Leah Neset

Leah Grace Neset (born December 7, 2005) is an American ice dancer. With her skating partner and husband, Artem Markelov, she is the 2024 World Junior champion, 2023–24 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, a two-time ISU Junior Grand Prix gold medalist, and a three-time U.S. junior national champion (2022, 2023, 2024).

Personal life

Neset was born on December 7, 2005, in Minot, North Dakota to mother Cheri, a dental hygienist and skating coach, and father Kris, a civil engineer. She has a younger sister, Kylie.

Neset and her skating partner, Artem Markelov, began dating in February 2022. They married in Santa Fe County, two days after Neset's 17th birthday, with her and Markelov's mothers acting as witnesses. They had a public wedding ceremony on June 1, 2024.

Career

Early years

Neset became interested in taking up skating at the age of three as her mother was involved in the sport, and her father was a college hockey player. Her mother Cheri was her first coach. Neset, along with her mother and younger sister, relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2018 in order for Neset and her then skating partner, Dimitry Tsarevski, to begin training under two-time World Junior silver medalist Elena Dostatni. The young team won the silver medal in the Intermediate ice dance category at the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships before ultimately splitting in May 2019.

Neset eventually connected with her current partner, Artem Markelov, via a Russian ice dance partner search website. A native of Volgograd, Markelov chose to relocate to the United States to partner with Neset in March 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed international travel.

Neset/Markelov competed at the 2021 U.S. Figure Skating Championships where they finished sixth in the junior ice dance category.

2021–22 season: International junior debut

Neset/Markelov made their international junior debut in August at the 2021 Lake Placid Ice Dance International, where they placed third behind compatriots Flores/ Tsarevski and Ling/Wein.

The following month, the team debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit at the 2021 JGP Russia where they placed eighth. They would later describe the local audience as "supportive," in light of it being Markelov's home country. They improved upon their first placement at their second assignment, the 2021 JGP Poland, coming fifth.

Neset/Markelov wrapped their season in January at the 2022 U.S. Championships. They placed second in the rhythm dance and first in the free dance to claim their first junior national title by a narrow two-point margin over Ling/Wein. She said afterward that they were "very happy with how it went. We feel like we gave it our all." Despite their gold medal, they were not selected for one of the three American berths at the 2022 World Junior Championships, being passed over in favour of teams with stronger prior international results. They were instead named the first alternates.

2022–23 season: Second junior national title

Neset and Markelov were initially scheduled to begin the international season at the Armenian stop on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. However, following the onset of a Azerbaijan/Armenia border conflict in September, the event was cancelled. While the International Skating Union subsequently scheduled a second Polish event as a replacement, Neset/Markelov were not reassigned there. They were therefore unable to vie for a place in the Junior Grand Prix Final, having as their lone assignment the 2022 JGP Italy. They placed second in the rhythm dance and third in the free dance, setting new personal bests in both segments of competition, as well as overall, to claim the bronze medal behind Czech siblings Mrázková/ Mrázek and the South Korean team Lim/Quan.

The team secured their place at the 2023 U.S. Championships with a first-place finish in the junior dance category at the 2022 Eastern Sectional Championships before another international outing at the 2022 Santa Claus Cup, where they placed second behind Israeli team Tkachenko/ Kiliakov.

In January, Neset/Markelov successfully defended their junior national title at the U.S. Championships, despite a rocky rhythm dance which left them initially in seventh place. The team rallied to win the free skate and thus, the title overall, just narrowly edging out Carhart/ Horovyi. Neset remarked afterward that it "definitely took a lot of focus to come back. We are really happy with how it turned out in the end." Due to their placement, Neset/Markelov were named to the U.S. team for the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary.

In preparation for their first World Junior Championships, Neset/Markelov competed at the 2022 Bavarian Open ten days after their win at the national championships. They placed third in the rhythm dance and first in the free dance, but ultimately placed second behind reigning German junior national champions Grimm/ Savitskiy. Going on to Calgary, Neset/Markelov delivered their highest-scoring performances of the season, first placing seventh in the rhythm dance . They were fifth in the free dance, and rose to fifth overall with a total score of 162.59. Neset said afterward that "this season had some up and downs, but we are overall pleased."

2023–24 season: Undefeated season, World Junior champion and Junior Grand Prix Final gold

Neset/Markelov began their third international junior season as they did their first at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International. They won the junior dance title handily with an almost ten-point margin over silver medalists Peal/Peal. On the Junior Grand Prix, they won gold at the 2023 JGP Thailand, the first event on the circuit, by a margin of almost 17 points. Markelov assessed that the team's new programs "have a lot of potential and a lot of room for improvement" as the season progressed. At their second assignment, the 2023 JGP Japan, they again won, albeit by a much narrower two-point margin over Israelis Tkachenko/ Kiliakov. Their two wins in hand, Neset/Markelov became the first ice dance team to qualify to the 2023–24 Junior Grand Prix Final.

Entering the Junior Grand Prix Final in Beijing as the title favourites, Neset/Markelov set a new world junior record score in the rhythm dance with 72.48 points, breaking the previous record of reigning World Junior champions Mrázková/ Mrázek. They set another new personal best (104.61) in the free dance, taking the gold medal.

In January, Neset/Markelov easily won a third junior national title at the 2024 U.S. Championships, placing first in the rhythm dance and free dance and finishing 25.14 points ahead of silver medalists Pedersen/ Chen. They were the first figure skaters to win three consecutive American junior national titles in any of the four disciplines. Neset said that the result "means a lot", with Markelov adding he was "very thankful for the journey."

Heavy pre-event favourites at the 2024 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Neset/Markelov won the rhythm dance by 4.05 points over second-place Germans Grimm/ Savitskiy. They won the free dance as well, despite Neset losing her balance and putting a hand down on a choreographic lift, resulting in a technical deduction for a fall. They noted afterward that the choreographic lift was a new element they had created three weeks prior, Neset saying it was "a bit sad that we couldn't show a super clean skate." They said they were undecided as to whether they would compete another season at the junior level or move up to the senior level.

2024–25 season: International senior debut

Neset/Markelov started their season at the 2024 Lake Placid Ice Dance International where they ranked fourth in the rhythm dance and second in the free dance ultimately ranking fourth overall. They then made their international senior debut at the 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy where they ranked second in the rhythm dance and fourth in the free dance, ranking third overall and winning the bronze medal.

Making their senior Grand Prix debut at 2024 Skate America, the duo would finish in fifth place. They subsequently placed sixth at the 2024 Grand Prix de France.

Programs

Ice dance with Artem Markelov

Competitive highlights

Ice dance with Artem Markelov

Detailed results

Ice dance with Artem Markelov

Senior level

Junior level

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Neset, Leah
2005 births
Living people
American female ice dancers
Sportspeople from South Dakota
World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists
21st-century American sportswomen