Maksym (Maxim) Kostiantynovych Nikitin ( uk, Максим Костянтинович Нікітін; born 5 October 1994) is a Ukrainian retired
ice dancer
Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...
2014 CS Warsaw Cup
The 2014 Warsaw Cup was a senior international figure skating competition held in November 2014 in Warsaw, Poland. It was part of the 2014–15 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair s ...
silver medalists, 2016 Cup of Nice bronze medalists, and six-time Ukrainian national champions (2015, 2017, 2018, 2020–2022). Nazorova/Nikitin have represented Ukraine at the
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
and
2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Bei ...
.
Personal life
Maxim Nikitin was born on 5 October 1994 in
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Oleksandra Nazarova, also a single skater from Kharkiv, to form an ice dancing partnership.
Nazarova/Nikitin debuted on the
ISU Junior Grand Prix
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of me ...
series in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. They placed eleventh in
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popu ...
, Austria and seventh in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, England. Churilova coached the team in their hometown.
In the 2011–2012 season, they made no appearances on the JGP series but were sent to the Youth Olympics in January 2012 in Innsbruck, Austria. They won the silver medal behind Russia's Yanovskaya/ Mozgov.
2012–2013 season
Nazarova/Nikitin placed fifth at both of their 2012 JGP events and were assigned to their first World Junior Championships. At the latter competition, held in late February and early March 2013 in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...
, Italy, the duo placed twelfth in the short dance, ninth in the free dance, and eleventh overall. After the event, Churilova advised them to join Russian coach Alexander Zhulin. They relocated to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
to train with Zhulin and Oleg Volkov.
2013–2014 season
Nazarova/Nikitin won silver at both of their 2013 JGP assignments and qualified for the JGP Final. They placed fifth at the Final, held in December 2013 in
Fukuoka
is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center ...
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...
, Bulgaria, having ranked seventh in the short dance and fourth in the free dance.
2014–2015 season: Senior debut
Nazarova/Nikitin continued training in Moscow in the 2014–2015 season. At the Junior Grand Prix event in
Courchevel
Courchevel () is a French Alps ski resort. It is a part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski areas in the world. Courchevel also refers to the towns of Courchevel 1300 (Le Praz), Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650 (Moriond), and Cou ...
, France, they ranked fifth in the short dance and third in the free dance. The duo finished fourth overall, 0.54 shy of third place. They won the bronze medal at their next JGP event, in
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
, Estonia, after placing sixth in the short and third in the free dance.
Making their senior international debut, Nazarova/Nikitin won the silver medal at the Warsaw Cup, a Challenger Series event in November 2014. After winning the Ukrainian senior national title, they were named in Ukraine's team to the
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
, held in late January 2015 in Stockholm, Sweden. Ranked twelfth in the short dance and eleventh in the free dance, the two finished eleventh overall.
In early March, the two competed at the 2015 World Junior Championships in
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
, Estonia. They were awarded the bronze medal after placing fifth in the short dance, second in the free dance, and third overall behind Yanovskaya/ Mozgov of Russia and
McNamara
Mac Conmara (anglicised as MacNamara or McNamara) is an Irish surname of a family of County Clare in Ireland. The McNamara family were an Irish clan claiming descent from the Dál gCais and, after the O'Briens, one of the most powerful families ...
/
Carpenter
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tra ...
of the United States. It was Ukraine's first podium finish at the event since
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
. At the end of the same month, Nazarova/Nikitin competed on the senior level at the 2015 World Championships in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
, China; they ranked seventeenth in both segments and overall.
2015–2016 season
Making their
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
debut, Nazarova/Nikitin finished seventh at the 2015 Skate America. They withdrew from the Ukrainian Championships due to Nazarova's knee injury. The duo returned to competition in late March 2016 at the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
. Ranked 20th in the short dance, they narrowly qualified for the free dance, where they placed 18th, resulting in a final placement of nineteenth.
Deciding to change coaches, Nazarova/Nikitin joined Igor Shpilband and
Fabian Bourzat
Fabian Bourzat (born 19 December 1980) is a French retired ice dancer. With partner Nathalie Péchalat, he is a two-time World bronze medalist (2012, 2014), a two-time European champion (2011–2012), and a five-time French national champion ...
in
Novi, Michigan
Novi ( ) is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,243, an increase of 20% from the 2010 census.
A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Novi is located about northwest of the city of ...
in late June 2016.
2016–2017 season
Nazarova/Nikitin opened their season with a bronze medal at the
International Cup of Nice The International Cup of Nice (french: Coupe Internationale de Nice) is an annual international figure skating competition usually held in October or November in Nice, France. It was continuously held from 1995 to 2017 (except 2005) for 22 years. Th ...
. They finished seventh at their Grand Prix assignment, the
2016 Trophée de France
The 2016 Trophée de France was the fourth event of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris on November 11–13. Medals ...
Ostrava
Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four ri ...
, Czech Republic.
In February, they received the gold medal at the 2017 Winter Universiade in
Almaty
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland. Due to their result, Ukraine qualified a spot in the ice dancing event at the
2018 Winter Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...
in
Pyeongchang
Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of S ...
2017 CS Ice Star
The 2017 CS Ice Star, Minsk-Arena Ice Star is a senior international figure skating competition to be held in October 2017 in Minsk, Belarus. It is part of the 2017–18 ISU Challenger Series. Medals will be awarded in the disciplines of single sk ...
. They placed sixth at their lone Grand Prix assignment for the year, 2017 NHK Trophy. They placed eleventh at the
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
before competing at their first
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
in
Pyeongchang
Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of S ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, where they placed a surprising twenty-first. They concluded with the 2018 World Championships, placing fifteenth.
After this season ended, they left Igor Shpilband in Novi, Michigan, and began training only under Fabian Bourzat in France.
2018–2019 season
The new season began at the
2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy
The 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held in September 2018 at the Eissportzentrum Oberstdorf. It is part of the 2018–19 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance
...
, where they struggled, placing ninth. Assigned to two Grand Prix events, they placed eighth at
Skate America
Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: me ...
and ninth at
NHK Trophy
The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Organized by the Japanese Skating Federation, it began in 1979 and was added to the Grand Prix series in 1995 ...
. They did not finish at the Ukrainian Championships. Due to injury, They withdrew from European Championships, with
Popova
Popov (; masculine), or Popova (; feminine), is a common Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian surname. Derived from a Slavonic word ''pop'' (, "priest"). The fourth most common Russian surname, it may refer to:
*Alek Popov (born 1966), ...
/ Byelikov winning the former and attending the latter as the Ukrainian competitor. At the 2019 World Championships, Nazarova/Nikitin placed twentieth.
2019–2020 season
Nazarova/Nikitin began the season at the
2019 CS Lombardia Trophy
The 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy was held in September 2019 in Bergamo, Italy. It was part of the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dance.
Entries
The International Sk ...
, where they placed fourth in both programs to win the bronze medal overall. They went on to win the bronze medal at the
2019 CS Ice Star
The 2019 CS Ice Star was held in October 2019 in Minsk, Belarus. It was part of the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dance
Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ...
, where they set a personal best in the Rhythm Dance and overall score.
Between
2019 CS Ice Star
The 2019 CS Ice Star was held in October 2019 in Minsk, Belarus. It was part of the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dance
Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ...
and the 2019 Bosphorus Cup, Nazarova/Nikitin announced that they had ended their partnership with Fabian Bourzat. They returned to Kharkiv to train under Halyna Churilova and occasionally under Alexander Zhulin.
They went on to win two other international events and a silver medal at the 2019 Bosphorus Cup. Later that year, they won the Ukraine Championships. National champions again, Nazarova/Nikitin finished the season at the 2020 European Championships, where they placed tenth. They had been assigned to compete at the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
2020 CS Budapest Trophy
The 2020 CS Budapest Trophy was held in October 2020 in Budapest, Hungary. It was part of the 2020–21 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dance.
On September 10, 2020, the H ...
, winning the gold medal. They competed on the
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Bei ...
.
2021–2022 season: Beijing Olympics
Beginning the season on the Challenger series, Nazarova/Nikitin won the silver medal at the
2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge
The 2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge was held on October 28–31, 2021 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, and ice dance.
...
. On the
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
, they were eighth at the 2021 NHK Trophy. After winning the Viktor Petrenko Cup, Nazarova/Nikitin won their sixth Ukrainian national title, and were named to their second Ukrainian Olympic team. Competing first at the
2022 European Championships
The 2022 European Championships were the second edition of the European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Munich, Germany from 11 to 21 August 2022. The tournament began three days after the conclusion of the 2022 Commo ...
, they finished tenth.
Nazorova/Nikitin began the
2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Bei ...
as the Ukrainian entries to the rhythm dance segment of the Olympic team event. They finished ninth of ten teams. In the dance event, they finished twentieth in the rhythm dance and were the last team to qualify for the free dance. Eighteenth in the free dance, they remained twentieth overall.
Following the Olympics, Nazarova and Nikitin returned to their homes in
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.a central point of conflict when
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime m ...
launched an invasion of Ukraine. The invasion severed their relations with Russian coach Alexander Zhulin, with whom they had trained with from 2013 to 2016 and again from 2019 onward. They both expressed anger at Zhulin and former training partners Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov, who had appeared at a rally in support of the Russian invasion, saying, "we were such big friends with Vika and Nikita. It was so difficult to see how they are supporting their President who is killing our Ukrainian people." After weeks in the city while under bombardment, they evacuated to the Polish city of
Toruń
)''
, image_skyline =
, image_caption =
, image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg
, image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg
, nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town
, pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
to resume training. They received considerable support from skaters in other European and North American countries, notably entreaties from French Olympic champion
Gabriella Papadakis
Gabriella Maria Papadakis (born 10 May 1995) is a French ice dancer. With her partner, Guillaume Cizeron, she is a 2022 Olympic champion, 2018 Olympic silver medalist, a five-time World champion (2015–2016, 2018–2019, 2022), a five-time con ...
that they attend the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier despite their training disruptions.
Nazarova and Nikitin sought assistance from Canadian music editor Hugo Chouinard in revamping their rhythm dance, as they did not want to skate to happy music under the circumstances. The new program made use of Ukrainian singer Jamala's song "
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in No ...
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
, and a remix of the folk song "
Oi u luzi chervona kalyna
Red ''Viburnum'' berries (') is a symbol that has been a part of Ukrainian culture since ancient times.
Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow ( uk, Ой у лузі червона калина - Oi u luzi chervona kalyna) is a Ukrainian patriotic m ...
" which had become an anthem of resistance to the invasion. Nazarova and Nikitin took to the ice wearing the Ukrainian national colours and received a huge ovation from the crowd for the rhythm dance segment, where they placed sixteenth. They opted to withdraw from the free dance, saying that they had not had time to change that program and "we consider it inappropriate to dance it while people are dying and hiding in basements in our country."
Programs
(with Nazarova)
Competitive highlights
''GP:
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...