Above: Sophie Joline Von Felten displays the "it" factor en route to victory at JGP Solvenia. Photo credit: Getty Images
By Kama Stigall
When Sophie Joline Von Felten was 11 years old, she appeared on the popular German television show “Klein gegen Gross (Small versus Big).” On the show, she competed against 1981 World champion Denise Biellmann in a series of spinning challenges — and won.
Since then, Von Felten has been mesmerizing audiences with her technical prowess. The 15-year-old skater, who trains with coaches Aleksey Letov and Olga Ganicheva at The Skating Club of Boston, is one of the top U.S. junior women competing.
She began figure skating at the age of 3. Her mother, Inna Von Felten, is a former pairs skater.
“My mom brought me to the ice rink just for fun,” she said. “I liked it so much that I asked her to bring me there more often. She taught me basic elements.”
At the 2024 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Columbus, Ohio, she made history, becoming the first junior woman to land a triple Axel.
“Before I started to learn the triple Axel, I worked a lot on my muscles, so my body would get strong enough for it,” Von Felten said.
She began working on the difficult jump at the age of 13, but it took some time to master.
“When I started training with Aleksey and Olga in December 2022, it became clean and I was landing it more consistently in training,” Von Felten said. “They helped me a lot with it. It took me about a season to get it consistent.”
Her grit is what separates her from her competitors, Ganicheva said.
“Sophie Joline is a very determined skater,” Ganicheva said. “She expects herself to have the most difficult technical content in the program and is always striving to be first.”
In the off-season, Von Felten spent a lot of time refining her skating. She collaborated with world-renowned choreographer Adam Solya in Dortmund, Germany, to create her competitive routines for this season — a short program to “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by the Eurythmics and selections from Romeo and Juliet for her free program. Her choices help to showcase her range as a skater and an artist.
“I always like to have two completely different style of music for the short and long programs,” she said. “Now that I feel my jumps are more consistent, I have been working on my emotions and transitions between the jumps.”
Leading up to the 2025 U.S. Championships in Wichita, Von Felten competed in two Junior Grand Prix competitions in the fall — JGP Slovenia and JGP China.
In Ljubljana, her improvement over the previous season was evident. Her speed, edge quality and the height and ice coverage of her jumps were all on display. Both the audience and judges praised her two powerful performances, and Von Felten won the event with a total score of 197.41.
With her win in Slovenia, Von Felten is considered a contender for the junior women’s title in Wichita. However, she is focused on specific goals for the marquee competition.
“I want two clean performances and to try and land my new jump, the quad Salchow,” she said.
Her mental strength is one of her biggest assets as an athlete, Ganicheva said.
“She is strong mentally and technically,” Ganicheva said. “She knows exactly what she wants and is capable of analyzing any situation.”
As Von Felten looks forward to the 2025 U.S. Championships and beyond, she has big goals for herself. She understands that to be among the best skaters in the United States and abroad, she must balance her athleticism with artistry.
“I want to be known as a skater who can show consistent quad and triple Axel jumps along with beautiful skating skills and emotions in programs,” Von Felten said. “I want to be able to be a full package.”
And even at an early age, she already learned one of the most valuable lessons of all — the power of perseverance.
“Skating is about overcoming obstacles,” Von Felten said. “There are always hard times, and you have overcome them.”
Getting to Know Sophie Joline Von Felten
Age: 15
School: Pearson Connection Academy
Birthplace: Zurich, Switzerland; previously competed for Switzerland
Hobbies: Reading, dancing and baking
Pet: A Pomeranian named Gucci
Fun fact: “I started playing tennis at the age of 2. I played tennis competitively and won a lot of matches. I did two sports at the same time until the age of 10.”
Instagram: @sophie_joline09
Don't miss Sophie Joline von Felten compete at the 2025 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships later this month. For more information about the event, click here.
