Robert Kunkel

Robert Kunkel (born 28 April 1999) is a German pair skater. With his skating partner, Annika Hocke, he is the 2023 European bronze medalist, the 2023 Skate America champion, 2022 Grand Prix de France bronze medalist, and has won five medals on the ISU Challenger Series, including gold at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy. Domestically they are the 2023 German national champions.

With his former skating partner, Talisa Thomalla, he is a two-time two German junior national champion (2017, 2019).

Career Early career

Kunkel began figure skating in 2004. Despite Hocke having previously competed at the Olympics, the pair were still age-eligible for international junior competitions, and so began on the Junior Grand Prix, where they won two bronze medals at JGP Croatia and JGP Poland, and were the only non-Russian team to qualify to the Junior Grand Prix Final, where they placed sixth.

Returning to competition at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Hocke/Kunkel placed fifth in the short program and eighth in the free skate, finishing in eighth place overall. Two months later, they competed at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, where they finished eighteenth overall.

2025–26 season: Milano Cortina Olympics In July, during a practice session, Hocke’s blade cut open Kunkel’s hand and finger. As a result, he was hospitalized and required a skin transplant.

Hocke/Kunkel began their season in late September by finishing eighth at the 2025 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. They then followed this up with a sixth-place finish at the 2025 Cup of China and a fifth-place finish at 2025 Skate America. In December, they won the silver medal at the 2026 German Championships behind Hase/Volodin.

Programs With Hocke Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2025–2026