Alexia Paganini

3.1. Early career and representing the United States

Paganini began learning to skate in 2003. She trained at the Westchester Skating Academy for several years under her early coach, Gilberto Viadana. During her initial competitive years, she represented the United States at international events. In April 2016, she achieved a significant junior gold medal victory at the Gardena Spring Trophy in Italy. The following August, she finished sixth at an ISU Junior Grand Prix event held in France. In January 2017, Paganini competed at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where she placed fifth at the junior level.

3.2. Transition to Switzerland

In early 2017, Paganini's coach, Igor Krokavec, suggested that she consider competing for Switzerland. This idea sparked her interest in representing the European nation on the international stage. By April 2017, Swiss Ice Skating became aware of her intentions and promptly initiated contact with her, leading to her decision to switch national affiliations.

3.3. 2017-2018 season: PyeongChang Olympics

Alexia Paganini made her senior international debut representing Switzerland at the Slovenia Open in August 2017, where she secured the gold medal by outscoring Australia's Kailani Craine by 2.31 points. In late September, she competed at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, which served as the final qualifying event for the 2018 Winter Olympics. She performed strongly, ranking sixth in the short program and third in the free skate, ultimately earning the bronze medal by a narrow margin of 0.13 points over Germany's Nathalie Weinzierl. Her performance at this event secured a spot for Switzerland at the upcoming Olympics. In December, the Swiss Olympic Association officially confirmed Paganini would represent Switzerland at the Games.

In January, Paganini finished seventh at the 2018 European Figure Skating Championships held in Moscow, Russia. The following month, she competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. She ranked nineteenth in the short program, which allowed her to advance to the final free skate segment, where she ultimately finished twenty-first overall. Paganini concluded her season at the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships in Milan, Italy, in March, where she also qualified for the free skate and placed twentieth.

3.4. 2018-2019 season: Grand Prix debut

Alexia Paganini commenced her season with an eighth-place finish at the 2018 CS Autumn Classic International. In October, she claimed victory at the International Halloween Cup, securing first place in the free skate after finishing second in the short program behind Ivett Tóth.

Paganini made her highly anticipated Grand Prix debut at the 2018 Rostelecom Cup. In the short program, she achieved a personal best score of 63.43 points, placing her in third position. She subsequently set another personal best in the free skate with 119.07 points, ultimately placing fifth in that segment and finishing fourth overall with a total score of 182.50, which was also a personal best. She finished just behind prominent skaters such as Alina Zagitova, Sofia Samodurova, and Lim Eun-soo. Due to Carolina Kostner's withdrawal from the 2018 Internationaux de France due to injury, Paganini received a second Grand Prix assignment. At this event, she placed eighth in the short program and tenth in the free skate, concluding the competition in tenth place overall. In December, she successfully won the Swiss Figure Skating Championships for the second consecutive time.

In January 2019, she competed at the 2019 European Figure Skating Championships held in Minsk, Belarus. Paganini achieved a new personal best score of 65.64 in the short program, earning a bronze small medal, behind Zagitova and Samodurova. She expressed satisfaction with her performance, noting she was "really happy" despite her nerves. Paganini finished seventh in the free skate, which led to a sixth-place overall finish at the championships. She concluded the season at the 2019 World Figure Skating Championships, where she encountered multiple errors in her short program, placing thirty-third and failing to qualify for the free skate.

3.5. 2019-2020 season

Paganini started the 2019-2020 season with a sixth-place finish at the 2019 CS Autumn Classic International. At her first Grand Prix event of the season, the 2019 Skate Canada International, she placed ninth. She then competed at the 2019 Rostelecom Cup, where she finished seventh. In December, Paganini secured her third consecutive Swiss national title. Following this victory, she was named to the Swiss team for the 2020 European Figure Skating Championships in January, where she achieved a notable fourth-place finish. She was also selected for the Swiss team to compete at the 2020 World Figure Skating Championships, however, the competition was canceled due to the escalating COVID-19 pandemic. In June, Paganini announced a change in her coaching team, stating she would begin training with Stéphane Lambiel in Champéry. She later explained that this move was influenced by the pandemic's impact in the United States and her desire for "a change and for everything to be a bit more professional and organized."

3.6. 2020-2021 season

The 2020-2021 season was significantly affected by pandemic-related travel restrictions, leading Alexia Paganini to begin her competitive schedule at the 2020 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. This event was primarily attended by ladies training in Europe, and Paganini was considered the pre-event favorite. Despite leading after the short program, she experienced two falls in the free skate and sustained a cut to her right hand from her skate blade, resulting in a third-place finish in that segment and a silver medal overall.

Paganini was assigned to compete at the 2020 Internationaux de France, but the event was subsequently canceled due to the ongoing pandemic. At the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, Paganini placed twenty-fifth in the short program. She narrowly missed advancing to the free skate after "popping" a planned triple loop into an invalid double. On June 11, 2021, Paganini publicly announced via social media that she had ceased training under Stéphane Lambiel in Champéry and had moved her training base to Zürich, where she would be coached by Gheorghe Chiper and his team.

3.7. 2021-2022 season: Beijing Olympics

Alexia Paganini commenced the 2021-2022 season at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy, where she placed second in the short program but ultimately dropped to fourth place after the free skate. Her next crucial competition was the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where she sought to qualify a berth for Switzerland at the 2022 Winter Olympics, having failed to do so at the previous World Championships. She finished second in the short program and fifth in the free skate, securing fourth place overall and earning the fourth of six available Olympic spots for her country.

Paganini was initially scheduled to compete at the 2021 Skate Canada International but later withdrew from the event. In November, she won her fourth Swiss national title. Beginning the new year, she competed at the 2022 European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, where she finished tenth.

Assigned to her second Swiss Olympic team, Paganini competed in the women's event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. She placed nineteenth in the short program, allowing her to qualify for the free skate despite both parts of her jump combination being called underrotated. In the free skate, she placed twenty-second, concluding the competition in twenty-second place overall. Following her Olympic participation, Paganini expressed immense gratitude for being a two-time Olympian on Instagram. She concluded the season with a nineteenth-place finish at the 2022 World Figure Skating Championships, noting her satisfaction with the result despite having contracted the flu in the week leading up to the event.

3.8. 2022-2023 season

Alexia Paganini began her 2022-2023 season by finishing fifth at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy. She then competed at the 2022 CS Budapest Trophy, where she placed fifth in the short program but subsequently withdrew before the free skate due to medical reasons. In her only Grand Prix appearance of the season, she placed ninth at the 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy.

3.9. 2023-2024 season and retirement

Paganini started her final competitive season on the ISU Challenger Series. She finished fifth at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, fourteenth at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy, and thirteenth at the 2023 CS Warsaw Cup. She concluded her competitive career with a fourth-place finish at the 2024 Swiss Championships. In October 2024, Alexia Paganini officially announced her retirement from competitive figure skating, stating her intention to concentrate on performing in ice shows and pursuing other exciting projects.

5.1. Representing Switzerland

5.2. Representing the United States