European Figure Skating Championships

The gold, silver, and bronze medalists in the men's event at the 2016 European Championships: Javier Fernández of Spain (center), Alexei Bychenko of Israel (left), and Maxim Kovtun of Russia (right) The gold, silver, and bronze medalists in the women's event at the 2010 European Championships: Carolina Kostner of Italy (center), Laura Lepistö of Finland (left), and Elene Gedevanishvili of Georgia (right) The gold, silver, and bronze medalists in the pairs event at the 2012 European Championships: Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia (center), Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov of Russia (left), and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia (right) The gold, silver, and bronze medalists in the ice dance event at the 2014 European Championships: Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy (center), Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia (left), and Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland of Great Britain (right)

The European Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). They are figure skating's oldest competition. The first European Championships were held in 1891 in Hamburg, Germany, and featured only one segment – compulsory figures – with seven competitors. They have only been interrupted five times since 1891. Women were allowed to compete for the first time in 1930, which was also when pair skating was added to the competition. Ice dance was added in 1954. Only eligible skaters from ISU member countries in Europe are allowed to compete, while skaters from countries outside of Europe instead compete at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.