Edward Appleby

Edward Appleby (born 21 December 2004) is an English figure skater. He is a three-time British national champion. On the junior level, he is the 2021 JGP France II bronze medalist, 2020 Mentor Toruń Cup junior men's champion, and a two-time British junior national champion.

Appleby represented Great Britain at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Edward Appleby was born on 21 December 2004 in Colchester, Essex, England.^[1] He has an older sister, Alexandra, and brother, Elliot, who are also former competitive figure skaters.^[2] He attended the Colne Community School in Brightlingsea.^[3]

Appleby began learning to skate in 2009.^[1] In October 2018, he debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) circuit, finishing eighteenth in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He placed thirty-sixth at the 2019 World Junior Championships and twenty-sixth at the 2020 World Junior Championships.^[4]

In late August, Appleby won bronze in Courchevel, France, at the second event of the 2021–22 ISU Junior Grand Prix season. It was the first Junior Grand Prix medal won by a British skater in almost 20 years.^[5] In April, he qualified to the final segment at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. Ranked eighteenth in the short program and twenty-first in the free skate, he finished twentieth overall.^[4]

Appleby made his senior ISU Grand Prix debut at the 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy, where he placed last overall. At the British Figure Skating Championships, he competed in the senior category for the first time and placed second behind Graham Newberry. He was selected to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships, where he placed seventeenth.^[4]

Competing in the 2023–24 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, Appleby placed sixth at the 2023 JGP Austria and fourth at the 2024 JGP Poland. In December, Appleby won his first senior national title at the 2024 British Championships. The week after, he competed at the Golden Spin of Zagreb, where he placed sixth and achieved the technical minimums to be eligible for the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships.^[6] At his first European Championships, he placed twenty-fifth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate.^[7]

Appleby was assigned to the 2024 World Junior Championships, and finished ninth, his highest-ever placement at the event.^[8] Weeks later, he competed at the 2024 World Championships, placing thirty-eighth in the short program and failing to advance to the free skate.^[7]

Prior to the season, Appleby added Alina Mayer-Virtanen to his coaching team, making frequent trips to Laukaa, Finland to work with her, while also continuing to train in Romford with John Wicker.^[9] He ultimately began the season with a sixth-place finish at the 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. He would then go on to finish fifth at the 2024 Tayside Trophy. Continuing to compete on the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series, he finished seventh at the 2024 CS Nepela Memorial.^[7]

In December, Appleby won his second consecutive national title at the 2025 British Championships. The following month, he competed at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where he finished twentieth overall.^[4]

Shortly before the 2025 World Championships, Appleby left his longtime coach, John Wicker, and relocated to Swindon to train under Christopher Boyadji and Lloyd Jones. In addition, he continued working with Alina Mayer-Virtanen in Laukaa.^[10] At the World Championships, he placed thirty-second in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.^[7]

During the off-season, Appleby sustained an ankle injury. Still not fully recovered, he competed at the 2025 Skate to Milano, the final qualifying event for the 2026 Winter Olympics, in September. He ultimately finished in eighteenth place before going on to place sixth at the 2025 Swiss Open and fourth at the 2025 Cup of Innsbruck.^[4][11]

In December, Appleby won his third consecutive national title at the 2026 British Championships.^[4] Following the event, he was selected as Great Britain's men's singles representative for the team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.^[12][13] One month later, Appleby competed at the 2026 European Championships as the home crowd favourite, finishing in twenty-fourth place.^[4]

On 7 February, Appleby placed tenth in the short program and scored a season's best in the 2026 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Team Event. "Obviously it wasn’t a clean skate, but it felt very solid and it was one that just let me enjoy the moment a little more," he said. "I could just be proud of the hard work that we put in to get here." Team Great Britain ultimately finished in ninth place overall.^[14][4]

• Edward Appleby at the International Skating Union
• Edward Appleby at Skating Scores
• Edward Appleby at Team GB
• Edward Appleby at Milano Cortina 2026
• Edward Appleby at Olympics.com
• Edward Appleby at Olympedia
• Edward Appleby on Instagram