Ksenia Andreyevna Stolbova (; born 7 February 1992) is a retired 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 skated with

Andrei Novoselov Andrei Alexandrovich Novoselov (born 24 November 1989) is a Russian pair skater. Competing for France with Lola Esbrat, he has won three international medals and is the 2018 French national champion. Earlier, he represented Russia with Tatiana ...

and

Fedor Klimov Fedor Alexandrovich Klimov (; born 7 September 1990) is a retired Russian pair skater. With partner Ksenia Stolbova, he is the 2014 Olympic silver medalist, the 2014 Olympic champion in the team event, the 2014 World silver medalist, a three-t ...

. She is the 2014 Olympic silver medalist, the 2014 Olympic champion in the team event, the 2014 World silver medalist, a three-time

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

medalist (

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

bronze,

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2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

silver), the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final champion, the

2013 Winter Universiade The 2013 Winter Universiade, the XXVI Winter Universiade, was a winter multi-sport event which took place in Trentino, Italy between 11 and 21 December 2013. This was the first time that a Winter Universiade happened after the Summer Universiade ...

champion, a two-time World Junior medalist (2010 bronze, 2011 silver), and a three-time Russian national champion (2014, 2015, 2017). Stolbova announced her retirement from competitions on 12 February 2020.

Personal life

Ksenia Andreyevna Stolbova was born on 7 February 1992 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia. She attended the Lesgaft Academy of Physical Education in Saint Petersburg.

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 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 ...

at the age of 14. Stolbova's partnership with Artur Minchuk lasted three seasons, from 2006–07 to 2008–09. They finished 11th competing on the senior level at the Russian Championships in December 2008.

2009–11

In spring 2009, coach Ludmila Velikova partnered Stolbova with

. They trained in Saint Petersburg. During their first season together, the pair placed 2nd and 7th at their two

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 men ...

events, and 7th at the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. 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 Skate America is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The first Skate America was in held in 1979 in Lake Placid, New York, as a test event fo ...

. They won silver at the

Junior Grand Prix Final The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final (titled the ISU Junior Series Final in the 1997–98 season) is the final event of a series of junior-level competitions – the ISU Junior Grand Prix – organized by the International Skating Union (ISU). Medal ...

. 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 ( , 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 ...

season, Stolbova/Klimov were assigned to

2011 Trophée Eric Bompard Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'', ...

, 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. 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 The 2012 Cup of China was the third event of six in the 2012–13 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai on November 2–4. M ...

, and finished 5th at the 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard. 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 Vera Yevgenyevna Bazarova (, born 28 January 1993) is a Russian pair skater. With former partner Yuri Larionov, she is the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a three-time European medalist (silver in 2012; bronze in 2011 and 2014), t ...

Yuri Larionov Yuri Yuryevich Larionov (, born 19 August 1986) is a Russian pair skater. With former partner Vera Bazarova, he is the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a three-time European medalist (silver in 2012; bronze in 2011 and 2014), the 2 ...

who withdrew due to Larionov's wrist injury. After finishing sixth at Europeans in

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, they won their first senior international title at the 2013

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 April 2013, the pair said they wanted to move to

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 ...

to work with

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. ...

, who agreed to take them in her group. The move was opposed by Oleg Nilov, the head of the Saint Petersburg skating association, arguing against a concentration of skaters in Moscow, but was authorized by the Russian skating federation. After relocating to Moscow, the pair focused on improving their basic skating skills. Their training was interrupted when Klimov fell off a bicycle in late May 2013, resulting in a broken leg.

2013–14 season

In 2013–14, Stolbova/Klimov started their Grand Prix season with a bronze medal at the

2013 Skate America The 2013 Hilton HHonors Skate America was the first event of six in the 2013–14 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on October ...

. 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 Kirsten Moore-Towers (born July 1, 1992) is a Canadian retired competitive pair skater who competed internationally at the senior level for thirteen seasons from 2009 to 2022. She first achieved distinction partnered with Dylan Moscovitch, winnin ...

Dylan Moscovitch Dylan David Moscovitch (born 23 September 1984) is a retired Canadian pair skater. He competed with Liubov Ilyushechkina from 2014 to 2018. They were the 2017 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, 2017 Four Continents bronze medalists, ...

. Stolbova/Klimov won the gold medal at the

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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 The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

. 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 Aljona Savchenko (, ''Olena Valentynivna Savchenko''; German Romanization: ''Aljona Sawtschenko'', sometimes ''Aliona Savchenko''; born 19 January 1984) is a retired Ukrainian-born German pair skater. One of the most decorated pair skaters, she ...

Robin Szolkowy Robin Szolkowy (born 14 July 1979) is a retired German pair skater. With partner Aliona Savchenko, he is the 2010 and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, a five-time World champion (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014), a four-time European champion (20 ...

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 The 2014 Cup of Russia, Rostelecom Cup was the fourth event of six in the 2014–15 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Luzhniki Small Sports Arena in Moscow on Novembe ...

and 2014 Trophee Eric Bompard, and took silver at the

Grand Prix Final The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final – originally known as the Champions Series Final – is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). It is the culminating event of the Grand Prix Series. Meda ...

behind Canada's

Meagan Duhamel Meagan Duhamel (born December 8, 1985) is a retired Canadian pair skater. With partner Eric Radford, she is a two-time world champion (2015, 2016), a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, a 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the team ev ...

Eric Radford Eric Radford (born January 27, 1985) is a retired Canadian pair skater. With former partner Meagan Duhamel, he is a two-time world champion (2015, 2016), a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, a 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the t ...

. They won their second consecutive national title at the 2015 Russian Championships 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 Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, 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 Yuko Kavaguti (also: Kawaguchi; Japanese: , , born 20 November 1981) is a retired pair skater who has represented Japan and Russia in international competition. In 2006, she began competing with Alexander Smirnov (figure skater), Alexander Smirno ...

/ Alexander Smirnov. They qualified for the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

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 A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

achieved by compatriots

Tatiana Volosozhar Tatiana Andreyеvna Volosozhar (, ; born 22 May 1986) is a Ukrainian-born Russian pair skater. With Maxim Trankov, she is the two-time 2014 Olympic champion in the pairs and in team events, the 2013 World champion, a four-time (2012, 2013, 201 ...

Maxim Trankov Maxim Leonidovich Trankov (; born 7 October 1983) is a Russian pair skater. With Tatiana Volosozhar, he is a two-time 2014 Olympic champion in the pairs and in team events, the 2013 World champion, a four-time (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016) Eur ...

at the

. 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. 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 selected to compete at the 2016 European Championships but withdrew before the event. A nerve problem affected Klimov's arm and shoulder muscles, preventing him from performing lifts. At the 2016 World Championships in Boston, the pair placed 5th in the short program, 4th in the free skate, and 4th overall.

2016–17 season

During a training camp in mid-July 2016, Stolbova developed severe inflammation in her left ankle due to a nerve problem that arose after a change of skating boots. She and Klimov withdrew from both of their

assignments – the

2016 Rostelecom Cup The 2016 Rostelecom Cup was the third 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 Megasport Arena in Moscow on November 4–5. Medals were award ...

and 2016 NHK Trophy. They returned to competition in late December, winning gold at the 2017 Russian Championships by a margin of 0.93 over

Evgenia Tarasova Evgenia Maksimovna Tarasova (; born 17 December 1994) is a retired Russian pair skater. With partner Vladimir Morozov, she is the 2022 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World medalist (2018 and 2019 silver, 2017 bronze), a two-time Europ ...

/ Vladimir Morozov. In January 2017 they competed at the 2017 European Championships where they placed 4th after placing 4th in both the short program and the free skate. Two months later they competed at the 2017 World Championships where they placed 5th after placing only 13th in the short program but 3rd in the free skate.

2017–18 season

In the Grand Prix season they won two silvers, first at the

2017 Rostelecom Cup The 2017 Rostelecom Cup was the first event of six in the 2017–18 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Megasport Arena in Moscow on October 20–22. Medals were awar ...

and then at the

2017 NHK Trophy The 2017 NHK Trophy was the 4th event of six in the 2017–18 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held in Osaka on November 10–12. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men ...

. These results qualified them to the 2017–18 Grand Prix Final where they placed 4th. They then won another pair of silver medals, first at the 2018 Russian Championships and then at the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburg ...

. They weren't sent to the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

because it was announced by the Russian Figure Skating Federation on 23 January 2018 that Stolbova wasn't invited to the 2018 Olympics. They later withdrew from the 2018 World Championships. Stolbova and Klimov ended their partnership later that year, and she teamed up with

.2018 Russian Test Skates Review
/ref>

2019–20 season

Stolbova and her new partner first performed at the 2019 Russian test skates. She described herself as "overwhelmed by emotions. We've waited a long time for this comeback. We're coming back with renewed bodies, renewed mindset, renewed emotions." Following the test skates, Stolbova/Novoselov discard their " I'll Take Care of You" short program in favour of a new one set to "Rebirth" by Hi-Finesse, first seen when they made their competitive debut at the

2019 Rostelecom Cup The 2019 Rostelecom Cup was the fifth event of the 2019–20 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Megasport Sport Palace in Moscow, Russia from November 15–17. Medals wer ...

. They placed third in the short program, despite a doubled jump by Novoselov. In the free skate, errors on both jumping passes, a throw, and two lifts dropped them to fifth place overall.