Alexandra Paul (figure skater)

Alexandra Paul
File:Alexandra PAUL Mitchell ISLAM JWC 2010 (cropped) - Paul.jpg Paul at the 2010 Junior Worlds
Personal information
Full name	Alexandra Jane Paul
Country represented	Canada
Born	(1991-09-16)September 16, 1991 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died	Melancthon Township, Ontario, Canada
Home town	Midhurst, Ontario
Height	1.61 m (5 ft 3 in)
Partner	Mitchell Islam
Former partner	Jason Cheperdak
Coach	Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer, Pasquale Camerlengo, Anjelika Krylova, David Islam, Kelly Johnson, Pavol Porac, Tyler Myles
Choreographer	Romain Haguenauer, Kelly Johnson, Pasquale Camerlengo, Anjelika Krylova, Jeffrey Buttle, Pavol Porac
Skating club	Barrie SC Gadbois Centre Detroit Skating Club
Training locations	Montreal, Quebec; Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Barrie, Ontario
Began skating	1996
Retired	December 15, 2016
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	152.59 2015 Worlds
Short dance	64.38 2015 Worlds
Free dance	91.08 2014 Worlds
Medal record Figure skating: Ice dancing Representing Canada World Junior Championships 2010 The Hague Ice dancing

Alexandra Jane Paul (September 16, 1991 – August 22, 2023) was a Canadian competitive ice dancer. With her skating partner and eventual husband, Mitchell Islam, she won the silver medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships. In their senior career, Paul and Islam were the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy bronze medalists, three-time Canadian national bronze medalists (2011, 2014–2015), and represented their country at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Career

Paul and Islam at the 2011 Canadian Championships

Alexandra Paul finished third with Jason Cheperdak in junior ice dancing at the 2009 Canadian Championships. She then began looking for a new partner and had a successful tryout in February 2009 with Mitchell Islam, a fellow skater at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ontario.

Paul/Islam began competing together during the 2009–2010 season. In July 2009, they beat the Canadian junior champions at the Minto Summer Skate and were given a Junior Grand Prix assignment. They competed at two 2009–10 JGP events, finishing fourth in Poland and fifth in Turkey. They won gold at the Canadian Junior Championships and were assigned to Junior Worlds where they captured the silver medal.

Paul/Islam moved up to the senior ranks for the 2010–2011 season. They finished fourth in their senior Grand Prix debut at 2010 Skate Canada International. Their next event was 2010 Cup of Russia. They had a fall in the short dance and withdrew from the free dance after Paul sustained a rib injury. Paul/Islam made their senior national debut at the 2011 Canadian Championships, finishing in third. They were first alternates for the 2011 World Championships.

Paul sprained a knee ligament around 2011 or 2012.

Paul/Islam finished eighth at the 2011 Skate America. They withdrew before the free dance at 2011 NHK Trophy after placing seventh in the short — Paul suffered a cut to the back of the thigh in a collision with Italy's Lorenza Alessandrini / Simone Vaturi during the morning practice on November 12.

In June 2012, Paul/Islam decided to train full-time at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. They had no Grand Prix events in 2012. At the 2013 Canadian Championships, they finished fourth.

Paul/Islam began the following season with bronze at the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy. They placed fifth at their sole Grand Prix assignment, the 2013 Skate Canada International. After winning the bronze medal at the 2014 Canadian Championships, they were assigned to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where they placed 18th.

Paul/Islam ranked 8th in the short dance, 14th in the free dance, and 13th overall at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, China. A few weeks later, they changed coaches, joining Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, and Romain Haguenauer at the Gadbois Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

Paul injured her hamstring in the summer of 2016. She and Islam received the bronze medal at the 2016 CS U.S. International Classic. On November 18, Paul twisted her knee when she fell during a morning practice at the 2016 Cup of China. The duo decided to withdraw from the competition before the short dance. They announced their competitive retirement on December 15, 2016.

Personal life and death

Alexandra Paul was born on September 16, 1991, in Toronto. She had two sisters. Her father is a radiologist. She studied political science at Oakland University, completing her final semester in April 2017. She earned her Juris Doctor degree at the University of Windsor law school in 2020, and started a career as an attorney with the firm Barriston Law in 2021.

Paul and Islam married in September 2021. She gave birth to their son, Charles, in late 2022. On August 22, 2023, Paul was killed after her car was hit by a transport truck. She was 31.

Programs

(with Mitchell Islam)

Season	Short dance	Free dance	Exhibition
2016–2017	Big Spender Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) choreo. by Romain Haguenauer	Liebestraum No. 3 in A flat by Franz Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C sharp minor by Franz Liszt Concerto Paraphrase on "Rigoletto" by Franz Liszt	Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran choreo. by Kelly Johnson
2015–2016	The Tales of Beatrix Potter by John Lanchbery choreo. by Romain Haguenauer	Where Is It Written? by Barbra Streisand choreo. by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon	Love's Divine by Seal
2014–2015	Nocturno by Guido Luciani Farruca Y Rumba by Pepe Romero choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo, Anjelika Krylova	In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel choreo. by Jeffrey Buttle, Kelly Johnson, David Islam Come Rain or Come Shine by Frank Sinatra and Gloria Estefan The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra choreo. by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon	I Wanna Be Loved By You by Sinéad O'Connor
2013–2014	Crazy For You Overture by George Gershwin	Going Somewhere I Will Follow You Satin Birds Dance for Me Wallis all by Abel Korzeniowski	In Your Eyes (New Blood edition) by Peter Gabriel choreo. by Jeffrey Buttle
2012–2013	La Foule by Edith Piaf Milord by Edith Piaf choreo. by Kelly Johnson	The Crisis by Ennio Morricone 1900s Madness #1 by Ennio Morricone Danny's Blues by Ennio Morricone 12th Street Rag by Euday L. Bowman Playing Love (from The Legend of 1900) by Ennio Morricone choreo. by Anjelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo	In Your Eyes (New Blood edition) by Peter Gabriel choreo. by Jeffrey Buttle Get Here (If You Can) by Rüdiger Skoczowsky
2011–2012	Main theme from 2046 Havana Slide by Jon Cohen choreo. by Romain Haguenauer	Tonight by Elton John choreo. by Kelly Johnson, David Wilson	In Your Eyes (New Blood edition) by Peter Gabriel choreo. by Jeffrey Buttle
2010–2011	La cumparsita – Amor por el Tango by G. M. Rodriguez A los Amigos by A. Ponder choreographed by Pavol Porac	As Time Goes By by Herman Hupfeld choreo. by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon	Oh! Darling by The Beatles cover by Dana Fuchs
	Original dance
2009–2010	Nocturno by Guido Luciani Farruca Y Rumba by Pepe Romero	Sheherazade by Cyril Martin Moroccan Roll by Vanessa Mae Sometimes I Dream by Mario Frangoulis	Over the Rainbow by Eva Cassidy

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Islam

International
Event	09–10	10–11	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15	15–16	16–17
Olympics					18th
Worlds					10th	13th
Four Continents			6th			6th
GP Cup of China						5th		WD
GP Bompard						6th
GP NHK Trophy			WD				WD
GP Rostel. Cup		WD
GP Skate America			8th
GP Skate Canada		4th			5th		6th	8th
CS Autumn Classic						4th
CS Nebelhorn							2nd
CS U.S. Classic								3rd
Nebelhorn				5th	3rd
U.S. Classic				2nd
International: Junior
Junior Worlds	2nd
JGP Poland	4th
JGP Turkey	5th
National
Canadian Champ.	1st J	3rd	5th	4th	3rd	3rd	4th
J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

With Cheperdak

International
Event	2007–08	2008–09
JGP Spain		4th
JGP United Kingdom		6th
National
Canadian Champ.	3rd N	3rd J
Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior

External links

• Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam at the International Skating Union
• Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam at Skate Canada
• Alexandra Paul / Jason Cheperdak at the International Skating Union