Tamar Katz (born September 26, 1988, in Dallas, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States of America) is an Israeli figure skater. She is the 2005, 2007, and 2008 Israeli national champion.

Career

Katz began skating as an extracurricular activity at the age of 9 and became more serious about skating a year later.

Katz's best season was 2006–7, when she medalled at the Golden Spin of Zagreb

Golden Spin of Zagreb

The Golden Spin of Zagreb is an annual senior-level figure skating competition, held yearly in Zagreb, Croatia. Skaters compete in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing, although, in some years, not every discipline was included in the program.The 2001...

, finished 13th at the European Championships

2007 European Figure Skating Championships

The 2007 European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion. Skaters compete in the categories of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing....

 and qualified for the free skate at Worlds

2007 World Figure Skating Championships

The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion. This event is considered the most prestigious of the ISU Championships. Skaters compete in the...

. In 2008, she was 16th at the Europeans

2008 European Figure Skating Championships

The 2008 European Figure Skating Championships were European Figure Skating Championships of the 2007–2008 season. Skaters competed in the categories of men's singles, ladies singles, pairs, and ice dancing....

 and 22nd at Worlds

2008 World Figure Skating Championships

The 2008 World Figure Skating Championships was the World Figure Skating Championships of the 2007–2008 figure skating season. The World Championships are an annual figure skating competition in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion. The event was open to figure skaters...

.

Katz suffered from a stress fracture to her right foot and a broken hand on December 2008 and missed the 2009 European championships. She finished 25th at the World Championships

2009 World Figure Skating Championships

The 2009 World Figure Skating Championships were the World Figure Skating Championships for the 2008–2009 season. Commonly called "Worlds", they are an annual figure skating competition in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...

.

Katz attempted to qualify for the Olympics at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, and was able to win a spot for Israel in ladies figure skating with her 12th place finish; she was the first Israeli lady to qualify for an Olympic figure skating event. However, suffering from a virus, she had a poor showing at the 2010 Europeans

2010 European Figure Skating Championships

The 2010 European Figure Skating Championships were the European Championships of the 2009–2010 season. They are an annual figure skating competition in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...

, failing to meet the Israeli Olympic committee's criterion of top-14 finish in the European Championships. Katz appealed this decision with the support of the Israeli Ice Skating Federation, but was not successful. The Israeli Olympic Committee gave up what would have been Katz's spot, which then went to the alternate, Australian skater Cheltzie Lee. Katz stated that "The Israeli Olympic Committee said that they want medals and that I can compete in 2014. What they don't understand is that if they want me to medal at 2014, the crucial exposure and experience that this Olympics would have given me has been taken away." She competed at the 2010 World championships, but did not qualify for the free skate.

Personal life

Katz's family moved between Israel and the United States when she was growing up. She eventually moved to the United States for training opportunities, and began college studies in 2010.

In September 2010, Katz's brother Ronen was killed in a hit and run accident in New York City.

Competitive highlights

Event	2002–2003	2003–2004	2004–2005	2005–2006	2006–2007	2007–2008	2008–2009	2009–2010
World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...			16th QR		23rd	22nd	25th	27th
European Championships European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...					13th	16th		21st
World Junior Championships World Junior Figure Skating Championships The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion...			22nd
Israeli Championships Israeli Figure Skating Championships The Israeli Figure Skating Championships is a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of Israel. Winners are given the title National Champion. Over the years, the date of the competition has been moved for regional political reasons or for the lack of ice....	2nd J.		1st
Nebelhorn Trophy Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain....								12th
Golden Spin of Zagreb Golden Spin of Zagreb The Golden Spin of Zagreb is an annual senior-level figure skating competition, held yearly in Zagreb, Croatia. Skaters compete in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing, although, in some years, not every discipline was included in the program.The 2001...					2nd			5th
Merano Cup Merano Cup Merano Cup is an annual figure skating competition held in Merano, Italy. It was first held in 1997. It has traditionally been held in the fall. The levels of competition are Senior, Junior and Novice. Skaters compete in the disciplines of men's and ladies...								4th
Karl Schäfer Memorial Karl Schäfer Memorial The Karl Schäfer Memorial is an annual elite senior-level figure skating competition held in Vienna, Austria. Skaters compete in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The competition is named for figure skater Karl Schäfer. The competition is usually held in...							4th
Skate Israel Skate Israel Skate Israel is a senior-level international figure skating competition, held in Metulla, Israel. Skaters compete in four disciplines: ladies and men's singles, pairs and ice dancing...				4th
Junior Grand Prix, Bulgaria 2007-2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix The 2007–2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the 11th season of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, a series of international junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the Junior-level complement to the 2007–2008 Grand Prix of Figure Skating, which is for Senior-level skaters...						9th
Junior Grand Prix, Croatia 2007-2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix The 2007–2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the 11th season of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, a series of international junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the Junior-level complement to the 2007–2008 Grand Prix of Figure Skating, which is for Senior-level skaters...						16th
Junior Grand Prix, Japan 2005-2006 ISU Junior Grand Prix The 2005–2006 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the ninth season of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, a series of international junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the junior-level complement to the Grand Prix of Figure Skating, which was for senior-level skaters....				12th
Junior Grand Prix, Romania 2004-2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix The 2004–2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the eighth season of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, a series of international junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the junior-level complement to the Grand Prix of Figure Skating, which was for senior-level skaters...			8th
Junior Grand Prix, Germany ISU Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating is a series of international invitational junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Junior figure skaters compete in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing...	10th		12th
European Youth Olympic Festival Figure skating at the European Youth Olympic Festival European Youth Olympic Festival is a multi-sport event held in both summer and winter disciplines every second year. Figure skating is one of the sports in its winter edition. The competition is held in junior category....			9th J.

• J = Junior level; QR = Qualifying Round

External links

• Official website