Bela Papp
# Bela Papp

Bela Papp (born 9 March 1994) is a Finnish figure skater. He is the 2011 Finnish national champion. Selected to compete at four consecutive World Junior Championships, he qualified twice for the free skate. Papp also competed at various different Junior Grand Prix events as well as represented Finland at two consecutive University Games (Universiade). Papp has won the Finnish title in all of the categories and was the youngest man to win the Senior title at the age of 16.

## Personal life

Bela Papp was born on 9 March 1994 in Kuopio, Finland. His mother, Ulla, is a figure skating coach, and his siblings—Beata, Bettina, Benjam—have all competed in the sport. His American-born father is of Hungarian descent and had moved to Finland when he was five years old. He relocated to British Columbia, Canada in July 2007. As of 2014, he is a student at Simon Fraser University. Papp is currently a masters degree student at the University of Jyväskylä.

## Career

In the 2007–08 season, Papp was sent to Lake Placid, New York to compete at his first ISU Junior Grand Prix event. After winning the Finnish national junior title, he was assigned to the 2008 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria but did not qualify for the free skate. The following season, Papp repeated as the Finnish junior champion. He was eliminated before the free skate again at the 2009 World Junior Championships but was successful at the 2010 World Junior Championships in The Hague, Netherlands, where he finished 24th.

In the 2010–11 season, Papp won the Finnish national title on the senior level. He was assigned to the 2011 World Junior Championships in Gangneung, South Korea, where he placed 22nd, and the 2011 World Championships in Moscow, where he was eliminated after the preliminary round. Surgery on the L5 bilateral pars in his lower back kept him out of competition in the 2012–13 season.

## Programs

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| - | - | - |
| 2016–2017 | Requiem for a Dream by Clint Mansell | Tron Medley by Daft Punk |
| 2013–2014 | Hotel California | Thunder by Nuttin' But Stringz Tango |
| 2011–2012 | Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse | Summer in the High Grassland by Zhao Jiping Beirut Taxi (from Syriana) by Alexandre Desplat Crathadh't' Aodaich Zdabda by Mouth Music Mo-di Prarthana (from Cirque du Soleil's Koozå) by Jean-Francois Coté |
| 2009–2010 | Dramatico by Edvin Marton | Triplets of Belleville by Ben Charest La Valse D'Amelie by Yann Tiersen |
| 2008–2009 | Dramatico by Edvin Marton | Satori Mix by Kodo Stobe's Nanafushi Scorchio by Bond |
| 2006–2008 | The Godfather soundtrack by Nino Rota Acoustic Alchemy The Netting Hill | Satori Mix by Kodo Stobe's Nanafushi Scorchio by Bond |

## Competitive highlights

CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International :

| Event | 06–07 | 07–08 | 08–09 | 09–10 | 10–11 | 11–12 | 13–14 | 14–15 | 15–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| World Champ. | | | | | 20th P | | | | | | |
| CS Finlandia | | | | | | | | | | 15th | 16th |
| CS Autumn Classic | | | | | | | | 13th | | | |
| CS U.S. Classic | | | | | | | | 8th | 10th | | |
| Bavarian Open | | | | | | | | | | 11th | |
| Finlandia Trophy | | | | | | 15th | | | | | |
| Nebelhorn Trophy | | | | | | | 23rd | | | | |
| Nordics | | | | | 8th | | | | | | |
| Volvo Open Cup | | | | | | | 21st | | | | |
| Universiade | | | | | | | | 27th | | 25th | |
| International: Junior ||||||||||||
| World Jr. Champ. | | 29th | 30th | 24th | 22nd | | | | | | |
| JGP Australia | | | | | | 13th | | | | | |
| JGP Austria | | | | | | 17th | | | | | |
| JGP Germany | | | | | 16th | | | | | | |
| JGP Romania | | | | | 14th | | | | | | |
| JGP U.K. | | | 11th | | | | | | | | |
| JGP U.S. | | 12th | | 13th | | | | | | | |
| National ||||||||||||
| Finnish Champ. | 4th J | 1st J | 1st J | 3rd J | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 5th | 5th | | 2nd |
| J = Junior level; P = Preliminary round Papp did not compete in the 2012–13 season. ||||||||||||
