Martin Bidař

Early life

Martin Bidař was born on 24 February 1999 in České Budějovice, Czech Republic. He is the son of a figure skating coach, Iveta Bidařová, and the younger brother of a former pair skater, Petr Bidař. His sisters were also figure skaters.

Martin Bidař began skating in 2003.

Partnership with Dušková

Originally single skaters, Dušková and Bidař began skating together as a pair after their coach, Eva Horklová, suggested the idea. Recalling their beginnings, Dušková stated, "It was quite embarrassing at first, because everybody was skating singles and we had to hold hands. We were so young and shy." In the 2011–12 season, they competed together on the novice national level.

2013–14 season: Junior international debut

Dušková/Bidař's ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut came in the 2013–14 season; they finished 8th in September 2013 in Košice, Slovakia and 6th the next month in Ostrava, Czech Republic. In March 2014, the pair placed 10th at the World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, having ranked 10th in both segments.

2014–15 season

In 2014–15, Dušková/Bidař continued on the JGP series, finishing 10th in Estonia and 8th in Germany. They came in 8th at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia after placing 9th in both segments.

2015–16 season: Gold at World Junior Championships

Although based mainly in the Czech Republic, Dušková/Bidař also spent some time training in Montreal and Sochi in the summer of 2015 and made another visit to Montreal during the competitive season.

Competing in the 2015–16 JGP series, Dušková/Bidař won a silver medal in August in Linz, Austria and finished 4th the following month in Riga, Latvia. The results qualified them for the 2015–16 JGP Final, held in December 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. Ranked third in the short program and second in the free skate, Dušková/Bidař edged out Russia's Amina Atakhanova / Ilia Spiridonov by 0.33 for the silver medal behind Ekaterina Borisova / Dmitry Sopot, who won gold by a margin of 9.53 points. They are the first Czech pair to step on the podium at a JGP Final.

In February 2016, Dušková/Bidař competed in Hamar, Norway at the Winter Youth Olympics, placing first in the short program, second in the free skate, and second overall with a total score 2.53 less than Borisova/Sopot. Their silver is the Czech Republic's first Youth Olympic medal in figure skating. In March, Dušková/Bidař won gold at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Ranked first in both segments, they outscored two Russian pairs – silver medalists Anastasia Mishina / Vladislav Mirzoev by 9.22 points and bronze medalists Ekaterina Borisova / Dmitry Sopot by 12.82 points – to become the Czech Republic's first World Junior champions in figure skating. They are also the first pair skaters from outside China, Russia, or the United States to win the competition since 2001. On their future plans, Dušková stated that "there will be less and less singles competitions for me. We will concentrate on pairs."

2016–17 season: Senior Debut

Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Dušková/Bidař spent three weeks training in Montreal before returning to the Czech Republic. Opening their season on the JGP series, the pair won gold at their September event in Ostrava, ahead of Atakhanova/Spiridonov, and then silver the following month in Dresden, behind Mishina/Mirzoev. Later in October, making their senior international debut, they outscored Miriam Ziegler / Severin Kiefer to win the International Cup of Nice. In December, they placed second to Mishina/Mirzoev at the JGP Final in Marseille.

Programs

(with Dušková)

Competitive highlights

CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix