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Olivia Smart
Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck at the 2024 World Championships
Full name	Olivia Sophie Smart
Born	(1997-04-01) 1 April 1997 (age 27) Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Hometown	Barcelona, Spain & Montreal, Canada
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Spain (since 2016)  Great Britain (2011–15)
Discipline	Ice dance
Partner	Tim Dieck (since 2023) Adrián Díaz (2016–22) Joseph Buckland (2011–15)
Coach	Marie-France Dubreuil Patrice Lauzon Romain Haguenauer Pascal Denis
Skating club	F.C. Barcelona
Began skating	2006
Medal record
Representing  Spain Spanish Championships 2018 Jaca Ice dance 2020 San Sebastián Ice dance 2022 Jaca Ice dance 2024 Logroño Ice dance 2025 Logroño Ice dance 2017 Vielha Ice dance 2019 Logroño Ice dance Representing  Great Britain British Championships 2015 Sheffield Ice dance

Olivia Smart (born 1 April 1997) is a British-Spanish ice dancer, who currently competes with Tim Dieck for Spain. Together, they are two-time Spanish national champions (2024–25), 2024 Skate America bronze medalist, 2024 CS Nepela Memorial bronze medalists, and 2024 Challenge Cup silver medalists.

She also previously represented Spain with Adrián Díaz. With Díaz, Smart was the 2021 Skate Canada International bronze medalist, a four-time Challenger Series medalist, and a three-time Spanish national champion. They represented Spain at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

With former partner Joseph Buckland, she is a three-time British national junior champion (2012–14), and competed at three World Junior Championships, reaching the top ten in 2014. As well, she competed on the fifteenth series of ITV's Dancing on Ice, partnered with Nile Wilson.

Personal life

Olivia Smart was born on 1 April 1997 in Sheffield, England. She attended Sheffield High School for Girls. Olivia's Trains - a model railway shop in the city - is named after her. She became a Spanish citizen in July 2017.

Skating career

Ice dance with Joseph Buckland (for Great Britain)

Smart teamed up with Joseph Buckland in 2010. They made their JGP debut in autumn 2011, ranking thirteenth in Austria and twelfth in Estonia. They came in seventeenth at their first World Junior Championships, held in Minsk in March 2012. In the 2012–2013 season, the duo missed the JGP series and finished twenty-second at the 2013 World Junior Championships in Milan.

In 2013–2014, Smart/Buckland placed seventh at both of their JGP assignments, Poland and the Czech Republic, and finished tenth at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Smart/Buckland moved to the senior level in the 2014–2015 season. In October 2014, they placed fourth at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy, an ISU Challenger Series event. In November, they won silver medals at the International Cup of Nice and NRW Trophy before taking the British national title in the absence of longstanding champions Coomes/Buckland. Smart/Buckland withdrew from the 2015 European Championships before the short dance, Buckland having fallen ill with gastroenteritis. The duo went on to place twenty-seventh at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, China. Following that season, they split.

2016–2017 season: Debut of Smart/Díaz

On 13 December 2015, it was announced that Smart had teamed up with Spanish ice dancer Adrián Díaz and that they wished to represent Spain. On 15 January 2016, Smart announced that the British skating association had released her and that she and Díaz would train in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, under Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, and Romain Haguenauer.

Making their international debut, Smart/Díaz took silver behind Pogrebinsky/Benoit at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International in late July 2016. They later competed at three ISU Challenger Series events, placing fourth at the 2016 U.S. International Classic, sixth at the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International, and sixth at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, before winning gold at the Open d'Andorra.

Smart/Díaz finished second to Hurtado/Khaliavin at the Spanish Championships. As a result, they were not nominated for the 2017 European Championships.

Smart/Díaz took silver in February at the Bavarian Open. Later that month, Federación Española Deportes de Hielo (FEDH) selected them to compete at the 2017 World Championships, the main Olympic-qualifying competition. The two placed sixteenth in the short dance, nineteenth in the free dance, and eighteenth overall at the event in Helsinki, Finland. Their result allowed Spain to send one ice dancing team to the Olympics.

2017–2018 season

In July 2017, FEDH announced that Spain's Olympic spot would go to the team which received the highest combined score at the 2017 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb and Spanish Championships.

Smart/Díaz began their season on the Challenger Series, placing seventh at the 2017 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and fourth at the 2017 Autumn Classic International. Making their Grand Prix debut, they placed sixth at the 2017 Skate Canada International in October. In December, they placed fifth at the 2017 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, scoring 4.18 points less than Hurtado/Khaliavin. Later that month, they won the Spanish national title by a 3.23-point margin, resulting in a final deficit of 0.95 points. On 17 December 2017, FEDH announced that Hurtado/Khaliavin would compete at the European Championships and Olympics while Smart/Díaz would be assigned to the 2018 World Championships. They finished twelfth at the event in Milan, Italy.

2018–2019 season

Smart/Díaz began their season at the Autumn Classic International Challenger Series event, where they placed second behind Canadians Weaver/Poje. At the onset of the 2018–19 season, they were assigned to two Grand Prix events, the Skate Canada and Internationaux de France, finishing fifth at the former and seventh at the latter.

After winning the silver medal at the Spanish Championships, finishing behind Hurtado/Khaliavin, they placed eighth at the 2019 European Championships.

2019–2020 season

Smart/Díaz began the season with a victory at the 2019 Lake Placid Ice Dance International and then placed fourth at the 2019 CS Autumn Classic International. At their first Grand Prix assignment, 2019 Skate America, they placed fourth, with three new personal bests set. Smart/Díaz concluded the Grand Prix with another fourth-place finish at the 2019 Internationaux de France.

After winning the Spanish national title for the second time, they finished eighth at the 2020 European Championships, below Hurtado/Khaliavin in seventh place. Despite this, they were assigned to compete at the World Championships in Montreal, but these were cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020–2021 season

Smart/Díaz were assigned to the 2020 Skate Canada International, but this event was also cancelled due to the pandemic.

While Smart/Díaz were listed on the preliminary entry list for the 2021 World Championships, the Spanish Ice Sports Federation announced on 2 March that the final determination as to which team would represent Spain would be made following a virtual skate-off between them and Hurtado/Khaliavin. On 7 March, the Spanish federation announced that the berth had been awarded to Hurtado/Khaliavin.

2021–2022 season: Beijing Olympics

Smart/Díaz began the Olympic season at the 2021 CS Autumn Classic International, where they won the silver medal, setting new personal best scores in the free dance and overall in the process. They beat domestic rivals Hurtado/Khaliavin by 0.25 points in the first of three matchups to determine which team would be named to the Spanish Olympic team at their second event, the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy.

Competing on the Grand Prix at the 2021 Skate America, they placed fourth in the rhythm dance, 1.27 points behind Canadian training partners Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen. They came third in the free dance but remained fourth overall by 0.54 points. Their Zorro free dance received a standing ovation from the audience, with Smart commenting that the "reaction of the crowd made it all worthwhile and so memorable." The following week at their second Grand Prix, 2021 Skate Canada International, they were third in both segments of the competition, winning the bronze medal, their first Grand Prix medal. 

Smart/Díaz faced off against Hurtado/Khaliavin at the 2022 Spanish Championships and won both segments of the competition to take the gold medal with a score of 202.47, with a margin of 8.12 points over their silver medalist rivals, expanding their cumulative margin to 8.37 points. Both teams then went to the 2022 European Championships, the third and final competition for the Spanish Olympic berth. Smart/Díaz were fifth in the rhythm dance and moved up to fourth overall with a fourth-place free dance, despite a technical fall on their ending pose. Smart remarked that this season was "the hardest we've ever worked for anything. It's not only been this competition; it has been the whole season that we gave everything we had." Hurtado/Khaliavin finished in sixth place, 4.96 points back. With a cumulative margin of 13.33 points, Smart/Díaz were subsequently named to Spain's Olympic team.

Competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the dance event, Smart/Díaz placed ninth in the rhythm dance. They skated a new personal best in the free dance, breaking 120 points in the segment for the first time with a score of 121.41. Due to errors by higher-ranked teams Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen, Gilles/Poirier and Stepanova/Bukin they were sixth in that segment and rose to eighth overall.

Smart/Díaz finished their season at the 2022 World Championships, held in Montpellier. Russian dance teams were absent due to the International Skating Union banning all Russian athletes due to their country's invasion of Ukraine. They finished seventh, the highest ever result for a Spanish team, and finally achieving the Spanish federation's long-desired goal of earning two berths for Spanish dance teams at the World Championships.

On 23 May, the Spanish federation announced that Díaz was retiring from competition. They indicated that Smart would "follow a new sporting path" with the federation.

Dancing on Ice and new partnership

With the end of her partnership with Díaz, Smart sought out other opportunities, and was announced as a new professional skater for series 15 of ITV's Dancing on Ice. She was partnered with Nile Wilson, a 2016 Summer Olympic bronze medalist in artistic gymnastics.

At the same time, Smart began to develop a new competitive partnership with German ice dancer Tim Dieck. The two explored options to represent either Spain or Germany, but the Spanish federation offered superior financial support, and they ultimately requested that Dieck be released by the German Ice Skating Union. In December 2022, it was announced that Dieck had been released by the German federation. The two planned to begin training in Montreal in April 2023 with an eye to competing in the 2023–24 season.

Smart and Wilson were named the winners of Dancing on Ice. She said afterward of her time on the show that "I've had a hard time and I've trained for the Olympics but this has been hard. We've loved it but it has been hard physically, mentally. I've learned a lot from doing this show and I'd love to take what I've learnt from this back to competing."

2023–2024 season: Debut of Smart/Dieck

Smart and Dieck made their competitive debut on the Challenger circuit, finishing in fourth place at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International. They went to come fourth as well at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy. Making their Grand Prix debut as a team at the 2023 Skate America, Smart/Dieck placed sixth. They were then eighth at the 2023 Grand Prix de France.

Competing at their first Spanish Championships in December, Smart/Dieck won the gold medal over rivals Val/Kazimov. Despite this, it was initially announced by the Spanish federation that Val/Kazimov would represent the country at the 2024 European and World Championships. Following controversy around the criteria used to arrive at this result, on December 27 the Spanish federation announced that Smart/Dieck would instead be given the country's lone World Championship berth.

Smart/Dieck won the silver medal at the International Challenge Cup in February. At the World Championships, held in Montreal, the home of the team's training base, Smart/Dieck were fifteenth in the rhythm dance and qualified to the free dance. An error on their dance spin saw them finish twentieth among twenty teams in the free dance, dropping to nineteenth overall. Smart remarked that the mistake "fits within this season full of ups and downs, which we accept as a lesson we have to learn"

2024–25 season

Smart and Dieck began the season with a sixth-place finish at the 2024 Nebelhorn Trophy. They went on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, winning bronze at the 2024 Skate America. One week following that event, they won another bronze medal at the 2024 Nepela Memorial. Going on to compete at the 2024 Cup of China, Smart and Dieck finished the event in fourth place.

In December, Smart/Dieck won their second consecutive national title at the 2025 Spanish Championships.

Programs

Ice dance with Tim Dieck (for Spain)

Ice dance with Adrián Díaz (for Spain)

Ice dance with Joseph Buckland (for Great Britain)

Competitive highlights

• GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
• JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
• CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
• C – Event was cancelled

Ice dance with Tim Dieck (for Spain)

Ice dance with Adrián Díaz (for Spain)

Ice dance with Joseph Buckland (for Great Britain)

Detailed results

Ice dance with Tim Dieck (for Spain)

Ice dance with Adrián Díaz (for Spain)

References

1. ^ "Olivia SMART / Adria DIAZ: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018.
2. "About Us - Olivias Trains". Olivia's Trains. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
3. "Olivia Smart y Kirill Khalyavin obtienen la nacionalidad española" [Olivia Smart and Kirill Khalyavin obtain Spanish citizenship]. hieloespanol.es (in Spanish). 26 July 2017. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
4. Pinchess, Lynette (20 September 2010). "Olympic hopeful Joseph keeps up the family tradition on ice". This is Nottingham. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
5. "Illness hits Buckland brothers at European Figure Skating Championships". National Ice Skating Association. 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
6. "Buckland and Coomes withdraw from World Championships due to illness". National Ice Skating Association. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
7. "Se oficializa la nueva pareja Olivia Smart y Adriá Díaz" [The new pairing of Olivia Smart and Adriá Diaz becomes official]. hieloespanol.es (in Spanish). 13 December 2015.
8. "La Federación Británica permite a Olivia Smart competir por España". hieloespanol.es. 15 January 2016.
9. "Informe Técnico para la designación de la Pareja de Danza que participará en el Campeonato del Mundo, Helsinki, Marzo 2017" [Ice dancing team designated for the World Championships] (PDF) (in Spanish). Federación Española Deportes de Hielo. 28 February 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 March 2017.
10. "Criterios de selección de patinaje artístico para los JJOO" [Figure skating selection criteria for the Olympics] (in Spanish). Federación Española Deportes de Hielo. 5 July 2017. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017.
11. "Javier Fernández, Felipe Montoya y Sara Hurtado & Kirill Khalyavin, a los Juegos" [Javier Fernández, Felipe Montoya and Sara Hurtado & Kirill Khalyavin heading to the Olympics]. Marca (in Spanish). 17 December 2017.
12. "Sara Hurtado & Kirill Jalyavin y Felipe Montoya son Olímpicos" [Sara Hurtado & Kirill Jalyavin and Felipe Montoya are Olympians] (in Spanish). Federación Española Deportes de Hielo. 17 December 2017. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017.
13. Slater, Paula (19 October 2019). "Hubbell and Donohue: 'We have so much progress to make'". Golden Skate.
14. Slater, Paula (20 October 2019). "Hubbell and Donohue win second consecutive Skate America gold". Golden Skate.
15. Slater, Paula (2 November 2019). "Papadakis and Cizeron defend Grand Prix title in Grenoble". Golden Skate.
16. Slater, Paula (25 January 2020). "Sinitsina and Katsalapov edge out French for European title". Golden Skate.
17. Ewing, Lori (11 March 2020). "World figure skating championships cancelled in Montreal". CBC Sports.
18. "Skate Canada International in Ottawa cancelled as COVID-19 cases rise". CBC Sports. 14 October 2020.
19. "Smart & Díaz y Hurtado & Jalyavin se disputan una plaza en el Mundial" [Smart & Díaz and Hurtado & Jalyavin compete for a place in the World Championships] (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo. 2 March 2021.
20. RFEDH (7 March 2021). "Sara Hurtado & Kirill Jalyavin representarán a España en el Mundial de Estocolmo" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
21. "Toronto ice dancers Piper Gilles, Paul Poirier win Autumn Classic International". CBC Sports. 18 September 2021.
22. Russell, Susan D. (10 October 2021). "Spanish dancers battle for Olympic berth". International Figure Skating.
23. "Competition Results: Olivia SMART / Adria DIAZ". International Skating Union.
24. Slater, Paula (24 October 2021). "Hubbell and Donohue win fourth consecutive Skate America gold". Golden Skate.
25. Sullivan Hill, Maura (25 October 2021). "Hubbell and Donohue claim fourth straight – and final – Skate America title". Figure Skaters Online.
26. Slater, Paula (31 October 2021). "Gilles and Poirier win second consecutive Skate Canada title". Golden Skate.
27. "Broche de oro a la edición 2021-22 del Campeonato de España Iberdrola de Patinaje Artístico" [Golden brooch for the 2021-22 edition of the Iberdrola Spanish Figure Skating Championship] (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo. 19 December 2021.
28. Slater, Paula (15 January 2022). "Sinitsina and Katsalapov defend European title". Golden Skate.
29. "Olivia Smart & Adrián Díaz representarán a España en Pekín 2022" [Olivia Smart & Adrián Díaz will represent Spain in Beijing 2022] (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo. 16 January 2022.
30. Slater, Paula (12 February 2022). "Papadakis and Cizeron of France score new record high in Beijing". Golden Skate.
31. Slater, Paula (14 February 2022). "Papadakis and Cizeron reign in Beijing". Golden Skate.
32. Campigotto, Jesse (22 March 2022). "Get ready for a bizarre figure skating world championships". CBC Sports.
33. "Olivia Smart y Adrián Díaz acaban séptimos en el Mundial y otorgan a España las ansiadas dos plazas" [Olivia Smart and Adrián Díaz finish seventh in the World Cup and give Spain the coveted two places] (in Spanish). Marca. 26 March 2022.
34. "Adrián Díaz anuncia su retirada del patinaje" [Adrián Díaz announces his retirement from skating] (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo. 23 May 2022.
35. Seddon, Dan (28 October 2022). "Dancing on Ice 2023 confirms professional line-up and welcomes new Olympic skater". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
36. ^ Clarke, Naomi (12 March 2023). "Olympian Nile Wilson crowned winner of Dancing On Ice 2023". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
37. Lechner, Pamela. "Spanischer Verband beantragt bei DEU Startfreigabe für Eistänzer Tim Dieck" [Spanish association applies to DEU for clearance for ice dancer Tim Dieck] (in German). German Figure Skating Union. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
38. "Eistanz: Olympia-achte Smart neue partnerin von Dieck" (in German). Eurosport. 28 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
39. Cook, Sam (13 March 2023). "Dancing On Ice winner hints that she could be leaving the ITV show after just one series". Wales Online. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
40. ^ "Competition Results: Olivia SMART / Tim DIECK". International Skating Union.
41. Slater, Paula (23 October 2023). "Chock and Bates win fourth Skate America gold". Golden Skate. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
42. Slater, Paula (4 November 2023). "Guignard and Fabbri defend Grand Prix de France title". Golden Skate. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
43. "Tomàs Guarino y Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck brillan en el cierre del Campeonato de España Iberdrola de Patinaje 2023-24 en Logroño" [Tomàs Guarino and Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck shine at the closing of the 2023-24 Iberdrola Spanish Skating Championships in Logroño] (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
44. "España competirá con la pareja Val-Kazimov en el Europeo de Patinaje y con Smart-Dieck en el Mundial" [Spain will compete with the Val/Kazimov couple in the European Skating Championships and with Smart/Dieck in the World Championship] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
45. "Comunicado RFEDH acerca de la selección de parejas de danza para el Campeonato de Europa y Campeonato del Mundo 2024" [RFEDH statement about the selection of dance couples for the 2024 European Championships and World Championships] (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
46. Lamelas, Pedro (22 March 2024). "Olivia Smart y Tim Dieck logran un holgado pase a la final en el Mundial" [Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck achieve a comfortable pass to the final at the World Championship] (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
47. Lamelas, Pedro (23 March 2024). "Smart y Dieck finalizan decimonovenos en su primer Mundial" [Smart and Dieck finish nineteenth in their first World Championship] (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
48. "Olivia SMART / Tim DIECK: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024.
49. "Olivia SMART / Tim DIECK: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023.
50. "Olivia SMART / Adria DIAZ: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 September 2021.
51. "Olivia SMART / Adria DIAZ: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019.
52. "Olivia SMART / Adria DIAZ: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019.
53. ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2017 Skate Canada International - Gala Exhibition (Television production). Eurosport. 29 October 2017.
54. "Olivia SMART / Adria DIAZ: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017.
55. "Olivia SMART / Joseph BUCKLAND: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015.
56. "Olivia SMART / Joseph BUCKLAND: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014.
57. "Olivia SMART / Joseph BUCKLAND: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013.
58. "Olivia SMART / Joseph BUCKLAND: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012.
59. "ESP–Olivia Smart/Tim Dieck". SkatingScores.
60. "ESP–Olivia Smart/Adrián Díaz". SkatingScores.
61. ^ "GBR–Olivia Smart/Joseph Buckland". SkatingScores.
62. "Competition Results: Olivia SMART / Joseph BUCKLAND". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 November 2015.

External links

Media related to Olivia Smart at Wikimedia Commons

• Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck at the International Skating Union
• Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck at SkatingScores
• Olivia Smart & Adrián Díaz at the International Skating Union
• Olivia Smart & Adrián Díaz at SkatingScores
• Olivia Smart & Joseph Buckland at the International Skating Union
• Olivia Smart & Joseph Buckland at SkatingScores
• Olivia Smart at Olympedia (archive)
• Olivia Smart at Olympics.com
• Olivia Smart on Instagram

• 1997 births
• Living people
• Sportspeople from Sheffield
• Spanish female ice dancers
• British female ice dancers
• English female ice dancers
• English emigrants to Spain
• 21st-century Spanish dancers
• 21st-century British dancers
• English expatriate sportspeople in Spain
• 21st-century English women
• 21st-century English people
• Figure skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics
• Olympic figure skaters for Spain
• Naturalised citizens of Spain
• Naturalised sports competitors
• 21st-century English sportswomen
• 21st-century Spanish sportswomen