Alexei Vadimovich Sviatchenko (Russian: Алексей Вадимович Святченко; born 24 March 1999) is a Russian pair skater who currently competes for Hungary. With his current skating partner, Maria Pavlova, he is the 2023 Skate Canada International silver medalist, the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo bronze medalist, the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy bronze medalist, and a two-time Hungarian national champion (2023–24).
| Alexei Sviatchenko | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pavlova and Sviatchenko at the 2024 World Championships | ||||||||||
| Full name | Alexei Vadimovich Sviatchenko | |||||||||
| Native name | Алексей Вадимович Святченко (Russian) | |||||||||
| Born | 24 March 1999 St. Petersburg, Russia | |||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||||||
| Country |  Hungary (since 2022) Russia (2016–22) | |||||||||
| Discipline | Pair skating | |||||||||
| Partner | Maria Pavlova (since 2022) Nadezhda Labazina (2021–22) Anastasia Balabanova (2020–21) Daria Kvartalova (2016–19) | |||||||||
| Coach | Dmitri Savin Fedor Klimov Sofia Evdokimova Gurgen Vardanjan | |||||||||
| Skating club | Sebestyén KSE | |||||||||
| Began skating | 2006 | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
Personal life
editSviatchenko was born on 24 March 1999 in St. Petersburg, Russia.[1] Fluent Russian, he has also been learning how to speak the Hungarian language.[2]
In March 2024, his girlfriend, former Russian ice dancer and choreographer, Sofia Evdokimova, announced that they were engaged.[3]
Career
editEarly years and career for Russia
editSviatchenko began learning how to skate in 2006. He became interested in the sport upon first seeing skaters at an ice rink and asked his mother to put him in lessons. He trained first as a single skater in Kolpino, a suburb of St. Petersburg, and at the age of 12 took up pair skating at the Figure Skating Club of St. Petersburg coached by Alexei Sokolov.[2]
Sviatchenko competed with his first partner, Daria Kvartalova, until 2019. The team competed at four junior international events together, most notably finishing third at the 2018 JGP Canada. Following his split with Kvartalova, Sviatchenko had two more short-lived partnerships for Russia, one with Anastasia Balabanova during the 2020–21 season, and another with Nadezhda Labazina the following year. Labazina/Sviatchenko had one international start together before parting ways, finishing ninth at the 2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge.
Partnership with Pavlova for Hungary
edit2022–23 season: Debut of Pavlova/Sviatchenko
editSviatchenko had his first tryout with his current skating partner, Maria Pavlova, in March 2022 at what is now their current training base in Sochi. The duo chose to move forward as a new team for Hungary not long after, coached by Pavlova's staff consisting of Dmitri Savin, Fedor Klimov, Sofia Evdokimova, and Gurgen Vardanjan.[4]
Pavlova/Sviatchenko made their competitive debut late in the 2022–23 season at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they finished ninth. Weeks later, the team claimed their first Hungarian national title at the 2023 Four Nationals Championship, the combined national championship event for Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. Due to their placement at the event, Pavlova/Sviatchenko were named to the Hungarian teams for the 2023 European Championships in January, and the 2023 World Championships in March.
At the European Championships, Pavlova/Sviatchenko placed sixth in the short program and fourth in the free skate to finish fifth overall, the best placement for a Hungarian team at the event in many years. In preparation for the World Championships, the team competed at two senior B events, the 2023 Bavarian Open and the 2023 Challenge Cup, where they placed first and second respectively.
Pavlova/Sviatchenko capped their season at Worlds, hosted in Saitama, Japan. There, the duo set new personal bests in both segments of competition, placing eighth in the short program and seventh in the free skate for seventh place finish overall, another landmark placement for a Hungarian pair team at the competition in recent memory.[2]
2023–24 season
edit
Pavlova/Sviatchenko opened their second season together in September at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy where they finished fifth. They followed up this placement with a third place finish at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy, and a silver medal in the Challenger ineligible pairs event at the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy.
The team made their ISU Grand Prix series debut in late October at the 2023 Skate Canada International, held in Vancouver. Pavlova/Sviatchenko placed fourth in the short program, and rose to second in the free skate to finish second overall between Canadian gold medalists Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps and Italian third-place finishers Beccari/Guarise. Their placement marked the first medal for Hungary in pairs at a Grand Prix event. Following the free skate, Pavlova remarked, "We're really happy with our performance and we're going to improve every time and we have a lot of things to work on. Our federation is happy for us. We're giving good results for our country and we will continue to do that."[5]
They were again fourth in the short program at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo, but another second-place free skate won them the bronze medal.[6]
The team's results on the Grand Prix initially had them finishing as first alternates to the Grand Prix Final.[7] They were called up to compete at the Beijing event following the withdrawal of German team Hocke/Kunkel, and came in fourth at the event.[8]
Pavlova/Sviatchenko competed next at the 2024 European Championships, finishing fourth in the short program, less than two points back of third place. They came third in the free skate, winning a bronze small medal, but remained fourth overall, 1.66 points behind bronze medalists Ghilardi/Ambrosini of Italy. They expressed dissatisfaction with the judging of their performances, with Pavlova saying "our motivation goes down every time we keep getting these scores."[9]
Finishing the season at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Pavlova/Sviatchenko came sixth in the short program. They moved up to fourth after the free skate, which she called "very motivating for next season."[10]
2024–25 season
editPavlova/Sviatchenko started the season by competing at the 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy and the 2024 Shanghai Trophy, where they won bronze and gold, respectively. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, the pair placed fifth at 2024 Skate America and win silver at the 2024 Finlandia Trophy.[11]
Programs
editWith Pavlova
edit| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–2025 [12] |
|
|
|
| 2023–2024 [1][13] |
|
|
|
| 2022–2023 [14] |
|
|
|
With Kvartalova
edit| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–2019 [15] |
|
|
| 2017–2018 [16] |
|
Competitive highlights
edit- GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
- CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
Pair skating with Maria Pavlova (for Hungary)
edit| Season | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 7th | 4th | |
| European Championships | 5th | 4th | |
| Grand Prix Final | 4th | ||
| Hungarian Championships | 1st | 1st | |
| GP Finland | 3rd | 2nd | |
| GP Skate America | 5th | ||
| GP Skate Canada | 2nd | ||
| CS Finlandia Trophy | 3rd | ||
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 9th | ||
| CS Lombardia Trophy | 3rd | ||
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 5th | ||
| Bavarian Open | 1st | ||
| Budapest Trophy | 2nd | ||
| Challenge Cup | 2nd | ||
| Shanghai Trophy | 1st |
With Labazina for Russia
edit| International[18] | |
|---|---|
| Event | 2021–22 |
| CS Denis Ten Memorial | 9th |
With Balabanova for Russia
edit| National[18] | |
|---|---|
| Event | 2020–21 |
| Russian Champ. | 10th |
With Kvartalova for Russia
edit| International: Junior[19] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 |
| JGP Canada | 3rd | ||
| JGP Croatia | 6th | ||
| Tallinn Trophy | 1st | 1st | |
| National | |||
| Russian Jr. Champ. | 6th | 5th | |
Detailed results
edit| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 204.60 | 2024 World Championships |
| Short program | TSS | 68.01 | 2024 World Championships |
| TES | 38.25 | 2023 World Championships | |
| PCS | 30.31 | 2024 World Championships | |
| Free skating | TSS | 136.59 | 2024 World Championships |
| TES | 74.40 | 2024 World Championships | |
| PCS | 62.19 | 2024 World Championships |
- Small medals for the short program and free skating are only awarded at ISU Championships.
Pair skating with Maria Pavlova (for Hungary)
edit| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 12–15, 2024 |  2024 CS Lombardia Trophy
|
4 | 66.89 | 1 | 129.78 | 3 | 196.67 |
| Oct 3-5, 2024 |  2024 Shanghai Trophy
|
1 | 62.66 | 1 | 120.54 | 1 | 183.20 |
| Oct 18-20, 2024 |  2024 Skate America
|
4 | 65.11 | 5 | 118.90 | 5 | 184.01 |
| Nov 15–17, 2024 |  2024 Finlandia Trophy
|
3 | 54.33 | 2 | 122.92 | 2 | 184.21 |
| 2023–24 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 18–24, 2024 | 2024 World Championships | 6 68.01 |
4 136.59 |
4 204.60 |
| January 8–14, 2024 | 2024 European Championships | 4 65.29 |
3 128.73 |
4 194.02 |
| December 14–16, 2023 | 2024 Four Nationals Championships | 1 64.87 |
1 131.31 |
1 196.18 |
| December 7–10, 2023 | 2023–24 Grand Prix Final | 4 65.51 |
5 126.51 |
4 192.02 |
| 10–12 November 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo | 4 61.53 |
2 124.66 |
3 186.19 |
| 27–29 October 2023 | 2023 Skate Canada International | 4 62.22 |
2 125.56 |
2 187.78 |
| 12–15 October 2023 | 2023 Budapest Trophy | 1 63.08 |
2 129.28 |
2 192.36 |
| 4–8 October 2023 | 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy | 3 61.66 |
4 107.73 |
2 169.39 |
| 20–23 September 2023 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 5 61.34 |
5 121.26 |
5 182.60 |
| 2022–2023 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| 22–26 March 2023 | 2023 World Championships | 8 64.43 |
7 126.24 |
7 190.67 |
| 23–26 February 2023 | 2023 International Challenge Cup | 4 58.44 |
2 115.19 |
2 173.63 |
| 31 January–5 February 2023 | 2023 Bavarian Open | 2 65.07 |
1 112.71 |
1 177.78 |
| 25–29 January 2023 | 2023 European Championships | 6 57.97 |
4 115.01 |
5 172.98 |
| 15–17 December 2022 | 2023 Four National Championships | 1 61.84 |
1 112.01 |
1 173.85 |
| 7–10 December 2022 | 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 9 53.58 |
9 97.67 |
9 151.25 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Maria Pavlova / Alexei Sviatchenko: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023.
- ^ a b c Flade, Tatjana (5 August 2023). "New chapter for Hungary's Pavlova and Sviatchenko". Golden Skate. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ Evdokimova, Sofia. "Ooohhhh Canadaaaa! Yes, я сказала: да, щабачка💔 Этот Мир Спасет Любовь🤞🏻". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ^ Simonenko, Andrei (10 September 2023). ""It wasn't "Russification" of Hungarian figure skating but systematic development." Interview with Hungarian pair Maria Pavlova / Alexei Sviatchenko and their coach Dmitri Savin". RIA Novosti Sport. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ Capellazzi, Gina (30 October 2023). "Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps win first Grand Prix gold at Skate Canada". Figure Skaters Online. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ Slater, Paula (November 18, 2023). "Hase and Volodin golden in Grand Prix debut". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ "Figure skating: Who has qualified for the Grand Prix Final 2023?". Olympic Channel. November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- ^ Slater, Paula (December 8, 2023). "Hase and Volodin seize Grand Prix Final gold". Golden Skate. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Slater, Paula (January 11, 2024). "Beccari and Guarise clinch unexpected gold at 2024 Europeans". Golden Skate. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ Slater, Paula (March 22, 2024). "Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps golden in Montreal". Golden Skate. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Maria Pavlova / Alexei Sviatchenko: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
- ^ "Maria Pavlova / Alexei Sviatchenko: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024.
- ^ Pavlova, Maria. "2023/24 Exhibition". Instagram. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ^ "Maria Pavlova / Alexei Sviatchenko: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023.
- ^ "Daria KVARTALOVA / Alexei SVIATCHENKO: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ "Daria KVARTALOVA / Alexei SVIATCHENKO: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 31 March 2018.
- ^ a b c "HUN–Maria Pavlova/Alexei Sviatchenko". SkatingScores.com.
- ^ a b "Alexei SVIATCHENKO / Maria PAVLOVA". RinkResults. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ "Daria Kvartalova / Alexei Sviatchenko: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Retrieved 31 October 2023.