Artem Andriyovych Darenskyi (; born 7 July 2001) is a Ukrainian

pair skater Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

who currently competes with Sofiia Holichenko. With Holichenko, he is the 2025 World Junior silver medalist, a three-time Ukrainian national senior champion (2022–24), and the

2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb The 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb was held on December 6–9, 2023, in Sisak, Croatia. It was the ninth and final event of the 2023–24 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. ...

bronze medalist. With his former skating partner,

Sofiia Nesterova Sofiia Nesterova (; born 21 August 2003) is a retired Ukrainian pair skater. With her former partner, Artem Darenskyi, she is a two-time Ukrainian Figure Skating Championships, Ukrainian national senior champion. The pair has competed in the fina ...

, he is a two-time Ukrainian national senior champion. The pair has competed in the final segment at two World Junior Championships, finishing within the top eight at the 2019 edition.

Career

Early years

Darenskyi began learning to skate in 2004. His first pair skating partner was Anastasiia Smirnova. The two won silver at the 2016 Ukrainian Junior Championships and gold the following season.

2017–18 season

Smirnova/Darenskyi became age-eligible for junior international events at the start of the season. Coached by Lilia Batutina in

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

, the pair competed at two

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 figure skating competition, junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded ...

assignments, placing 9th in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, Latvia, and then 11th in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, Belarus. Darenskyi and

began their partnership around November 2017, coached by Batutina in Dnipro. Their training was limited due to a leg injury sustained by Nesterova, but the pair decided to compete at the Ukrainian Championships in December. Nesterova/Darenskyi's international debut came in early February 2018 at the

Toruń Cup Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

in Poland. They won bronze and obtained the minimum technical scores required to compete at the 2018 World Junior Championships in

Sofia Sofia 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 part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. They qualified to the final segment at the March event in Bulgaria and finished 14th overall.

2018–19 season

Nesterova/Darenskyi competed at two

events in September, placing fifth in

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

, Austria, and eighth in

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

, Czech Republic. In December, they won their second senior national title. Ranked eighth in both segments, they finished eighth at the 2019 World Junior Championships in March in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, Croatia.

2019–20 season

2020 European Figure Skating Championships Sofiia Nesterova Artem Darensky 2020 01 22 3929

Nesterova/Darenski placed twelfth and tenth at their two JGP events. In November, they were fifth at the

Volvo Open Cup The Volvo Open Cup is an annual international figure skating competition held in Riga, Latvia. In some years, the event is part of the ISU Challenger Series. Medals may be awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance ...

. In December, they were nineteenth at the

2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb The 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb was held in December 2019 in Zagreb, Croatia. It was part of the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance Ice dan ...

. They placed third at Nationals. They were chosen to compete at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games. Their Junior Pairs result became disqualified, though they were part of the bronze medal-winning team in the team event. They were disqualified at the 2020 European Championships. In March, it was announced that Nesterova and Darenski were splitting up, as Nesterova had retired. In June, it was announced that he had formed a new partnership with Sofiia Holichenko.

2020–21 season

After obtaining the required minimum technical elements scores, Holichenko/Darenskyi were nominated to represent Ukraine at the 2021 World Championships in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. They withdrew a few days before the start of the competition, having tested positive for

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

2021–22 season

Holichenko/Darenskyi began the season at the

2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 22–25, 2021 in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. It was also the final qualifying event for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Medals were awarded in the disciplin ...

, attempting to

qualify Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

a berth for Ukraine at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

. They placed eleventh at the event, outside the qualifications. However, Ukraine qualified to the Olympic team event due to Anastasiia Shabotova qualifying to the women's competition at Nebelhorn, allowing for a Ukrainian pair to be sent for that. Holichenko/Darenskyi went on to finish fifth at the

Budapest Trophy The Budapest Trophy is an annual senior-level international figure skating competition held in Budapest, Hungary. In most years, the event is part of the ISU Challenger Series. Medals may be awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skati ...

. After winning their first Ukrainian national title, Holichenko/Darenskyi placed fifteenth at the

2022 European Championships The 2022 European Championships were the second edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Munich, Germany from 11 to 21 August 2022. The event started three d ...

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. Days later, they were named to the Ukrainian Olympic team. They finished ninth among nine pairs entered in the short program of the Olympic team event. This was their only performance at the Games, as Team Ukraine did not advance to the second stage of the competition and finished tenth. The team returned home to

after the Olympics and immediately found themselves in the midst of

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

's invasion of Ukraine. They enlisted Canadian music editor Hugo Chouinard to change their short program music in advance of the 2022 World Championships in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, hoping to inspire the country with Ukrainian music. They undertook a six-day journey to France, via Romania, Italy and Poland, with Darenskyi saying that their goal was "to show that Ukrainian athletes are fighting for their country." On arrival, they received a standing ovation and placed thirteenth in the short program with very limited training. In light of this, they opted not to compete in the free skate. They temporarily left home to live and train in the Polish city of

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

for the foreseeable future.

2022–23 season

Prior to the season beginning, it was announced that Holichenko/Darenskyi had left

and returned to

to train. Holichenko/Darenskyi's lone competitive appearance for the season came at the

2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 21–24, 2022, in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was the third event of the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entrie ...

, where they finished in twelfth place. They missed the rest of the season due to injury and only returned to compete at the 2023 Ukrainian Championships in April, which they won.

2023–24 season

In August 2023, it was announced that Holichenko/Darenskyi had switched coaches from Lilia Batutina to Ihor Marchenko. Starting the season at the

2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 20–23, 2023, in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was part of the 2023–24 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entries The Int ...

, Holichenko/Darenskyi came in eighth place. At the

, Holichenko/Darenskyi placed third in the short program and third in the free skate, placing third overall and earning their first

ISU Challenger Series The ISU Challenger Series is a series of international figure skating competitions. Established by the International Skating Union in the 2014–15 figure skating season, 2014–15 season, it is a group of senior-level events ranked below the ISU ...

medal. In the second half of the season, Holichenko/Darenskyi came eleventh at the 2024 European Championships and seventeenth at the 2024 World Championships.

2024–25 season

Due to the constant shelling taking place in Ukraine as a result of the ongoing war, Holichenko and Darenskyi had limited access to ice rinks where they could train in throughout the off-season. Their first competition of the season was on the

2024–25 ISU Junior Grand Prix The 2024–25 ISU Junior Grand Prix was a series of junior international competitions organized by the International Skating Union that were held from August 2024 through December 2024. It was the junior-level complement to the 2024–25 ISU Grand ...

circuit at the 2024 JGP Poland, where they won the silver medal. Returning to the senior level, Holichenko/Darenskyi placed seventh at the

2024 CS Warsaw Cup The 2024 CS Warsaw Cup was held on November 20–24, 2024, in Warsaw, Poland. It was part of the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pairs, and ice dance. Entries The International Skating U ...

. The pair then went on to compete at the 2025 European Championships in

, Estonia, where they placed eleventh. They subsequently won the bronze medal at the Road to 26 Trophy in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy, a test event for the

2026 Winter Olympics The 2026 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 at sites across Lombardy and North ...

. They then represented Ukraine at the 2025 World Junior Championships, winning the silver medal. The team attributed their attendance at the junior championship to a desire to secure berths for Ukrainian pairs on the following season's junior circuit. They closed the season by competing at the 2025 World Championships in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, United States, where they finished in seventeenth place overall.

Programs

Pair skating with Sofiia Holichenko

Pair skating with Sofiia Nesterova

With Smirnova

Competitive highlights

Pair skating with Sofiia Holichenko

Pair skating with Sofiia Nesterova

Pair skating with Anastasiia Smirnova

Detailed results

Pair skating with Sofiia Holichenko

Senior level

Junior level

References

External links

*
Sofiia Holichenko & Artem Darenskyi
at SkatingScores * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Darenskyi, Artem 2001 births Ukrainian male pair skaters Living people Figure skaters from Dnipro Figure skaters at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics Figure skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Ukraine Medalists at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics Youth Olympic bronze medalists for Ukraine