Niki Wories

Niki Wories was born on 18 June 1996 in Almere, Netherlands.^[1] She is the second daughter of Annelies and Paul Wories.^[2] She studied at the Johan Cruyff Academy before moving to Quebec, Canada.^[2] Following her initial retirement in 2022, Wories moved back to the Netherlands.^[3]

Her mother passed away in 2023.^[4]

Wories began skating in 2001 and her first coach was Astrid Tameling-Winkelman, who trained her in Dordrecht.^[1][5] Wories first debuted internationally at the 2007 Merano Cup as a novice skater, where she finished nineteenth. She would go on to finish sixteenth at the 2009 International Challenge Cup the following season.^[6]

In March 2012, Wories debuted on the international junior level at the 2012 Coupe du Printemps, where she placed twenty-third. She subsequently finished eighteenth at the 2012 NRW Trophy.^[6]

Prior to the season, Wories switched coaches and began training under Sylvia Holtes and András Száraz in Dordrecht and Zoetermeer.^[7]

She debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in August 2013, finishing twenty-fourth at 2013 JGP Latvia. She subsequently went on to compete on the junior level at the 2013 NRW Trophy and the 2014 Bavarian Open, placing fifteenth and fourteenth, respectively.^[6]

In March 2014, it was announced that Wories had returned to former coach, Astrid Tameling-Winkelman.^[8]

Wories would then close the season with a ninth-place finish on the junior level at the 2014 International Challenge Cup.^[6]

Wories remained on the junior level in the first half of the 2014–15 season. Competing on the ISU Junior Grand Prix, she finished twenty-fourth at 2014 JGP Germany, before going on to finish sixth at the 2014 Open d'Andorra and ninth at the 2014 NRW Trophy.^[9][6]

In January 2015, she became the Dutch national senior champion. She then made her senior international debut at the 2015 European Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, but failed to advance to the free skate segment after placing thirty-first in the short program.^[6][9]

In February, Wories won senior bronze medals at the Bavarian Open and International Challenge Cup, where she also achieved the minimum technical score to compete at the senior World Championships.^[10] In March, she qualified for the free skate at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia by placing fifteenth in the short program; she finished twenty-third overall.^[6][9] Later that month, she competed at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, China – the first Dutch competitor at Worlds since 2010.^[11] Ranked thirty-second in the short program, she did not make the cut for the free skate.^[6][9]

Wories started the season in September, finishing fifteenth at the 2015 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. In October, it was announced that she had changed coaches, relocating to Montreal, Canada to train under Bruno Marcotte.^[11][1] Wories subsequently competed at the 2015 NRW Trophy and the 2015 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, finishing seventh and ninth, respectively.^[6][9]

At the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, Wories advanced to the free skate segment and finished twentieth overall. She advanced to the free skate segment again at the 2016 World Championships in Boston, United States, where she placed twenty-second.^[6][9]

In December 2016, Wories underwent two operations due to bursitis in her foot.^[12] Having sustained a concussion that same month, she decided not to compete at the 2017 European Championships.^[13][14] According to a February 2017 report, she has sustained five concussions.^[15]

Wories' sole competition appearance was at the 2017 International Challenge Cup, where she finished eighteenth.^[6]

Wories began the season by competing at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where she placed twenty-sixth. She would go on to win gold at the 2017 Bosphorus Cup and at the 2018 Mentor Toruń Cup. Between those two events, she placed eighth at the 2018 Bavarian Open. Wories would close the season with an eleventh-place finish at the 2018 International Challenge Cup.^[6]

Following the season, Wories' coach, Bruno Marcotte relocated to Oakville, Ontario. Electing to remain in Montreal, Nicholas Young and Ian Connolly became Wories' new coaches.^[16][17]

Wories started the season by placing fourteenth at the 2018 CS Autumn Classic International. She would subsequently go on to finish ninth at the 2018 Golden Bear of Zagreb, third at the 2018 Bosphorus Cup, and sixteenth at the 2018 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.^[6][9]

In early 2019, Wories would place tenth at the 2019 Mentor Toruń Cup, twelfth at the 2019 Bavarian Open, and seventh at the 2019 International Challenge Cup.^[6]

Wories began the season by competing on the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series, placing thirteenth at the 2019 CS Autumn Classic International, seventeenth at the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy, and twelfth at the 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb. She would also placed twelfth at the 2019 Tallinn Trophy between the latter two events.^[9][6]

Selected to compete at the 2020 European Championships in Graz, Austria, Wories would place thirty-fifth in the short program, failing to advance to the free skate segment.^[9][6] She would then go on to win bronze at the 2020 Bavarian Open and place seventh at the 2020 International Challenge Cup.^[6]

Although Wories was scheduled to make her World Championship return post-injury in 2020 in Montreal, but these were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.^[18]

Wories' only competition was at the 2020 Ice Star, where she completed the short program but withdrew before the free skate.^[6]

Wories began the season by competing at the season by competing at the 2021 NRW Trophy, where she placed ninth. Going on to compete on the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series, Wories finished sixteenth at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup and twentieth at the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb. She would then close the season with a twelfth-place finish at the 2022 International Challenge Cup.^[9][6]

Wories' retirement from competition was announced on May 17, 2022. She was subsequently appointed the figure skating discipline manager for the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Schaatsenrijders Bond (Royal Dutch Ice Skaters Association).^[19]

In August 2024, at the age of twenty-eight, Wories announced her plans of returning to competitive figure skating after two and a half years of not competing. Regarding her decision, Wories said, "Life is unpredictable and sometimes takes you to places you didn't know you would go to. I realize that the ice is a place where I feel good. And whether I achieve anything with it, sport-wise or not, I don't care. It gives me peace of mind." She also announced that she would be coached by Thomas Kennes in Breda. For her free program, Wories specifically selected music from the Gladiator soundtrack in tribute to her late mother since this music was played during her funeral the year prior.^{[20][21][22][23]}

She started the season by competing at the 2024 CS Budapest Trophy in early October, where she placed ninth, earning a personal best free skate and combined total scores.^[6] In an interview following the event, she stated that her main goal for the season was to compete at the European Championships.^[4] Two weeks later, Wories would deliver even stronger performances and score higher at the 2024 CS Nepela Memorial, where she finished in fourth place. She followed these results up by winning bronze at the 2024 Tirnavia Ice Cup and a silver medal at the 2024 NRW Trophy.^[6]

CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

  Media related to Niki Wories at Wikimedia Commons

• Niki Wories at the International Skating Union
• Niki Wories at SkatingScores.com
• Niki Wories on Instagram