Ksenia Stolbova

Ksenia Stolbova
Stolbova/Klimov at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final
Personal information
Full name	Ksenia Andreyevna Stolbova
Country represented	Russia
Born	(1992-02-07) 7 February 1992 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Height	1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)
Partner	Fedor Klimov
Former partner	Artur Minchuk
Coach	Nina Mozer, Vladislav Zhovnirski
Former coach	Ludmila Velikova
Choreographer	Alla Kapranova
Former choreographer	Alexander Stepin
Skating club	SDUSHOR St. Petersburg
Training locations	Moscow
Former training locations	Saint Petersburg
Began skating	1997
World standing	3 (As of 18 January 2015)[1]
Season's bests	3 (2013–14)[2] 14 (2012–13)[3] 13 (2011–12)[4] 18 (2010–11)[5] 29 (2009–10)[6]
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	229.44 2015–16 Grand Prix Final
Short program	76.15 2014 Worlds
Free skate	154.60 2015–16 Grand Prix Final
Medal record Representing  Russia Pairs Figure skating Olympic Games 2014 Sochi Team 2014 Sochi Pairs World Championships 2014 Saitama Pairs European Championships 2014 Budapest Pairs 2015 Stockholm Pairs 2012 Sheffield Pairs Grand Prix Final 2015–16 Barcelona Pairs 2014–15 Barcelona Pairs Winter Universiade 2013 Trentino Pairs World Junior Championships 2011 Gangneung Pairs 2010 The Hague Pairs Junior Grand Prix Final 2010–11 Beijing Pairs

Ksenia Andreyevna Stolbova (Russian: Ксе́ния Андре́евна Столбо́ва; born 7 February 1992) is a Russian pair skater. With partner Fedor Klimov, she is the 2014 Olympic silver medalist, the 2014 Olympic champion in the team event, the 2014 World silver medalist, a three-time European medalist (2012 bronze, 2014, 2015 silver), the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final champion, the 2013 Winter Universiade champion, a two-time World Junior medalist (2010 bronze, 2011 silver), and a two-time Russian national champion (2014, 2015).

Personal life

Ksenia Andreyevna Stolbova was born on 7 February 1992 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.^[7] She attended the Lesgaft Academy of Physical Education in Saint Petersburg.^[8]

Career

Early career

Stolbova became interested in skating at the age of three but did not begin skating until a few years later after badgering her family. After a number of years in single skating, she wanted to try something different and made the switch to pair skating at the age of 14.^[8] Stolbova skated with Artur Minchuk for two years.

2009–11

In spring 2009, coach Ludmila Velikova partnered Stolbova with Fedor Klimov.^[8] They trained in Saint Petersburg.

During their first season together, the pair placed 2nd and 7th at their two Junior Grand Prix events, and 7th at the Final. The pair won the Russian Junior title and then bronze at Junior Worlds in 2010.

During the 2010–11 season, Stolbova/Klimov won both of their JGP events and qualified for the JGP Final. They also debuted on the senior GP circuit, finishing 5th at Skate America. They won silver at the Junior Grand Prix Final. At the 2011 Russian Championships, Stolbova/Klimov finished sixth overall in their senior national debut and won their second junior national title. They were the silver medalists at the 2011 World Junior Championships.

2011–12 season

For the Grand Prix season, Stolbova/Klimov were assigned to 2011 Trophée Eric Bompard, where they finished 7th, and 2011 Cup of Russia, where they finished 4th. Third in the short program and second in the long at the 2012 Russian Championships, the pair won their first senior national medal, silver.

Stolbova/Klimov were originally the first alternates for the 2012 European Championships but Alexander Smirnov had an emergency surgery and was not able to recover in time. Replacing Kavaguti/Smirnov at the event, Stolbova/Klimov set new personal bests in their short and long program to win their first European medal, bronze.

2012–13 season

For the 2012–13 season, Stolbova/Klimov worked on upgrading their twist to a triple.^[9] They began their international season at the 2012 Coupe de Nice, where they took the silver. Stolbova/Klimov won their first senior Grand Prix medal, bronze, at the 2012 Cup of China, and finished 5th at the 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard.^[9] They won the bronze medal at the 2013 Russian Championships.

First alternates for the 2013 European Championships, Stolbova/Klimov were called up to replace Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov who withdrew due to Larionov's wrist injury.^[10] After finishing sixth at Europeans in Zagreb, they won their first senior international title at the 2013 Bavarian Open. In April 2013, the pair said they wanted to move to Moscow to work with Nina Mozer, who agreed to take them in her group.^[11][12][13] The move was opposed by Oleg Nilov, the head of the Saint Petersburg skating association, arguing against a concentration of skaters in Moscow,^[14] but was authorized by the Russian skating federation.^[15]

2013–14 season

In 2013–14, Stolbova/Klimov started their Grand Prix season with a bronze medal at the 2013 Skate America. After placing sixth in the short program and third in the free skate, they finished fourth overall at the 2013 Cup of Russia behind Canadian pair Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch. Stolbova/Klimov won the gold medal at the 2013 Winter Universiade in Trentino, Italy and then took their first national title at the 2014 Russian Championships, scoring 0.45 more than the 2012 national champions, Bazarova/Larionov.

At the 2014 European Championships, Stolbova/Klimov placed fourth in the short, first in the free skate, and scored a total of 207.98 points to win the silver medal behind Volosozhar/Trankov and ahead of Bazarova/Larionov. All three pairs were sent to the 2014 Winter Olympics. Assigned to the free skate in the inaugural Olympic team event, Stolbova/Klimov placed first in their segment and Team Russia went on to win the gold medal. In the pairs event, Stolbova/Klimov placed third in the short and advanced to second after the free skate with an overall score of 218.68 points. They won the silver medal ahead of four-time World champions Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy who took the bronze medal. Stolbova/Klimov won the silver medal in their first appearance at the 2014 World Championships.

2014–15 season

In the 2014–15 season, Stolbova/Klimov won both of their Grand Prix events, the 2014 Rostelecom Cup and 2014 Trophee Eric Bompard, and took silver at the Grand Prix Final behind Canada's Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford. They won their second consecutive national title at the 2015 Russian Championships^[16] and went on to win silver at the 2015 European Championships behind Kavaguti/Smirnov.

Stolbova/Klimov decided not to compete at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, China, as they wanted to focus on learning new throw jumps.

2015–16 season

Stolbova/Klimov started the 2015–16 season competing in a challenger series at the 2015 Ondrej Nepela Trophy where they won the gold medal. They competed in their first Grand Prix of the season at the 2015 Skate America finishing 4th place. However, they polished their program and elements and won the gold medal in their second Grand Prix at the 2015 Rostelecom Cup ahead of teammates Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov. They qualified for the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final in Barcelona where they placed first in both segments in pairs short program and in the free skate where they scored 154.60 points, just 0.06 lower than the free skate World record achieved by compatriots Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov at the 2013 Skate America. Stolbova/Klimov landed clean side-by-side 3T-3T-2T jumps, as well as 3 Flip, 3 Salchow throws in their free skate. They won the gold medal with a total of 229.44 points.^[17][18]

Stolbova/Klimov withdrew from the entry list at the 2016 Russian Championships due to Klimov's allergic reaction from a therapeutic massage a week before nationals. They were still selected to compete at the 2016 European Championships but withdrew after Klimov sustained a shoulder injury in training.^[19]

Programs

Stolbova/Klimov at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final

(with Klimov)

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Klimov

Stolbova/Klimov at the 2014 World Championships podium

Stolbova/Klimov at the 2013 Skate America

Stolbova/Klimov at the 2010 World Junior Championships

With Minchuk

Detailed results

(Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships — Worlds, Europeans, and Junior Worlds. At team events, medals awarded for team results only.)

With Klimov

Senior career

Stolbova/Klimov at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final pairs podium

Stolbova/Klimov at the 2012 European Championships

Junior career

Stolbova/Klimov at the 2010 Skate America

Stolbova/Klimov at the 2009 JGP Lake Placid

References

External links

Media related to Ksenia Stolbova at Wikimedia Commons

• Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov at the International Skating Union