About us

Competitive Highlights

• 2000 American Open Champions
• 1995 World Pairs Champions
• 1995 & 1997 World Professional Pairs Champions
• 1992 & 1994 Olympians
• 7-time Czech National Champions

Radka Kovarikova & Rene Novotny reached the highest achievement in pairs figure skating in 1995 when they won the World Championships in Birmingham, England. Czech National Champions each year since 1989, the pair skated together in six World Championships and two Winter Olympics before earning the title.

Kovarikova, a Czechoslovak junior champion in singles, had been skating pairs just six months before teaming with Novotny at age 13. When she was five years old, she chose to pursue figure skating over gymnastics after only one lesson in each sport. Novotny began skating at age six and was selected for pairs skating when he was 13 because of his height. He skated with three partners and competed in five World Championships before pairing with Kovarikova.

Kovarikova and Novotny began skating together in 1989, the first of seven consecutive National Pair Championships. Their breakthrough season was 1991-1992 as the couple finished fourth at the Albertville Olympics and continued to a silver medal performance at the Worlds in Oakland, CA. It was the first medal for a Czech pair in 34 years.

Soon after winning their silver medal, the pair moved to Lake Arrowhead, CA to train with the legendary pairs skater, Irina Rodnina, who is the only living three-time Olympic Gold Medalist in figure skating. They trained in California from 1992-1997.

Shortly after winning their World Championship gold medal in 1995, Kovarikova and Novotny became professional skaters competing in numerous events and performing in shows around the world. Highlights of their professional careers include winning the World Professional Championships in 1995 and 1997 and traveling with the Champions on Ice and Stars on Ice tours. The past three seasons, Kovarikova and Novotny have toured their home country and Slovakia headlining as the main characters in a popular Russian fairtale on ice entitled Mrazik (translation: Father Frost).

In 1993, Kovarikova and Novotny announced their unity off the ice with their engagement. They were married on June 1, 1996 in the largest wedding ever held in the Brno Town Hall in their hometown of 400,000 in the Czech Republic.

Along with competing and performing, Kovarikova and Novotny have provided skating commentary on Czech television since 1998 and are beginning their careers as coaches and choreographers in Europe and the United States.