BRADENTON, Fla. —  Olympic figure skater Kevin Aymoz is a rare combination on the ice.

Blending artistry, athleticism and technicality in a way that looks seamless. 

What You Need To Know

  • Kevin Aymoz is one of the top men’s figure skating athletes in the world

  • He moved from France to Florida to train in the Tampa Bay area

  • After serious injuries, Aymoz thought his career could be over, but he returned to competition and found incredible success

  •  Aymoz recently placed fourth in the World Championships

For Aymoz, the dream began when he was 5 years old.

“I was completely in love with figure skating," he said. "I felt so free when I was on the ice at 5 years old, so I kept going for 20 years."

He’s now, one of the top men’s figure skaters in the world.

But it was a long road to get here.

Aymoz moved from France to Florida to train under former Olympic skaters Silvia Fontana and John Zimmerman.

“When I first saw him skate — the French federation, they were a little skeptical of him achieving these goals, and I saw one in a million talent,” Fontana said. “His feeling for the ice, his feeling for the music.”

The husband and wife coaching duo was a perfect fit.

“For me, he epitomizes the soul and the feel of when you see someone skating to the music, for the performance,” Zimmerman said.

They knew right away Aymoz had elite talent.

“He had so many qualities, and I said to John, 'He is going to dominate, he is going to win medals,'” Fontana said.

Under Fontana and Zimmerman’s tutelage, Aymoz reached his dream of skating in the Olympics during the 2022 games.

“It was incredible, the best experience of my life, it was a dream since I was young because I did train 19 years for that,” Aymoz reflected. “I can’t explain, I have no words to explain how amazing it was.”

But, he had to fight for that moment, his Olympic season was almost derailed due to injury.

“That was during the Olympic season so it was a really struggling season.” Aymoz said. "I was really happy to make it to the Olympics and face my injury, and my motivation and fight every day.”

This season he had more injuries to contend with, at one point Aymoz considered calling it a career.

But instead, he faced the adversity head on.

“One of the most important, key factors to this is how the athlete will deal with it himself, personally,” Zimmerman said.

Aymoz had one goal in mind: to enjoy the sport.

“It was not one of my best seasons, I got injured again this year, it was really difficult and I almost quit figure skating," Aymoz said. "I was pretty done with it, but I came back out on the ice, just to enjoy and I did competition and in this world championship, I was like I have no fears, no goals, I just want to enjoy figure skating and do my best just being in the moment, and I did it and I’m so proud. “

He not only did it, he dominated.

Aymoz placed fourth in the World Championships.

A result that has ignited a new Olympic dream, and even bigger goals.

“I never believed what my coach said that I could reach the top five in the world, so this fourth place, proved me and my coach, that they were right,” Aymoz said. “So now, I have new goals for the next three years.”

Fontana said she’s seen a new spark in Aymoz. 

“It’s amazing for me to see because I knew this many years ago, but now, to see in his eyes, the belief in himself, that is the biggest reward,” Fontana said.

As this season comes to a close, Aymoz and his coaches are getting a strategy in place for the next.

“It’s like a roller coaster, all the time, it’s constant, renewing what you want and what you want to be,” Aymoz said. “My goal in figure skating is to leave something for figure skating and have memory when I retire, that’s the goal.”