Jennifer Janse van Rensburg

Jennifer Janse van Rensburg (née Urban; born 9 May 1993) is a German ice dancer. With her skating partner, Benjamin Steffan, she is the 2020 Santa Claus Cup champion, the 2021 Egna Dance Trophy silver medalist, a three-time Bavarian Open champion (2022–24), and five time German national champions (2022–26).

Janse van Rensburg was born on 9 May 1993 in Oberstdorf, Germany. She married boyfriend, Ampie Janse van Rensburg, in December 2019, and subsequently adopted his last name.^[1]

Janse van Rensburg began figure skating in 1999. Originally competing as a singles skater, she first trained in Oberstdorf under Badri Kurashvili before eventually moving on to train under Michael Huth. She would eventually go on to win the bronze medal at the 2010 German Junior Championships.^[2]

Prior to the 2014–15 figure skating season, it was announced that Janse van Rensburg had made the decision to switch to ice dance and had teamed up with Sevan Lerche and that the duo would be coached by Rostislav Sinicyn, Natalia Karamysheva, and Martin Skotnický in Oberstdorf.^[3] The duo won silver at the 2015 German Championships and were selected to represent Germany at the 2015 European Championships, where they finished in twenty-first place. Their partnership would dissolve, however, during the following season.^[4]

Prior to the 2016–17 figure skating season, it was announced that Janse van Rensburg had teamed with fellow German ice dancer, Benjamin Steffan and that the duo would train in Oberstdorf under coaches, Rostislav Sinicyn and Natalia Karamysheva.^[5][6] For the first few seasons of their career, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan competed at various ISU Challenger Series events. They won their first national medal together, a bronze, at the 2019 German Championships and won their first international medal together, a silver, at the 2019 Bavarian Open. The following year, they would win silver at the 2020 German Championships.^[5]

Janse van Rensburg/Steffan only competed at two events that season, medalling at both. They would win gold at the 2020 Santa Claus Cup and silver at the 2021 Egna Dance Trophy.^[5]

Janse van Rensburg/Steffan started the season by competing at the 2021 Lake Placid Ice Dance International. Going on to compete on the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series, the duo finished seventh at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy, tenth at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy, and seventh at the 2021 CS Cup of Austria.^[5]

Assigned to an event on the 2021–22 Grand Prix circuit for the first time, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan finished tenth at the 2021 Internationaux de France.^[5]

In December, they won their first national title at the 2022 German Championships. They would then close the season by winning gold at the 2022 Bavarian Open and the 2022 Egna Dance Trophy.^[5]

Assigned to compete at 2022 Skate America, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan started the season by finishing ninth at the event. They would then compete on the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series, finishing winning silver at the 2022 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge and the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup as well as sixth at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.^[5]

At the 2023 German Championships in January, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan won their second national title. For the first time, they were selected to represent Germany as a team at the European and World Championships. Going on to compete at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan finished in ninth place. One week following the event, they won gold at the 2023 Bavarian Open for a second consecutive time.^[5]

In March, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan competed at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. They would finish the event in fifteenth place.^[5]

Janse van Rensburg/Steffan began the season by competing on the 2023–24 ISU Challenger Series, finishing fourth at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and fourth at the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy. Assigned to two Grand Prix events for the first time, they would finish eighth at 2023 Skate Canada International and ninth at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo. Between these events, they would also take silver at the 2023 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge.^[5]

After winning their third national title at the 2024 German Championships, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan were selected to compete at the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, where they finished eleventh.^[5]

At the end of January, Rensburg/Steffan took gold at the 2024 Bavarian Open. Two months later, they competed at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where they would finish in twenty-second place.^[5]

Beginning their season on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan finished seventh at the 2024 NHK Trophy. They went on to compete on the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series, placing sixth at the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup and winning bronze at the 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.^[5]

After winning a fourth consecutive national title at the 2025 German Championships, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan followed this up by winning gold at the 2025 Bavarian Open.^[5]

Going on to compete at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan earned personal best scores in all competition segments and finished in eleventh place overall. They subsequently won the bronze medal at the Road to 26 Trophy in Milan, Italy, a test event for the 2026 Winter Olympics.^[5]

The pair ended the season by competing at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, where they finished sixteenth overall.^[5] With this placement, Janse van Rensburg/Steffan's placement won Germany a quota for ice dance at the 2026 Winter Olympics.^[7]

• Jennifer JANSE VAN RENSBURG / Benjamin STEFFAN at the International Skating Union
• Jennifer URBAN / Sevan LERCHE at the International Skating Union
• Jennifer URBAN at the International Skating Union
• Jennifer Janse van Rensburg on Instagram