Maria Evgenievna Pavlova (; born 2 August 2004) is a

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 ...

n-Hungarian

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 for

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. With her current skating partner,

Alexei Sviatchenko Alexei Vadimovich Sviatchenko (; born 24 March 1999) is a Russian pair skating, pair skater who currently competes for Hungary. With his current skating partner, Maria Pavlova (figure skater), Maria Pavlova, he is the 2023 Skate Canada Internatio ...

, she is a two-time

ISU Grand Prix The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating (known as ISU Champions Series from 1995 to 1997) is a series of senior international figure skating competitions organized by the International Skating Union. The invitational series was inaugurated in 1995, in ...

medalist, two-time Hungarian national champion (2023–24), and finished fifth at the 2023 European Championships. With her former partner, Balázs Nagy, Pavlova is the 2022 Hungarian national silver medalist and finished 11th 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 ...

Personal life

Pavlova was born on 2 August 2004 in

Moscow, Russia 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 ...

. Pavlova, her mother, and older sister moved to

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, when Pavlova was ten years old due to her sister attending university there. While Pavlova and her mother returned to Russia after two years, her sister settled in Canada. She went on to become a Hungarian citizen in February 2022.

Career

Pavlova began figure skating in 2009. Her family lived in Canada for two years during her childhood, during which time she trained at the

Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club The Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club is a private sport and social club located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The club has facilities for sports including aquatics, cricket, croquet, curling, figure skating, fitness classes, lawn bowling ...

under

Brian Orser Brian Ernest Orser (born 18 December 1961) is a Canadian former competitive and professional figure skater and coach to Olympic champions. He is the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medallist, 1987 World champion and eight-time (1981–88) Cana ...

. As a singles skater, she competed at two Russian Championships (

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

). Her first pair partner was

Ilia Spiridonov Ilia Romanovich Spiridonov (; born 5 February 1998) is a Russian pair skater. With former partner Amina Atakhanova, he is the 2015–16 JGP Final bronze medalist. Career Early years Spiridonov began skating in 2002. He and Amina Atakhanova ...

, though they never competed together internationally.

Partnership with Nagy

2021–2022 season

In September 2021, it was announced that Pavlova had teamed up with Hungarian pair skater, Balázs Nagy and that they would represent Hungary together, coached by Dmitri Savin 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 ...

. Making their debut 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 ...

, where they were seventh, they then competed twice on the Challenger series, finishing fifth 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. ...

and thirteenth at the

2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb The 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb was held on December 7–11, 2021 in Sisak, Croatia. 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. T ...

. After winning the silver medal at the 2022 Four National Championships and the Hungarian Championships, Pavlova/Nagy made their debut at the

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 ...

, finishing eleventh.

Partnership with Sviatchenko

2022–23 season

In November 2022, it was announced that Pavlova's partnership with Nagy had dissolved and that she would continue to represent Hungary with

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

-born pair skater,

. They would be coached by Dmitri Savin and

and primarily train 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 ...

due to the shortage of elite-level training rinks for pair skaters in

. Pavlova dealt with injuries that caused them to miss the early part of their first season together. The pair made their debut at the

2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb The 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb was held on December 7–10, 2022, in Sisak, Croatia. It was part of the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entries The Inter ...

, finishing ninth. Pavlova/Sviatchenko went on to win gold at the 2023 Four National Championships and the 2023 Hungarian Championships. At the 2023 European Championships in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, Pavlova/Sviatchenko skated two clean programs, placing sixth in the short program and fourth in the free skate, finishing in fifth place overall. They then competed at the

2023 Bavarian Open 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

and the

2023 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 ...

, taking gold and silver, respectively. At the 2023 World Championships in Saitama,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, Pavlova/Sviatchenko delivered two strong performances, placing eighth in the short program and seventh in the free skate, finishing in seventh-place overall. Their results were the best for a team representing Hungary in decades.

2023–24 season

Pavlova/Sviatchenko competed twice on the Challenger circuit to begin the season, coming fifth 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 ...

before winning the bronze medal at the

2023 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy was held on October 6–8, 2023, in Espoo, Finland. 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 International ...

. They were then invited to make 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 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 ...

, where they finished fourth in the short program after a spin error. They then moved up to second after the free skate, taking the silver medal. This was the first ever Grand Prix medal for a pair representing Hungary, and the first in any discipline since

Júlia Sebestyén Júlia Sebestyén (; born 14 May 1981) is a Hungarian former competitive figure skater. She is the 2004 European Champion and 2002–2010 Hungarian national champion. At the 2004 European Figure Skating Championships, she became the first Hun ...

's bronze medal at the

2009 Skate America The 2009 Skate America was the fifth event of six in the 2009–10 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York, on 12–15 November. ...

. They were again fourth in the short program at the

2023 Grand Prix of Espoo The 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo was the fifth event of the 2023–24 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 17–19. Med ...

, but another second-place free skate won them the bronze medal. The team's results on the Grand Prix initially had them finishing as first alternates to 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 ...

. They were called up to compete at the

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event following the withdrawal of German team Hocke/ Kunkel, and came in fourth at the event. Pavlova/Sviatchenko competed next 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 fourth in the short program, less than two points back of third place. They came third in the free skate, winning a bronze small medal, but remained fourth overall, 1.66 points behind bronze medalists Ghilardi/ Ambrosini of Italy. They expressed dissatisfaction with the judging of their performances, with Pavlova saying "our motivation goes down every time we keep getting these scores." Finishing the season at the 2024 World Championships in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Pavlova/Sviatchenko came sixth in the short program. They moved up to fourth after the free skate, which she called "very motivating for next season."

2024–25 season

Pavlova and Sviatchenko began the season by competing at the 2024 Lombardia Trophy and the 2024 Shanghai Trophy, where they won bronze and gold, respectively. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, they placed fifth at 2024 Skate America. “This wasn’t our best skate for sure," said Pavlova. "We were both a bit sick ahead of this competition. We have some time now to regroup and will be better at the next competition.” They went on to take silver at the

2024 Finlandia Trophy The 2024 Grand Prix of Finland, Finlandia Trophy was the fifth event of the 2024–25 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland, from N ...

. Going on to compete 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, Pavlova/Sviatchenko placed third in the short program and fourth in the free skate, finishing fourth overall, only 0.44 points behind bronze medalists, Metelkina/ Berulava. The following month, they competed 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 the placed eighth overall after finishing sixth in the short program and eighth in the free skate.

Programs

Pair skating with Alexei Sviatchenko (for Hungary)

Pair skating with Balázs Nagy (for Hungary)

Competitive highlights

Pair skating with Alexei Sviatchenko (for Hungary)

Pair skating with Balázs Nagy (for Hungary)

Single skating (for Russia)

Detailed results

Pair skating with Alexei Sviatchenko (for Hungary)

References

External links

*
Maria Pavlova & Alexei Sviatchenko
at SkatingScores.com *
Maria Pavlova & Balázs Nagy
at SkatingScores.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavlova, Maria 2004 births Living people Russian female pair skaters Hungarian female pair skaters Figure skaters from Moscow Russian emigrants to Hungary Hungarian people of Russian descent Naturalized citizens of Hungary 21st-century Russian sportswomen 21st-century Hungarian sportswomen