Daria Danilova (; born 8 September 2002) is a Russian

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 competes for the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. With her skating partner, Michel Tsiba, she is a three-time Dutch national champion (2020, 2022, 2025), the 2024 Bavarian Open champion, the 2022

NRW Trophy The NRW Trophy (also known as the NRW Summer Trophy or the NRW Autumn Trophy) is an annual international figure skating competition organized by the Skating Union of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 2007, it has been sanctioned by the Deutsche Eisla ...

champion, and a two-time

International Challenge Cup The International Challenge Cup (formerly known as the Ennia Challenge Cup and the Aegon Cup) is an annual figure skating competition generally held in the Netherlands during the last week in February. Although the competition had been held for ...

silver medalist (2022, 2025). They competed in the final segment three European Championships and four World Championships. They are also the first Dutch pair to qualify for 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 ...

Personal life

Danilova was born on 8 September 2002 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. She is learning

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

. Danilova received her Dutch residence permit 2020 and became a naturalized Dutch citizen on 16 February 2024. She has a pet dog.

Career

Early career

Danilova started skating at age three in 2006. She competed in ladies' singles in her native

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, but never qualified to the Russian Championships. In 2017, Danilova briefly competed pairs with Dmitry Shulgin under coaches Pavel Kitashev, Arina Ushakova, and

Nina Mozer Nina Mikhailovna Mozer (; born 28 August 1964) is a Russian pair skating coach based in Moscow. She is best known for coaching Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov and Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov, the 2014 Olympic gold and silver medalists. ...

. They split after six months and she skated alone for a year. Danilova teamed up with Dutch skater Michel Tsiba for the

in May 2018. Earlier in the season, he had met one of her coaches at a seminar in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and they arranged a tryout. At the start of their partnership, Danilova/Tsiba alternated training in

and

every three months due to the differences in their respective citizenships' visa requirements. The pair fund over half of their training costs out of pocket via Tsiba's student finances.

2018–2019 season

Danilova/Tsiba won their debut international competition, the 2018

Golden Spin of Zagreb The Golden Spin of Zagreb () is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Croatian Skating Federation () and held in Zagreb, Croatia. The competition debuted in 1973, and ...

on the junior level. They then placed tenth at the 2019

Bavarian Open The Bavarian Open is an international figure skating competition held in February at the Eissportzentrum Oberstdorf in Oberstdorf, Germany. It is organized by the Skating Union of Bavaria. Since 2011, it has been sanctioned by the Deutsche Eisla ...

. In February, Danilova/Tsiba won the 2019 Dutch junior national title unopposed. However, they missed achieving the minimum TES requirements for the 2019 World Junior Championships.

2019–2020 season

2020 European Figure Skating Championships Daria Danilova Michel Tsiba 2020 01 22 3809

Danilova/Tsiba competed at three Challenger Series events to open the season, finishing tenth at

2019 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy was held in October 2019 in Espoo. 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. Entries The Internationa ...

, 17th at

2019 CS Warsaw Cup The 2019 CS Warsaw Cup was held in November 2019 in Warsaw, Poland. 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 dance (sometime ...

, and 15th at

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 ...

. At the 2020 European Championships in January, Danilova/Tsiba became the first Dutch pair in 24 years to compete in a

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

since Jeltje Schulten / Alcuin Schulten last represented the country at the event in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. They qualified to the final segment and finished 16th overall. In February, they finished eighth at the

and tenth at the

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

; the latter event doubled as the Dutch Championships where, as the only Dutch pair, Danilova/Tsiba won their first senior national title. At the Challenge Cup, Danilova/Tsiba earned the necessary TES minimums for the 2020 World Championships. They are the first Dutch pair in history to qualify for the

. The event was eventually cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

2020–2021 season

During the offseason, Tsiba underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus. However, the pair did not start training together again until the end of August due to issues with Danilova's Dutch visa. Danilova/Tsiba made their season debut at the 2020 NRW Autumn Trophy in November and won their first senior international medal, bronze behind Germans

Annika Hocke Annika Maria Hocke (born 16 July 2000) is a German pair skater. With her skating partner, Robert Kunkel, she is the 2023 European Figure Skating Championships, 2023 European bronze medalist, the 2023 Skate America champion, 2022 Grand Prix de Fr ...

/ Robert Kunkel and

Minerva Fabienne Hase Minerva Fabienne Hase (born 10 June 1999) is a German pair skater. With her current partner, Nikita Volodin, she is the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, 2025 World silver medalist, the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships, 2024 World br ...

Nolan Seegert Nolan Seegert (born 11 July 1992) is a German retired pair skater. With his skating partner, Minerva Fabienne Hase, he was the 2019 Rostelecom Cup bronze medalist, 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy champion, and three-time German Figure Skating Championsh ...

. Making their debut at the

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 placed twenty-second.

2021–2022 season

Beginning the season at the 2021 Lombardia Trophy, Danilova/Tsiba placed eighth. They competed 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 ...

, placing ninth and failing to qualify a place 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 ...

. Their third Challenger event, the

2021 CS Warsaw Cup The 2021 CS Warsaw Cup was held on November 17–20 in Warsaw, Poland. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entries The Int ...

, Danilova/Tsiba were fifteenth. They finished twenty-first 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 ...

, missing the free skate. Danilova/Tsiba concluded the season at the 2022 World Championships, where they finished a career-best ninth in a field depleted due to Russia being banned as a result of their invasion of Ukraine and the

Chinese Skating Association The Chinese Skating Association (CSA) () was founded in 1956. It was the second Asian country to join the International Skating Union (ISU). It hosts international and manages domestic short track speed skating and speed skating competitions. M ...

opted not to send athletes to compete 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 ...

2022–2023 season

Danilova/Tsiba decided that the Russian invasion of Ukraine would not affect their training in Russia, opting to spend about half their time in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, Russia, and half in

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

, Netherlands. On training in Russia, they commented: "We don't notice the war here. It's shockingly quiet." They were unable to compete at the

2022 Skate America The 2022 Skate America was the first event of the 2022–23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Tenley E. Albright Performance Center in Norwood, Massachusetts, from ...

because Danilova's visa application was declined. Danilova/Tsiba began their season with a sixth-place finish at the

2022 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy was held on October 4–9, 2022, in Espoo, Finland. It was the fifth event of the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entries The In ...

. They finished sixth as well at the

2022 NHK Trophy The 2022 NHK Trophy was the fifth event of the 2022-23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Makomanai Ice Arena in Sapporo, Japan, from November 18-20. Medals were awa ...

, their

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

debut, and then fifth at the

2022 Grand Prix of Espoo The 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo was the sixth event of the 2022–23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Espoo Metro Areena in Espoo, Finland, from November 25-27. Medal ...

. Domestic rivals Osipova/

Epstein The surname Epstein () is one of the oldest Ashkenazi Jewish family names. It is probably derived from the German town of Eppstein, in Hesse; the place-name was probably derived from Gaulish ''apa'' ("water", in the sense of a river) and German '' ...

won the Netherlands' only pair skating berth at the 2023 European Championships. However, due to Danilova/Tsiba's ninth-place finish at the prior year's World Championships, both teams were able to attend the 2023 edition in Saitama. Both Dutch teams qualified for the free skate segment, a first in the history of the event, with Danilova/Tsiba finishing thirteenth, the higher-ranked of the two.

2023–2024 season

Beginning the season at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy, Danilova/Tsiba came sixth. On the

, they were seventh at the

2023 Skate Canada International The 2023 Skate Canada International was the second event of the 2023–24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Thunderbird Sports Centre, Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Spor ...

. At the

2023 NHK Trophy The 2023 NHK Trophy was the sixth event of the 2023–24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome in Osaka, Japan, from November 24–26. ...

they placed fifth, equaling their prior best placement, both praising the reception from the Japanese audience. Danilova/Tsiba came eighth at the

2024 European Championships 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

. Finishing the season at the 2024 World Championships, they came fourteenth.

2024–25 season

Danilova/Tsiba began the season with a fourth-place finish at the 2024 Tayside Trophy. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, the pair finished seventh at the

2024 Skate Canada International The 2024 Skate Canada International was the second event of the 2024–25 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from October 25 ...

and fifth at the

2024 NHK Trophy The 2024 NHK Trophy was the fourth event of the 2024–25 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, from November 8–10. Medals w ...

. They followed up these results with a fifth-place finish 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 ...

. In January, Danilova/Tsiba competed at the 2025 European Championships in

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 ...

, Estonia, where they finished in tenth place. The pair followed this up by winning silver at the 2025 International Challenge Cup, before subsequently finishing sixth 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 ...

. Danilova/Tsiba finished the season by placing fifteenth 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.

Programs

Pair skating with Michel Tsiba

Competitive highlights

Pair skating with Michel Tsiba

Detailed results

Pair skating with Michel Tsiba

Senior level

Junior level

References

External links

*
Daria Danilova & Michel Tsiba
at SkatingScores
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danilova, Daria 2002 births Living people Dutch female pair skaters Russian female pair skaters Russian emigrants to the Netherlands 21st-century Dutch sportswomen 21st-century Russian sportswomen