Zoe Jones (formerly Wood and Wilkinson; born 14 January 1980) is a retired British figure skater. She is a two-time British national champion (2000, 2001) in ladies' singles. She reached the free skate at three ISU Championships and qualified for the 1998 Winter Olympics, but could not compete because of injury. As a pairs skater with Christopher Boyadji, she is a four-time national champion (2017–2020).

Personal life Zoe Jones was born on 14 January 1980 in Swindon, England. She was raised in Freshbrook.

She was previously married to Dody Wood and then Matthew Wilkinson.

She is the mother of twin girls, Zarah and Zinia, born in 2007, and a boy, Zkai, born 2012. She lived in Canada for almost ten years before returning to England. She used the surname Wood until 2015, then Wilkinson before returning to Jones by December 2016.

After teaming up with Christopher Boyadji in 2016, the pair began a romantic relationship and welcomed their daughter, Arya, in April 2023.

Jones' daughters, Zarah and Zinia, are also competitive pair skaters.

Career

Single skating Jones began skating at age five at the Link Centre in Swindon. Early in her career, she was coached by Lesley Norfolk-Pearce.

In late 1995, Jones represented the U.K. at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Brisbane, Australia, and reached the final segment by placing 10th in qualifying group A and then 19th in the short program. She finished 22nd in the free skate and overall. In late 1996, she appeared at the 1997 World Junior Championships in Seoul, South Korea. She placed 20th in the short, 17th in the free, and 18th overall. She was less successful at the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, being eliminated after placing 18th in qualifying group B.

In October 1997, Jones competed at the Karl Schäfer Memorial, the final opportunity to qualify for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. By finishing 6th, she earned an Olympic spot for the U.K., however, the British Olympic Association had additional requirements – a certain number of triple jumps at the British Championships. Jones sustained a torn hamstring a week before nationals and spent a year recovering.

In the 2000–01 season, Jones won the first of two national titles and was sent to the European Championships, held in January 2001 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Making the final segment at an ISU Championship for the third time in her career, she placed 7th in qualifying group A, 17th in the short, 19th in the free, and 17th overall. In March 2001, she competed at the World Championships in Vancouver, Canada but was eliminated after placing 16th in her qualifying group. She trained under Joy Sutcliffe in Ayr.

The following season, Jones had four falls at the British Championships. Weak performances from other skaters allowed her to hold on to her title but a NISA official said it was unlikely that they would send her to Europeans or Worlds. Jones retired from competition after that season and became a coach, working in Canada for almost ten years.

In 2014, she competed at the ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition and finished with two first places in Masters (Elite) Ladies I Artistic and Free Skating with the highest ever score in the Free of 71.33 points. In 2015, she repeated her success at the Adult Figure Skating Competition and competed for the last time as Zoe Wood. In December 2015, at age 35, she competed in the British Championships as Zoe Wilkinson; she won the free skate and came in second overall, missing first place by only 0.09, and in fact, had been declared the winner until an error was realized.

Pair skating Jones and Christopher Boyadji agreed to form a pair skating partnership following a tryout in April 2016. They trained at the Better Link Centre in Swindon. Their first competition was the 2016 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial, where they finished 6th. With the beginning of 2017 she competed again under her birth name Jones.

The pair retired after the 2021–22 figure skating season after having a career-best 10th-place finish at the 2022 World Figure Skating Championships.

Coaching career Following their retirement, Jones and Boyadji began coaching together at the Better Link Centre in Swindon, where they had previously trained.

Their students have included: Edward Appleby Lydia Smart / Harry Mattick Kristen Spours Zarah Wood / Alex Lapsky Arin Yorke

Programs

With Boyadji Season Short program Free skating 2021–2022 Rise Up Fix You 2020–2021 Over the Rainbow To Build a Home 2019–2020 The Storm 2018–2019 Over the Rainbow 2017–2018 It's a Man's Man's Man's World Who Wants to Live Forever 2016–2017 Malagueña Danse Macabre

Single skating Season Short program Free skating 2015—16 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) To Build a Home 2001–02 Nessun dorma The Last Emperor 2000–01 Heart still Beating Barcelona Nights The Mission

Results GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series

With Boyadji International Event 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21 21–22 Worlds 26th 27th 17th C 24th 10th Europeans 14th 10th 12th WD France 8th Skate America 8th Skate Canada 8th Nebelhorn 14th 15th Ondrej Nepela 6th WD Warsaw Cup 12th Bavarian Open 3rd 4th Cup of Nice 5th 4th Open Ice Mall 2nd Volvo Open Cup 1st National British Champ. 1st 1st 1st 1st C 2nd TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Event cancelled

Single skating International Event 94–95 95–96 96–97 97–98 98–99 01–02 15–16 Worlds 35th 31st Europeans 17th Skate Canada 11th Finlandia Trophy 13th Golden Spin 5th 11th Nebelhorn Trophy 20th 11th 9th Karl Schäfer 6th Triglav Trophy 4th International: Junior Junior Worlds 22nd 18th EYOF 7th GP St. Gervais 10th 10th Ukrainian Souvenir 5th National British Champ. 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

References

External links