, which Hanyu, Nathan Chen, Uno Shoma and others have made a near-requirement in present-day international men’s skating.
“I will add some quads [to] my program because I think that if you want to be competitive in the senior field, you need quads,” he said plainly. “I'm working on every type of quad, but my favourite [jumps] are probably Salchow, toe and Lutz. But I'm working on loop and flip, as well.”
Memola is a striking figure on the ice: At 6-foot-4 (195cm), he stands head and shoulders above most singles skaters, but he said his height is something he and his team have worked on using to his advantage.
“I’ve found my balance,” Memola told Golden Skate. “I try to work with my long legs and arms in the choreography to reach more space on the ice.”
Nikolaj Memola: A dog named George and time with friends
This season, Memola found solace away from the ice by getting a dog for the first time, a Pomeranian named George.
“It’s amazing: When I come home from a bad practice, George is always there to cheer for me,” Memola shared. “He’s making my life more happy.”
Away from the ice, Memola said he’s a “normal guy:” He just finished high school studies; spends time watching TV series and cooking; and likes to relax with friends – from in and out of the skating world.
“In figure skating – in sport in general – sometimes... you're out of time for your social life. So, when I have free time, I just love to [hang out] with friends,” he said.
While World Juniors is the next stop, Memola said he’ll go fully senior next season, having already landed on the podium of two ISU Challenger-level events this past season (Lombardia and Budapest Trophy, respectively).
That makes Worlds potentially his last-ever junior event – and one that he could possibly land on the podium again, especially after his success in Turin, and at World University Games.
“This is my last year in [the] juniors,” he said. “I wanted to stay in juniors because I knew that the Grand Prix Final would be here in Turin, so I wanted to participate in it. Next year I will move completely to the senior field.”
And we’re now less than three years away from Milano Cortina 2026, just a few miles away from where Memola took his first glides on the ice.