Saulius Ambrulevičius

Saulius Ambrulevičius (born 10 June 1992) is a Lithuanian ice dancer. As a single skater, he is the 2007 and 2008 Lithuanian national champion.

Saulius Ambrulevičus
Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius at 2018 Internationaux de France
Born	(1992-06-10) 10 June 1992 (age 31) Kaunas, Lithuania
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Lithuania
Partner	Allison Reed
Coach	Marie-France Dubreuil Patrice Lauzon Romain Haguenauer^[1]
Skating club	Baltų Ainiai
Began skating	1998

With partner, Allison Reed, they are two-time ISU Grand Prix bronze medalists, two-time Golden Spin of Zagreb silver medalists (2021, 2022), the 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy silver medalists, and two-time Nebelhorn Trophy silver medalists (2022, 2023). They have finished in the top ten at the European Championships twice (2022, 2023), as well as at the World Championships (2022, 2023).^[2]

With former ice dance partner, Taylor Tran, he is the 2015 Pavel Roman Memorial silver medalist and 2015 Lithuanian national champion. They qualified to the free dance at the 2017 European Championships.

Career

Single skating

Ambrulevičius was born in Kaunas and began learning to skate in 1998.^[3] He won the Lithuanian senior title for the first time in 2007. His first major international competition was the 2007 Junior Worlds; he placed 45th in the short program and did not qualify for the free skate.

In the 2007–08 season, Ambrulevičius won his second national title. He competed in the 2008 Junior Worlds and once again placed last, this time 47th. He competed at the 2008 World Championships, where he finished 45th.

Partnership with Tran

Around July 2014,^[4] Ambrulevičius teamed up with American skater Taylor Tran to compete in ice dancing for Lithuania. Their international debut came at the Tallinn Trophy in December 2014. At the Estonian event, they finished 5th and earned the minimum scores to appear at the 2015 European Championships in Stockholm.^[4][5] They missed the cut for the free dance in Sweden and at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Tran/Ambrulevičius qualified to the final segment at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic; they ranked 20th in the short dance, 17th in the free, and 18th overall. They announced the end of their partnership in April 2017, following the 2017 World Championships.^[6]

Partnership with Reed

2017–18 season

In spring 2017, it was announced that Ambrulevičius had teamed up with American-born ice dancer, Allison Reed, and that they would represent Lithuania while coached by Marina Zueva, Johnny Johns, Massimo Scali, and Oleg Epstein.

They made their competitive debut at the 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy, where they finished sixth. They then went on to place seventh at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, fifth at the 2017 Santa Claus Cup, and eighth at the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy.^[7]

Reed/Ambrulevičius won the gold medal at the 2017–18 Lithuanian Championships. Selected to compete at the 2018 World Championships in Milan, Italy, they finished twentieth overall.^[7]

2018–19 season

Reed/Ambrulevičius began their season at the 2018 Halloween Cup, where they won the silver medal, before going on to finish fifth at the 2018 Volvo Open Cup.^[7]

Debuting on the Grand Prix series, Reed/Ambrulevičius placed sixth at the 2018 Rostelecom Cup and ninth at the 2018 Internationaux de France. They then went on to win their second consecutive national title at the 2018–19 Lithuanian Championships.^[7]

Selected to compete at the 2019 European Championships in Minsk, Belarus, Reed/Ambrulevičius finished thirteenth, before going on to finish seventeenth at the 2019 World Championships in Saitama, Japan.^[7]

2019–20 season

Reed/Ambrulevičius opened their season at the 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy, finishing sixth. They then went on to place seventh at the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and fifth at the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy. Competing on the 2019–20 Grand Prix series, Reed/Ambrulevičius placed tenth at the 2019 Internationaux de France and fifth at the 2019 Rostelecom Cup.^[7]

After winning their third national title at the 2019–20 Lithuanian Championships, Reed/Ambrulevičius went on to finish eleventh at the 2020 European Championships in Graz, Austria and win the gold medal at the 2020 Bavarian Open.^[7]

Although selected to compete at the 2020 World Championships, the event was ultimately cancelled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[8]

2020–21 season

Reed/Ambrulevičius switched coaches from Marina Zueva to Maurizio Margaglio prior to the season. They began the season with a seventh-place finish at the 2020 Rostelecom Cup, before going on to win their fourth national title at the 2020–21 Lithuanian Championships.^[7]

At the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Reed/Ambrulevičius placed fifteenth.^[7]

2021–22 season

Prior to the season, Reed/Ambrulevičius relocated to Montreal, Quebec to train under Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, and Romain Haguenauer.^[9] Despite Reed/Ambrulevičius qualifying a spot for a Lithuanian dance team at the 2022 Winter Olympics with their place at the 2021 World Championships, it was announced in October 2021 that Reed's application for Lithuanian citizenship was denied, thus ending their bid for the Winter Olympics.^[10][11]

Reed/Ambrulevičius nonetheless began their season at the 2021 Budapest Trophy, where they took the silver medal. On the Grand Prix series, Reed/Ambrulevičius placed eighth at the 2021 Internationaux de France and seventh at the 2021 Rostelecom Cup. They then won the silver medal at the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb as well as their fifth national title at the 2021–22 Lithuanian Championships.^[7]

At the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Reed/Ambrulevičius finished eighth, before going on to finish tenth at the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier, France.^[7]

2022–23 season

Reed/Ambrulevičius opened their season by winning silver at both the 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy and the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. Although they withdrew from the 2022 Skate America, they did compete at the 2022 NHK Trophy, where they finished fourth.^[7]

Reed/Ambrulevičius went on to win the silver medal at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, before competing at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, where they achieved a career-best fourth-place finish.^[7] They were only 2.54 points out of third place. They ended their season at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, where they finished seventh.^[7]

2023–24 season

Beginning the season at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Reed/Ambrulevičius won the silver medal at the event for the second consecutive season.^[7] Given two assignments on the Grand Prix, they began at the 2023 Skate Canada International, this time held in Vancouver. They finished third in both segments, winning the bronze medal, their first on the circuit.^[12] It was the first Grand Prix medal for Lithuania since Drobiazko/Vanagas's silver at the 2001 NHK Trophy.^[13] Ambrulevičius said afterward that "despite all the sticks that were put in our wheels, we kept going and we got our reward."^[12] They won another bronze medal at their second event, the 2023 NHK Trophy. He said afterward that the season "brings a lot of joy but also responsibility," looking ahead to Lithuania hosting the European Championships.^[14] Reed/Ambrulevičius were named as first alternates to the Grand Prix Final.^[15]

Programs

With Reed

Season	Short dance	Free dance	Exhibition
2023–2024 ^[16]	Welcome to the Jungle Paradise City Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N' Roses choreo. by Marie France Dubreuil, Samuel Chouinard	Enough of our Machines by Son Lux Children by Tokio Myers choreo. by Marie France Dubreuil, Samuel Chouinard
2022–2023 ^[17]	Mambo: How How Rhumba: Starlight Scene Samba: On the Run by Yello choreo. by Marie France Dubreuil, Samuel Chouinard, Massimo Scali	Insomnia by Faithless choreo. by Marie France Dubreuil, Samuel Chouinard, Massimo Scali	Švelnumas by Gabrielė Vilkickytė
2021–2022 ^[18]	Old Friend by Elderbrook Blues: Hazey by Glass Animals Blue Monday (Vandalism Remix) by Kurd Maverick choreo. by Massimo Scali, Margarita Drobiazko, Povilas Vanagas	Vinegar & Salt by Hooverphonic White Lies by Karl Hugo Lacrimosa choreo. by Massimo Scali, Margarita Drobiazko, Povilas Vanagas	On Fire by The Roop
2020–2021 ^[9]	Blues: Love Will Come and Find Me Again Quickstep: You Deserve It (from Bandstand) by Richard Oberacker, Robert Taylor choreo. by Massimo Scali	Churchyard It Happened Quiet Soft Universe by Aurora choreo. by Massimo Scali
2019–2020 ^[19]
2018–2019 ^[20]	Tango: Ojos Negros Tango: Idilio Tango: Zita choreo. by Massimo Scali, Marina Zueva	Crazy by Gnarls Barkley (Space Jazz Cover feat. Hannah Gill and Casey Abrams) choreo. by Massimo Scali, Marina Zueva
2017–2018 ^[21]	Samba: Light It Up (Samba remix) Rhumba: Addicted to You (Rhumba remix) Samba: Destination Calibria by Alex Gaudino choreo. by Massimo Scali, Marina Zueva	Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin choreo. by Massimo Scali, Marina Zueva

With Tran

Season	Short dance	Free dance
2016–2017 ^[3]	Blues: Goodnight Moon by Shivaree Rock'n'Roll	Adagio pour piano by Saint-Preux
2015–2016 ^[22]	Carousel The Carousel Waltz June Is Busting Out All Over	Nights of Cabiria by Nino Rota
2014–2015 ^[23]	Paso doble: La Paloma Paso doble: El Classico Taurino	Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber Waltz for Evita Don't Cry For Me Argentina A New Argentina

Single skating

Season	Short program	Free skating
2013–2014 ^[24]	Tears of the Sun by Hans Zimmer	Sherlock Holmes by Hans Zimmer
2012–2013 ^[25]	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	Sherlock Holmes by Hans Zimmer
2011–2012 ^[26]	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	28 Days Later
2010–2011 ^[27]	Quixote by Bond	28 Days Later
2009–2010	Quixote by Bond	Bandits of St. Petersburg by Igor Kornelyuk
2008–2009 ^[28]	El Conquistador by Maxime Rodriguez	Bandits of St. Petersburg by Igor Kornelyuk
2007–2008 ^[29]	Nu Ar Det Vi by Tobias Kessler	Bandits of St. Petersburg by Igor Kornelyuk
2006–2007 ^[30]	Blues	Jazz medley

Competitive highlights

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

Ice dancing

With Reed

International^[7]
Event	17–18	18–19	19–20	20–21	21–22	22–23	23–24
Worlds	20th	17th	C	15th	10th	7th
Europeans	WD	13th	11th		8th	4th
GP France		9th	10th	C	8th
GP NHK Trophy						4th	3rd
GP Rostelecom		6th	5th	7th	7th
GP Skate America						WD
GP Skate Canada							3rd
CS Autumn Classic							WD
CS Cup of Austria					WD
CS Finlandia			5th
CS Golden Spin					2nd	2nd	1st
CS Lombardia			6th			2nd
CS Nebelhorn	7th		7th			2nd	2nd
CS Ondrej Nepela	6th
CS Tallinn Trophy	8th
Bavarian Open			1st
Budapest Trophy					2nd
Halloween Cup		2nd
Santa Claus Cup	5th
Volvo Open		5th
National^[7]
Lithuanian Champ.	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Event cancelled

With Tran

 

Tran/Ambrulevičius at the 2017 World Championships

International^[31]
Event	14–15	15–16	16–17
Worlds			30th
Europeans	24th	25th	18th
CS Finlandia			8th
CS Ondrej Nepela			9th
CS U.S. Classic		8th
CS Warsaw Cup		6th
Autumn Classic		7th
Bavarian Open		11th
Pavel Roman		2nd
Tallinn Trophy	5th
National^[31]
Lithuanian Champ.		1st	1st

Singles career

 

Saulius Ambrulevičius in 2011

International^[32]
Event	05–06	06–07	07–08	08–09	09–10	10–11	11–12	12–13
Worlds			45th	49th	38th		42nd
Europeans				37th	34th	34th		27th
Golden Spin								7th
Nebelhorn						21st		30th
NRW Trophy						23rd
Ondrej Nepela							17th
Universiade						26th
Warsaw Cup								11th
International: Junior and novice^[32]
Junior Worlds		45th	47th	33rd		38th
JGP France				18th
JGP Hungary					16th
JGP U.K.			26th
EYOF		17th J
Warsaw Cup	11th N
National^[32]
Lithuanian Champ.		1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior

Detailed results

Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.

With Reed

2023–2024 season
Date	Event	RD	FD	Total
December 6-9, 2023	2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	1 81.19	1 118.92	1 200.11
November 24–26, 2023	2023 NHK Trophy	3 78.71	3 118.15	3 196.86
October 27–29, 2023	2023 Skate Canada International	3 75.60	3 116.41	3 192.01
September 20–23, 2023	2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	2 73.62	2 116.93	2 190.55
2022–23 season
Date	Event	RD	FD	Total
March 22–26, 2023	2023 World Championships	7 78.70	7 120.50	7 199.20
January 25–29, 2023	2023 European Championships	4 77.33	4 118.34	4 195.67
December 7–10, 2022	2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	1 77.21	2 112.26	2 189.47
November 18–20, 2022	2022 NHK Trophy	4 75.23	3 114.75	4 189.98
September 21–24, 2022	2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	2 78.98	2 106.43	2 185.41
September 16–19, 2022	2022 CS Lombardia Trophy	3 71.95	2 111.65	2 183.60
2021–22 season
Date	Event	RD	FD	Total
March 21–27, 2022	2022 World Championships	10 74.06	11 106.15	10 180.21
January 10–16, 2022	2022 European Championships	7 74.45	8 108.72	8 183.17
December 7–11, 2021	2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	1 75.81	4 104.34	2 180.15
November 26–28, 2021	2021 Rostelecom Cup	7 71.43	8 106.45	7 177.88
November 19–21, 2021	2021 Internationaux de France	8 64.43	6 105.40	8 169.83
October 14–17, 2021	2021 Budapest Trophy	1 72.05	2 108.96	2 181.01
2020–21 season
Date	Event	RD	FD	Total
March 22–28, 2021	2021 World Championships	15 71.29	15 106.89	15 178.18
November 20–22, 2020	2020 Rostelecom Cup	7 72.43	7 110.13	7 182.56
2019–20 season
Date	Event	RD	FD
February 3–9, 2020	2020 Bavarian Open	1 68.79	1 108.99	1 177.78
January 20–26, 2020	2020 European Championships	8 73.22	13 101.02	11 174.24
November 15–17, 2019	2019 Rostelecom Cup	5 69.79	6 105.64	5 175.43
November 1–3, 2019	2019 Internationaux de France	10 60.99	9 100.74	10 161.73
October 11–13, 2019	2019 CS Finlandia Trophy	5 70.61	6 97.72	5 168.33
September 25–28, 2019	2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	7 73.41	7 106.72	7 180.13
September 13–15, 2019	2019 CS Lombardia Trophy	3 69.22	6 98.26	6 167.48
2018–19 season
Date	Event	RD	FD	Total
March 18–24, 2019	2019 World Championships	16 67.21	17 100.85	17 168.06
January 21–27. 2019	2019 European Championships	12 64.81	14 99.30	13 164.11
November 23–25, 2018	2018 Internationaux de France	9 59.77	9 93.50	9 153.27
November 16–18, 2018	2018 Rostelecom Cup	5 64.54	6 93.49	6 158.03
November 6–11, 2018	2018 Volvo Open Cup	4 59.96	6 93.82	5 153.78
October 19–21, 2018	2018 Halloween Cup	2 61.80	3 94.31	2 156.11
2017–18 season
Date	Event	SD	FD	Total
March 19–25, 2018	2018 World Championships	18 61.33	20 86.97	20 148.30
December 4–10, 2017	2017 Santa Claus Cup	4 60.82	6 86.00	5 146.82
November 21–26, 2017	2017 CS Tallinn Trophy	7 55.02	9 81.66	8 136.68
September 27–30, 2017	2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	4 58.34	8 84.61	7 142.95
September 21–23, 2017	2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy	8 51.74	4 86.66	6 138.40

References

1. Reed, Allison (8 July 2020). "New beginnings!". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021.
2. "Allison Reed / Saulius Ambrulevicus". ISU Results. ISU. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
3. "Taylor TRAN / Saulius AMBRULEVICIUS: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. from the original on 30 May 2017.
4. Daugėlaitė, Lina (17 December 2014). "S. Ambrulevičius: apie pilietybės klausimą dar negalvoju" [S. Ambrulevičius: not thinking about the issue of citizenship]. Delfi (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 30 December 2014.
5. "Europos čempionate debiutavusi naujoji Lietuvos šokių ant ledo pora: "Pirmas blynas neprisvilo"" [European Championship debut of new Lithuanian ice dancing couple]. 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). 28 January 2015. from the original on 14 April 2015.
6. "Lietuvio ir amerikietės keliai išsiskyrė". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). sportas.info. 16 April 2017.
7. "Competition Results: Allison REED / Saulius AMBRULEVICIUS". International Skating Union.
8. "2020 World Championship Cancellation". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
9. . ISU Results. ISU. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
10. • Suslavičius, Rokas (1 October 2021). "Lithuanian ice dancers may forgo Olympics after president rejects citizenship application". Lithuanian National Radio and Television.
    • "Prezidentūra tarė žodį – Allison Reed Lietuvos pilietybės negaus" [The presidency said that Allison Reed would not receive Lithuanian citizenship]. Lithuanian National Radio and Television (in Lithuanian). 3 January 2022.
11. "Communication No. 2388". International Skating Union. 1 April 2021.
12. Slater, Paula (29 October 2023). "Gilles and Poirier win fourth consecutive Skate Canada title". Golden Skate. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
13. "Gilles/Poirier (CAN) dance to fourth straight Skate Canada title". International Skating Union. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
14. Slater, Paula (25 November 2023). "Fear and Gibson edge out Italians for NHK Trophy gold". Golden Skate. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
15. "Fear/Gibson (GBR) edge Guignard/Fabbri (ITA) for first ISU Grand Prix gold at NHK Trophy". International Skating Union. 25 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
16. . ISU Results. ISU. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
17. . ISU Results. ISU. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
18. . ISU Results. ISU. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
19. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 13 October 2019.
20. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019.
21. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018.
22. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
23. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
24. "Saulius AMBRULEVICIUS: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. from the original on 22 March 2014.
25. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 13 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
26. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
27. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
28. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 31 May 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
29. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 May 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
30. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 March 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
31. "Competition Results: Taylor TRAN / Saulius AMBRULEVICIUS". International Skating Union. from the original on 8 January 2018.
32. "Competition Results: Saulius AMBRULEVICIUS". International Skating Union. from the original on 4 March 2016.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saulius Ambrulevičius.

• Allison Reed / Saulius Ambrulevicius at the International Skating Union
• Taylor Tran / Saulius Ambrulevicius at the International Skating Union
• Saulius Ambrulevicius at the International Skating Union