Benjamin Steffan
German ice dancer (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benjamin Steffan (born 12 January 1996) is a German ice dancer. With his skating partner, Jennifer Janse van Rensburg, he is a five-time ISU Challenger Series medalist and five time German national champions (2022–26). Janse van Rensburg/Steffan represented Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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Steffan in 2025 at the German Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 12 January 1996 Chemnitz, Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Callenberg | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Ice dance | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Partner | Jennifer Janse van Rensburg (since 2016) Sandrine Hofstetter (2015–16) Leah Steffan (2012–15) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Rostislav Sinicyn Natalia Karamysheva | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Chemnitzer EC | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Began skating | 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medal record | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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With his previous skating partners Sandrine Hofstetter and Leah Steffan, he is a three-time German junior national bronze medalist.
Personal life
Career
Early career
Originally a hockey player, Steffan decided to switch to ice dancing in 2006 at the age of ten.[4] His first ice dance coach was Annerose Wetzel and he was briefly partnered with Camilla Barth for a short period. Steffan would eventually decide to team up with his sister, Leah, in 2012, and the siblings were coached by Susan Fichtelmann in Chemnitz.[1][5] Together, the siblings would win bronze at the 2014 and 2015 German Junior Championships.[6] Their partnership would dissolve, however, following the 2014–15 figure skating season, with Leah electing to retire from competing.[7]
Steffan would eventually team up with Sandrine Hofstetter during the 2015–16 figure skating season. The team were coached by Alexander Gazsi in Duebendorf, Switzerland. Together, they would win bronze at the 2016 German Junior Championships before parting ways after the season ended.[8]
Partnership with Janse van Rensburg
Early years in partnership
Prior to the 2016–17 figure skating season, it was announced that Steffan had teamed with fellow German ice dancer, Jennifer Janse van Rensburg and that the duo would train in Oberstdorf under coaches, Rostislav Sinicyn and Natalia Karamysheva.[9][10] For the first few seasons of their career, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan competed at various ISU Challenger Series events. They won their first national medal together, a bronze, at the 2019 German Championships and won their first international medal together, a silver, at the 2019 Bavarian Open. The following year, they would win silver at the 2020 German Championships.[9]
2020–21 season
Janse van Rensburg/Steffan only competed at two events that season, medalling at both. They would win gold at the 2020 Santa Claus Cup and silver at the 2021 Egna Dance Trophy.[9]
2021–22 season: Grand Prix debut; First German national title
Janse van Rensburg/Steffan started the season by competing at the 2021 Lake Placid Ice Dance International. Going on to compete on the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series, the duo finished seventh at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy, tenth at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy, and seventh at the 2021 CS Cup of Austria.[9]
Assigned to an event on the 2021–22 Grand Prix circuit for the first time, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan finished tenth at the 2021 Internationaux de France.[9]
In December, they won their first national title at the 2022 German Championships. They would then close the season by winning gold at the 2022 Bavarian Open and the 2022 Egna Dance Trophy.[9]
2022–23 season: European and World Championships debut
Assigned to compete at 2022 Skate America, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan started the season by finishing ninth at the event. They would then compete on the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series, finishing winning silver at the 2022 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge and the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup as well as sixth at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.[9]
At the 2023 German Championships in January, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan won their second national title. For the first time, they were selected to represent Germany as a team at the European and World Championships. Going on to compete at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan finished in ninth place. One week following the event, they won gold at the 2023 Bavarian Open for a second consecutive time.[9]
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In March, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan competed at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. They would finish the event in fifteenth place.[9]
2023–24 season
Janse van Rensburg/Steffan began the season by competing on the 2023–24 ISU Challenger Series, finishing fourth at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and fourth at the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy. Assigned to two Grand Prix events for the first time, they would finish eighth at 2023 Skate Canada International and ninth at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo. Between these events, they would also take silver at the 2023 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge.[9]
After winning their third national title at the 2024 German Championships, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan were selected to compete at the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, where they finished eleventh.[9]
At the end of January, Rensburg/Steffan took gold at the 2024 Bavarian Open. Two months later, they competed at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where they would finish in twenty-second place.[9]
2024–25 season
Beginning their season on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan finished seventh at the 2024 NHK Trophy. They went on to compete on the 2024–25 Challenger Series, placing sixth at the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup and winning bronze at the 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.[9]
After winning a fourth consecutive national title at the 2025 German Championships, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan followed this up by winning gold at the 2025 Bavarian Open.[9]
Going on to compete at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan earned personal best scores in all competition segments and finished in eleventh place overall. They subsequently won the bronze medal at the Road to 26 Trophy in Milan, Italy, a test event for the 2026 Winter Olympics.[9]
The pair ended the season by competing at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, where they finished sixteenth overall.[9] With this placement, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan's placement won Germany a quota for ice dance at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[11]
2025–26 season: Milano Cortina Olympics
Janse van Renseburg/Steffan opened the season with a fourth-place finish at the 2025 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. They went on to compete on the 2025–26 Grand Prix series, finishing eighth at 2025 Skate Canada International and seventh at the 2025 NHK Trophy. The duo then continued competing on the 2025–26 Challenger Series, finishing fifth at the 2025 CS Warsaw Cup and winning silver at the 2025 CS Tallinn Trophy.[9]
In December, they competed at the 2026 German Championships, where they won their fifth consecutive national title.[9]
Although assigned to compete at the 2026 European Championshops, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan withdrew two days before the rhythm dance due to health reasons.[12]
Programs
Ice dance with Jennifer Janse van Rensburg
| Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
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| 2025–2026 [13] |
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| 2024–2025 [14] |
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| 2023–2024 [15][16] |
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| 2022–2023 [17] |
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| 2021–2022 [18] |
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| 2020–2021 [19] |
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| 2019–2020 [20] |
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| 2018–2019 [21] |
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| Short dance | |||
| 2017–2018 [10] |
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Ice dance with Sandrine Hofstetter
| Season | Short dance | Free dance |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–2016 [22] |
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Ice dance with Leah Steffan
| Season | Short dance | Free dance |
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| 2014–2015 [23] |
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| 2013–2014 [1] |
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Competitive highlights
- GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
- JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
- CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
- TBD – Assigned
- WD – Withdrew from competition
Ice dance with Jennifer Janse van Rensburg
| Season | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics | 23rd | |||||||||
| World Championships | 15th | 22nd | 16th | |||||||
| European Championships | 9th | 11th | 11th | |||||||
| German Championships | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| GP Finland | 9th | |||||||||
| GP France | 10th | |||||||||
| GP NHK Trophy | 7th | 7th | ||||||||
| GP Skate America | 9th | |||||||||
| GP Skate Canada | 8th | 8th | ||||||||
| CS Alpen Trophy | 8th | |||||||||
| CS Asian Open Trophy | 4th | |||||||||
| CS Budapest Trophy | 4th | |||||||||
| CS Denis Ten Memorial | 2nd | 2nd | ||||||||
| CS Finlandia Trophy | 13th | 10th | ||||||||
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 10th | 5th | 6th | 3rd | ||||||
| CS Ice Challenge | 4th | 7th | ||||||||
| CS Ice Star | 9th | 10th | ||||||||
| CS Lombardia Trophy | 7th | |||||||||
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 6th | 8th | 7th | 4th | ||||||
| CS Tallinn Trophy | 6th | 6th | 2nd | |||||||
| CS Warsaw Cup | 2nd | 6th | 5th | |||||||
| Bavarian Open | 10th | 4th | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||||
| Egna Dance Trophy | 6th | 2nd | 1st | |||||||
| Halloween Cup | 5th | |||||||||
| Lake Placid Ice Dance | 8th | |||||||||
| Open d'Andorra | 5th | |||||||||
| Open Ice Mall Cup | 6th | |||||||||
| Road to 26 Trophy | 3rd | |||||||||
| Santa Claus Cup | 7th | 1st | ||||||||
| Winter Universiade | 9th |
Ice dance with Sandrine Hofstetter
| International: Junior[8] | |
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| Event | 2015–16 |
| JGP Croatia | 15th |
| JGP Poland | 11th |
| Santa Claus Cup | 10th |
| Tallinn Trophy | WD |
| National[8] | |
| German Junior | 3rd |
Ice dance with Leah Steffan
| International: Junior[6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 12–13 | 13–14 | 14–15 |
| JGP Belarus | 11th | ||
| JGP Germany | 12th | ||
| JGP Slovakia | 13th | ||
| Bavarian Open | 19th | ||
| Grand Prize SNP | 4th | ||
| Leo Scheu | 11th | ||
| NRW Trophy | 23rd | 5th | 12th |
| Pavel Roman | 4th | ||
| Santa Claus Cup | 5th | ||
| National[6] | |||
| German Champ. | 3rd J | ||
| German Junior | 7th | 3rd | |
Detailed results
Ice dance with Jennifer Janse van Rensburg
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 192.31 | 2025 CS Tallinn Trophy |
| Rhythm dance | TSS | 75.45 | 2025 European Championships |
| TES | 43.42 | 2025 European Championships | |
| PCS | 32.52 | 2025 CS Tallinn Trophy | |
| Free dance | TSS | 116.86 | 2025 CS Tallinn Trophy |
| TES | 65.96 | 2025 CS Tallinn Trophy | |
| PCS | 50.90 | 2025 CS Tallinn Trophy |
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 26-29, 2020 |  2020 Santa Claus Cup |
1 | 70.12 | 1 | 102.01 | 1 | 172.13 |
| Feb 6-7, 2020 |  2021 Egna Dance Trophy |
2 | 69.93 | 2 | 98.50 | 2 | 168.43 |
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Aug 12-15, 2021 |  2021 Lake Placid Ice Dance International |
8 | 59.99 | 7 | 94.41 | 8 | 154.40 |
| Sep 10–12, 2021 | 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy |
8 | 65.97 | 7 | 99.38 | 7 | 165.35 |
| Oct 7-10, 2021 |  2021 CS Finlandia Trophy |
10 | 65.64 | 11 | 99.58 | 10 | 165.22 |
| Nov 11-14, 2021 |  2021 CS Cup of Austria |
8 | 65.91 | 6 | 102.59 | 7 | 168.50 |
| Nov 19-21, 2021 |  2021 Internationaux de France |
10 | 57.14 | 9 | 96.95 | 10 | 154.09 |
| Dec 9-11, 2021 | 2022 German Championships |
1 | 70.49 | 1 | 108.58 | 1 | 179.07 |
| Jan18-23, 2022 | 2022 Bavarian Open |
1 | 73.61 | 1 | 112.49 | 1 | 186.10 |
| Feb 4-6, 2022 | 2022 Egna Dance Trophy |
1 | 76.31 | 1 | 106.48 | 1 | 182.79 |
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Oct 21–23, 2022 | 2022 Skate America |
8 | 65.42 | 9 | 94.84 | 9 | 160.26 |
| Oct 26-29, 2022 |  2022 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge |
2 | 72.15 | 2 | 105.76 | 2 | 177.91 |
| Nov 17-20, 2022 |  2022 CS Warsaw Cup |
1 | 72.58 | 2 | 108.92 | 2 | 181.50 |
| Dec 7-10, 2022 |  2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |
4 | 69.92 | 6 | 103.00 | 6 | 172.92 |
| Jan 5-7, 2023 | 2023 German Championships |
1 | 74.85 | 1 | 113.68 | 1 | 188.54 |
| Jan 25–29, 2023 | 2023 European Championships |
9 | 67.90 | 10 | 101.27 | 9 | 169.17 |
| Jan 31 - Feb 5, 2024 | 2023 Bavarian Open |
1 | 73.97 | 1 | 108.60 | 1 | 182.57 |
| Mar 22–26, 2023 |  2023 World Championships |
15 | 67.95 | 16 | 102.08 | 15 | 170.03 |
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 20-23, 2023 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
9 | 62.27 | 7 | 107.03 | 7 | 169.30 |
| Oct 13-15, 2023 | 2023 CS Budapest Trophy |
4 | 68.95 | 4 | 107.47 | 4 | 176.42 |
| Oct 27–29, 2023 |  2023 Skate Canada International |
8 | 66.14 | 7 | 106.38 | 8 | 172.52 |
| Nov 2-5, 2023 | 2023 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge |
2 | 69.81 | 2 | 109.61 | 2 | 179.42 |
| Nov 17–19, 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo |
9 | 65.53 | 9 | 99.02 | 9 | 164.55 |
| Dec 14-16, 2024 | 2024 German Championships |
1 | 70.67 | 1 | 114.82 | 1 | 185.49 |
| Jan 10–14, 2024 |  2024 European Championships |
11 | 68.37 | 10 | 110.41 | 11 | 178.78 |
| Jan 30 - Feb 4, 2024 | 2024 Bavarian Open |
1 | 73.45 | 1 | 111.82 | 1 | 185.27 |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 | 2024 World Championships |
22 | 65.86 | N/a | N/a | 22 | 65.86 |
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 8–10, 2024 | 2024 NHK Trophy |
1 | 78.93 | 1 | 152.95 | 1 | 231.88 |
| Dec 4-7, 2024 | 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |
1 | 78.93 | 1 | 152.95 | 1 | 231.88 |
| Nov 20-24, 2024 | 2024 CS Warsaw Cup |
1 | 78.93 | 1 | 152.95 | 1 | 231.88 |
| Dec 16-21, 2024 | 2025 German Championships |
3 | 73.33 | 5 | 136.51 | 4 | 209.84 |
| Jan 20-26, 2025 | 2025 Bavarian Open |
3 | 73.33 | 5 | 136.51 | 4 | 209.84 |
| Jan 28 – Feb 2, 2025 |  2025 European Championships |
1 | 84.23 | 1 | 127.89 | 1 | 212.12 |
| Feb 19–20, 2025 | 2025 Road to 26 Trophy |
2 | 66.85 | 3 | 121.79 | 2 | 188.64 |
| Mar 25–30, 2025 | 2025 World Championships |
3 | 73.33 | 5 | 136.51 | 4 | 209.84 |
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 25–27, 2025 | 2025 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
3 | 68.98 | 4 | 108.32 | 4 | 180.05 |
| Oct 31 – Nov 2, 2025 | 2025 Skate Canada International |
8 | 69.91 | 7 | 108.37 | 8 | 178.28 |
| Nov 7–9, 2025 | 2025 NHK Trophy |
7 | 69.73 | 7 | 107.81 | 7 | 177.54 |
| Nov 19–23, 2025 | 2025 CS Warsaw Cup |
5 | 71.71 | 4 | 111.26 | 5 | 182.97 |
| Nov 25-30, 2025 | 2025 CS Tallinn Trophy |
2 | 75.45 | 2 | 116.86 | 2 | 192.31 |
| Dec 8-13, 2025 | 2026 German Championships |
1 | 77.06 | 1 | 119.51 | 1 | 196.57 |
| Feb 17–19, 2026 | 2026 Winter Olympics |
23 | 63.67 | N/a | N/a | 23 | 63.67 |
