Published
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5 MIN
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Sarah van Berkel
Talent Team 2026 (from left to right): Olivia Bacsa, Leandra Tzimpoukakis, Gion Schmid, Elisabeth Dibbern, Valeriya Ezhova, Anastasia Brandenburg, Marina Sekulovski, Mayuka Süess, Noélie Haymoz
The four Art on Ice young talents Gion Schmid, 15, Elisabeth Dibbern, 15, Noélie Haymoz, 15 and Mayuka Süess, 13, are part of the line-up for the 2026 tour. Four great hopes, four different paths – one common goal: to delight audiences.
Fifteen-year-old Gion Schmid from Wädenswil, Zurich has been skating since 2015 and has been part of the Talent Team since 2024. Last season, he achieved the greatest breakthrough of his young career to date: he secured bronze at the European Youth Olympic Festival, proving he can handle the pressure of the international stage.
Gion also put on a strong display in the Junior Grand Prix Series in Ankara with a top six finish. His programmes mix technical assuredness with increasing expressive prowess – a combination that has recently earned him the national junior title and which he will be able to showcase particularly well on the Art on Ice stage.
The 15-year-old has been spoken about as a talent for a while now, and has been part of the Art on Ice young talents since 2024. During the current season, she wrote Swiss figure skating history at the Junior Grand Prix in Riga: with her bronze medal, she became the first Swiss female junior in 24 years to make the JGP podium. At the second JGP in Gdansk, too, she demonstrated her consistency at international level with a fifth-place finish. Having already featured in Art in Ice in 2025, she is set to make her next appearance in 2026 – mature, confident and as the current runner-up junior champion.
Fourteen-year-old Noélie Haymoz was last season’s Swiss champion in the Advanced Novice U16 category. Her success has continued into this season, with one particular highlight: in Celje, she won her first international ISU juniors competition – a victory which underscores her great potential. Art on Ice 2026 is very close to Noélie’s heart, as the tour is stopping not just in Zurich and Davos but also in her hometown of Fribourg. Being able to skate in front of a home crowd means this appearance takes on extra special meaning.
At just 12 years old, Mayuka Süess from Hochdorf, Lucerne is the Talent Team’s youngest member – yet is already demonstrating advanced technical skills. She can already perform all triple jumps and has dominated the U12 category in the Swiss championships for the past two years. She has also made waves internationally by winning the Swiss Ice Skating Open.
Shortly before appearing in Art on Ice, Mayuka still has one major competition goal ahead of her: the U14 category of the Swiss championships. Her routine is fresh, bold and full of energy – the audience is in for a treat.
The Art on Ice young talents embody hard work, consistent development and dreaming big. The nine talents that make up the team are proof that Swiss figure skating is ideally positioned for the future. Art on Ice and AXA Switzerland are giving them the stage on which they can gain experience, grow and follow their own path.
Experience our stars on and off the ice in a breathtaking live show. In our anniversary show, entitled “Against all Odds”, we will show what it means to keep going and achieve great things.
Sarah van Berkel, formerly Meier, became European figure skating champion in 2011, is now a journalist and is responsible for athlete management and the “young talents” project at Art on Ice. The 41-year-old is a “Gfrörli”, she loves coffee and is addicted to nuts.
