Liam Firus (born July 2, 1992) is a Canadian businessman and partner at Rockbank Capital Corp. A retired competitive figure skater, he represented Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Liam Firus
Born (1992-07-02) July 2, 1992 (age 32)
North Vancouver, British Columbia
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Figure skating career
CountryCanada
CoachBruno Marcotte
Skating clubVancouver Skating Club
Began skating2000
RetiredMay 14, 2018[1]

Personal life

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Liam Firus was born July 2, 1992, in North Vancouver, British Columbia.[2][3] He is the son of Lois Sullivan, a real estate agent, and Trevor Firus, an accountant.[4] He has a younger brother, Shane, who competes in ice dancing.[5]

Firus attended Sentinel Secondary School in West Vancouver.[6] After part-time business administration studies at Capilano University,[7] Firus became a student at Athabasca University, pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in finance.[8] In 2013, he passed the Canadian Securities Course.[9]

Firus began dating Canadian pairs figure skater Kirsten Moore-Towers in 2015.[10] On August 22, 2023, they became engaged.[11]

 
Liam Firus 2014

Career

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Firus competing at the 2013 Canadian Championships

Early years

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Firus started skating as a hockey player in 1999 and eventually switched to figure skating.[7] Lorna Bauer began teaching him when he was eight years old.[6] A member of the North Shore's Vancouver Skating Club, he trained in the fall and winter at the Pacific National Exhibition Agrodome and the rest of the year at the Canlan Ice Sports Arena.[7]

During the 2009–2010 season, Firus won the Canadian junior title but was not assigned to the World Junior Championships.[7]

2010–2011 season

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Firus finished 6th in his senior national debut at the 2011 Canadian Championships and was assigned to the World Junior Championships where he finished 20th.

2011–2012 season

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Firus began the 2011–2012 season by winning the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix event in Brisbane, Australia.

2012–2013 season

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Firus experienced severe pelvic pain while training for the Canadian Championships.[9] He placed fifth at the event in January 2013. His condition developed into osteitis pubis and he decided to undergo prolotherapy.[9] He resumed training after five months.[8]

2013–2014 season

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In autumn 2013, Firus began training under Christy Krall in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[9][12] He won bronze at the 2014 Canadian Championships and was named to the Canadian team at the 2014 Winter Olympics. He finished 28th in Sochi.[3]

2014–2015 season

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Firus placed 11th at the 2014 Skate Canada International in Kelowna, British Columbia and won the bronze medal at the 2015 Canadian Championships in Kingston, Ontario. He finished 15th at the 2015 Four Continents Championships.

2015–2016 season

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Firus won silver at the 2016 Canadian Nationals and finished 13th at the 2016 Four Continents Championships. He withdrew from the 2016 World Championships in Boston, stating "Making this decision was extremely difficult. However, I feel that withdrawing from the World Championships is vital for our team."[13]

2016–2017 season

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Ahead of the season, Firus changed coaches, joining Bruno Marcotte in Montreal, Quebec.[5]

2017–2018 season

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Firus won the bronze medal at the 2017 CS Warsaw Cup in Poland. A few days later, he was invited to a Grand Prix event, 2017 Skate America, receiving the call on the Wednesday morning before the event.[14] He officially announced his retirement on May 14, 2018.[1]

Programs

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Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2017–2018
[15]
2016–2017
[5]
2015–2016
[16]
2014–2015
[8][17]
  • Fascination
    by Fermo Dante Marchetti
    performed by Richard Hayman
    choreo. by Mark Pillay
2013–2014
[18][19]
  • Fascination
    by Fermo Dante Marchetti
    performed by Richard Hayman
2012–2013
[20]
  • The Resistance
    by Muse
2011–2012
[21]
2010–2011
  • Lawrence of Arabia
    by Maurice Jarre
2009–2010
[22]
  • Allegretto
    (from Paladio for String Orchestra)
    by Karl Jenkins, Carmine Laun, David Alberman

Competitive highlights

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GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International[23]
Event 07–08 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18
Olympics 28th
Worlds WD
Four Continents 15th 13th
GP Skate America 8th
GP Skate Canada 10th 11th 9th
CS Finlandia 7th
CS Golden Spin 8th
CS Nebelhorn 9th 5th
CS U.S. Classic 3rd
CS Warsaw Cup 3rd
Triglav Trophy 1st
U.S. Classic 8th
International: Junior or novice[23]
Junior Worlds 20th 8th
JGP Australia 3rd
JGP Austria 11th
JGP Belarus 8th
JGP Romania 5th
JGP Turkey 7th
JGP U.K. 3rd
Merano Cup 1st N
National[2]
Canadian Champ. 10th J 1st J 6th 6th 5th 3rd 3rd 2nd 7th 8th
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew
Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior

References

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  1. ^ a b "Olympian Liam Firus Retires from Competitive Competition" (Press release). Skate Canada. May 14, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Liam Firus". Skate Canada. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Liam FIRUS". Sochi2014.com. Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi. Archived from the original on March 20, 2014.
  4. ^ Smith, Beverley (February 3, 2014). "Olympian Profile: Liam Firus". Skate Canada.
  5. ^ a b c "Liam FIRUS: 2016/2017". International Skating Union.
  6. ^ a b "A Firus competitor". The Vancouver Sun. Canada.com. October 29, 2007.
  7. ^ a b c d Walker, Elvin (June 5, 2011). "Firus attributes success to balance". Golden Skate. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  8. ^ a b c Slater, Paula (September 7, 2014). "Fully recovered, Firus readies for new season". GoldenSkate.com.
  9. ^ a b c d Spitale-Leisk, Maria (November 6, 2013). "North Van figure skater carving a path to Sochi". North Shore Outlook. Glacier Community Media.
  10. ^ Moore-Towers, Kirsten (February 5, 2019). ""4 years of love (not necessarily consecutive shhh 😜) and a few more of laughs with this handsome, hilarious human. Photo evidence from over…"" (Instagram). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  11. ^ Moore-Towers, Kirsten (September 12, 2023). "Barcelona, Spain, on August 22nd. Three weeks ago today, in the most perfect and spontaneous way, we got engaged" (Instagram). Archived from the original on September 12, 2023.
  12. ^ Prest, Andy (January 15, 2014). "Skate switch sets Firus on path to Olympic Games". North Shore News. Glacier Community Media.
  13. ^ "Liam Firus, Julianne Séguin and Charlie Bilodeau withdraw from 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships". Skate Canada. March 11, 2016.
  14. ^ Rutherford, Lynn (November 25, 2017). "Chen falls to earth, still wins Skate America crown". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  15. ^ "Biography".
  16. ^ "Liam FIRUS: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ^ "Liam FIRUS: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. ^ "Liam FIRUS: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. ^ "Liam Firus: 2013/2014". Skate Canada. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. ^ "Liam FIRUS: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  21. ^ "Liam FIRUS: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  22. ^ "Liam FIRUS: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 12, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  23. ^ a b "Competition Results: Liam FIRUS". International Skating Union.
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