Deniss Vasiļjevs (born 9 August 1999) is a Latvian figure skater. He is the 2022 European bronze medalist, the 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy silver medalist, a four-time ISU Challenger Series medalist (including gold at the 2020 CS Nebelhorn Trophy), and a five-time Latvian national champion (2016–18, 2020, 2022). Earlier in his career, Vasiļjevs became the 2016 Youth Olympics silver medalist and won two silver medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series. He is the first Latvian skater to make the podium at a JGP event and at an ISU Championships event. Personal life Deniss Vasiļjevs was born on 9 August 1999 in Daugavpils, Latvia. His mother is a former dancer. In 2016, he began living in Champery, Switzerland, but remained a student at Daugavpils Russian Secondary School – Lyceum. He enjoys drawing and speaks four languages – Latvian, Russian, French and English. Career Vasiļjevs began skating in 2002. As he was often sick, his parents decided to involve him in a sport, first considering swimming and then skating. Around 2010, they arranged for him to train under the guidance of Lithuanian coach Ingrida Snieškienė in Paris, France. Due to his schooling, he spent part of the year training in Daugavpils. His figure skating role models include Stéphane Lambiel, Daisuke Takahashi, Patrick Chan, and Javier Fernández. 2013–14 season: Junior international debut Vasiļjevs debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit in 2013, placing 7th in Riga, Latvia and 10th in Gdańsk, Poland. He was named in Latvia's team to the World Junior Championships, held in March 2014 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Ranked 11th in the short program, he qualified for the free skate, where he placed 7th, pulling him up to 8th overall. 2014–15 season During the 2014–15 figure skating season, Vasiļjevs placed fourth at both of his Junior Grand Prix assignments, in Courchevel, France and Tallinn, Estonia. He won the silver medal at the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, held in January 2015 in Dornbirn, Austria. He began working with Alexei Urmanov before the 2015 World Junior Championships, which took place in March in Tallinn, Estonia. He placed 8th in both segments and 7th overall. 2015–16 season: Senior international debut Vasiļjevs began the 2015–16 season by winning silver at both of his JGP events in Riga, Latvia and Toruń, Poland. He is the first Latvian skater to step on a JGP podium. Making his senior international debut, he