Elladj Baldé

Elladj Baldé
Baldé in 2011
Personal information
Country represented	Canada
Born	(1990-11-09) November 9, 1990 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Home town	Montreal, Quebec
Height
Coach	Bruno Marcotte, Manon Perron
Former coach	Yuka Sato, Jason Dungjen, Eric Therrien, Lynette Ouellette, Anna Sherbatov
Choreographer	Julie Marcotte, Pasquale Camerlengo
Former choreographer	Yuka Sato
Skating club	CPA Anja Kinsmen
Former skating club	CPA Pierrefonds
Training locations	St. Leonard, Quebec
Former training locations	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Pierrefonds, Quebec
Began skating	1997
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	242.36 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy
Short program	78.56 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy
Free skate	163.80 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy

Elladj Baldé (born November 9, 1990) is a Canadian figure skater. He won the 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy, an ISU Challenger Series event. He is the 2008 Canadian Junior champion.

Personal life

Elladj Baldé was born November 9, 1990 in Moscow to a Russian mother and a Guinean father, Ibrahim, from the village of Tombon, near Labé. His elder sister, Djulde, died from leukemia. After a year in Bonn, Germany during his sister's treatment, the family moved to Canada in 1992. He speaks English, French, and Russian.

Career

Baldé at the 2013 Canadian Championships

Elladj Baldé was introduced to skating at the age of seven by his mother. Though at first he would hide his skates in an attempt to avoid practice, he began to love skating when he was ten.

Baldé won the junior silver medal at the 2007 Canadian Championships and won the junior title at the 2008 Canadian Championships. During the 2008–09 season, he won a pair of medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series and made his senior national debut at the 2009 Canadian Championships, finishing 10th. Baldé was 8th at the 2009 World Junior Championships.

In 2009, Baldé underwent major surgery after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, keeping him off the ice for six months. His doctor gave the go-ahead to resume practicing triples after three months of lighter training on the ice. He missed the entire 2009–10 season.

Baldé returned to competition the following season and placed 5th at the 2011 Canadian Championships. In late 2011, he moved to the United States to train with Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He was 4th at the 2012 Canadian Championships.

After identifying a problem with the blade positioning on one of his new boots, Baldé decided to compete at the 2013 Skate Canada International with an older left boot and new right boot, even though one was soft and the other stiff. Both his knees were taped as a result of tendinitis. In the short program, he landed his first quad toe in competition and added a double toe to the end.

Baldé withdrew from the 2014 Skate Canada International on October 30, having sustained a concussion. He relocated to Montreal in or before July 2015, joining Bruno Marcotte and Manon Perron. He won an ISU Challenger Series event, the 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy, improving his personal best by 30 points.

Programs

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2015–2016	Echoes of Harlem by Duke Ellington performed by Burgstaller Martignon 4 (Joe Burgstaller, Hector Martignon) choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Barrie San Miguel Galicia Flamenca Jumpin' Jack by Scotty Morris choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo	Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
2014–2015	It's a Man's Man's Man's World by James Brown I Got You (I Feel Good) by James Brown	Barrie San Miguel Galicia Flamenca Jumpin' Jack by Scotty Morris
2013–2014	BoBom by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis	Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd	Move (If You Wanna) by Mims Church by T-Pain Wall to Wall by Chris Brown
2012–2013	Malaguena Montana Skies Futuro Flamenco Girlfight (soundtrack)	Moonlight Sonata Remix by Ludwig van Beethoven Animal Rights by deadmau5 and Wolfgang Gartner
2011–2012	Malaguena Montana Skies Futuro Flamenco Girlfight	Dirty Diana Billie Jean Bad They Don't Care About Us Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson
2008–2009	Freedom by Mei Li and Yin Yue Hui performed by 12 Girls Band Drum Solo from Ozlem by Turku	Carmina Burana (modern arrangement) by Carl Orff
2007–2008	Lunatico by Gotan Project Tanguera by Mariano Mores Por una Cabeza by Carlos Gardel	Freedom by Mei Li and Yin Yue Hui performed by 12 Girls Band Drum solo from Oziem by Turku

Competitive highlights

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

International
Event	06–07	07–08	08–09	10–11	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15	15–16
Worlds							18th
Four Continents						18th	11th
GP Cup of China									11th
GP NHK Trophy								6th	11th
GP Skate Canada					10th	7th	7th	WD
CS Nebelhorn								5th	1st
Lombardia							4th
Nebelhorn					10th	14th
International: Junior
Junior Worlds		21st	8th
JGP Final			7th
JGP Czech Rep.	6th
JGP Germany		14th
JGP Mexico			2nd
JGP Romania	10th
JGP South Africa			3rd
JGP U.K.		7th
National
Canadian Champ.	2nd J	1st J	10th	5th	4th	4th	4th	6th	7th
J: Junior level; WD: Withdrew

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Elladj Baldé at the International Skating Union
• Elladj Baldé at Skate Canada

• Elladj Balde: 2013/2014 at Skate Canada at the Wayback Machine (archived April 7, 2014)

• Alternate link at the Wayback Machine (archived January 12, 2014)