Stefanie Pesendorfer

Pesendorfer was born on 31 August 2003 in Wels, Austria.^[2] She went to high school at Handelsschule für Leistungssport in Linz.^[3]

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Pesendorfer began learning to skate in 2007, at age four.^[2] After impressing in a kindergarten course, she joined Union Eissportklub in Linz.^[4] She competed in the advanced novice ranks from October 2015 through April 2017.^[5]

Coached by Denise Jaschek and Markus Haider in Linz,^[6] Pesendorfer made her international junior debut at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Austria in August 2017. She finished sixteenth at JGP Austria and twelfth at her second JGP assignment, in Zagreb, Croatia.^[1] Pesendorfer said she was told by her coaches to lose weight as her body began to go through puberty and that she was not given any nutrition advice by Skate Austria.^[7]

In December, she won the junior ladies title at the 2018 Austrian Championships and was assigned to the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Competing in March at Junior Worlds, Pesendorfer qualified for the free skate after placing thirteenth in the short program. She finished twelfth overall.^[1] Hers was the best Austrian placement in 20 years.^[7]

Shortly after the World Junior Championships, she injured her back.^[7]

Pesendorfer sat out the 2018–19 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, competing only at the 2018 Golden Bear of Zagreb and 2018 Skate Celje in the fall. At Skate Celje, she won the junior bronze medal.

At the 2019 Austrian Championships, Pesendorfer won the junior silver medal behind Olga Mikutina. She was assigned to the 2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, where she placed seventh.

Competing on the Junior Grand Prix, Pesendorfer placed eleventh at JGP France and seventeenth at JGP Russia. Making her debut in international senior competition, she competed at three events on the Challenger series, placing ninth at Nebelhorn Trophy, eleventh at the Nepela Memorial, and fifteenth at the Golden Spin of Zagreb.

Placing second at junior nationals for the second consecutive season and then winning bronze in her senior national debut, Pesendorfer finished the season with a fifteenth-placed finish at the 2020 World Junior Championships.^[8]

Debuting at the 2020 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, an event attended only by European skaters due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, Pesendorfer placed twelfth.^[9]

Pesendorfer was diagnosed with two herniated disks in her back; doctors gave her a 30 percent chance of being able to return to skating competitively after surgery. She underwent the surgery as well as months of physiotherapy, and she did not begin skating again until July.^[7]

Pesendorfer placed sixteenth at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy.^[10] She went on to win the bronze medal at two minor internationals and finish fifteenth at the 2021 CS Cup of Austria before winning the Austrian national title.^[1] Pesendorfer was struggling to train or carry out normal activities; she was diagnosed with depression and prescribed medication.^[7]

Despite her national title, Pesendorfer was not named to the Austrian Olympic team. However, she made her World Championship debut and finished thirty-second.^[1]

Pesendorfer moved to a new skating club in Oberstdorf. She began to suffer from panic attacks and became suicidal; clubmates connected her to emergency services. Skate Austria reacted by hiring a psychologist and beginning athlete mental health services.^[7]

Beginning the season on the Challenger circuit, Pesendorfer finished in eighth place at both the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and the 2022 CS Nepela Memorial, before coming tenth at the 2022 CS Ice Challenge. She won medals at a number of other minor internationals, and took the bronze medal at the Austrian championships.^[1]

Competing at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Pesendorfer came in twelfth place. Going on to compete at the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy, Pesendorfer placed fourteenth in the short program but withdrew prior to the free skate.^[1] She subsequently competed at the 2023 NRW Trophy where she would place fourth.^[11]

At the 2024 Austrian Championships, Pesendorfer won the silver medal behind Olga Mikutina. She then closed the season by finishing fifth at the 2024 Dragon Trophy.^[11]

In August 2024, it was announced that Pesendorfer had left her longtime coaches, Denise Jaschek and Markus Haider, and moved to Oberstdorf, Germany, to train with Niko Ulanovsky and Ria Schiffner.^[12]

Beginning the season at the 2024 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur in mid-October, Pesendorfer finished fourteenth. She followed this by placing seventh at the 2024 Santa Claus Cup.^[1]

In December, Pesendorfer competed at the 2025 Austrian Championships, where she finished fourth.^[1] She was selected to compete at the 2025 European Championships. In January, she won the bronze medal at the Bavarian Open before going on to compete at the European Championships the next week, where she placed twenty-third overall.^[13][11]

She finished the season by winning gold at the 2025 Merano Ice Trophy.^[11]

Pesendorfer did not compete due to a stress fracture in her foot. In January 2026, Pesendorfer gave an interview in Die Zeit where she discussed her mental health issues and pressure to lose weight.^[7]

Season	Short program	Free skating
2024–25 [12]	Caruso performed by Jackie Evancho choreo. by Joti Polizoakis, Vitali Schulz, Ria Schiffner	Mountains (from Interstellar) by Hans Zimmer Solas x Interstella by Gabriel Albuqerqüe Outro by M83 choreo. by Joti Polizoakis, Vitali Schulz, Ria Schiffner
2023–24	The One That You Love by LP choreo. by Kelly Johnson	Game of Survival by Ruelle Quick Musical Doodles by Two Feet choreo. by Kelly Johnson
2022–23 [14]
2020–22 [15][16]	River Wild Horses by Bishop Briggs choreo. by Tatjana Schröck	Anything Goes written by Cole Porter performed by Riverdale cast Back to Black written by Amy Winehouse & Mark Ronson performed by Beyoncé Got My Number by Serena Ryder choreo. by Romain Gazave
2019–20 [17]	Radar Love by Golden Earring choreo by Kelly Johnson
2018–19 [2]		The Last of Her Kind The Vampire Masquerade by Peter Gundry
2017–18 [6]	Pa' Bailar by Bajofondo

Competition placements at senior level ^[11]

Season	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23	2023–24	2024–25
World Championships			32nd
European Championships						23rd
Austrian Championships	3rd		1st	3rd	2nd	4th
CS Budapest Trophy					WD
CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	15th					9th
CS Ice Challenge			15th	10th
CS Lombardia Trophy			16th
CS Nebelhorn Trophy	9th	12th		8th	12th
CS Nepela Memorial	11th			8th
CS Trophée Métropole Nice						14th
Abu Dhabi Classic Trophy				1st
Bavarian Open			4th			3rd
Challenge Cup			9th
Dragon Trophy				3rd	5th
Merano Ice Trophy						1st
NRW Trophy				2nd	4th
Prague Ice Cup	1st
Santa Claus Cup						7th
Skate Celje			3rd
Sofia Trophy			1st
Tirnavia Ice Cup	1st		3rd	1st

Competition placements at junior level ^[11]

Season	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20
World Junior Championships	12th		15th
Austrian Championships	1st	2nd	2nd
JGP Austria	16th
JGP Croatia	12th
JGP France			11th
JGP Russia			17th
Bavarian Open		4th
Challenge Cup	3rd
Dragon Trophy	2nd
European Youth Olympic Festival		7th
Golden Bear of Zagreb	4th	12th	2nd
Leu Scheu Memorial	2nd
Skate Celje	3rd	3rd	1st
Triglav Trophy		1st