Sergei Nikolayevich Novitski (, born 16 May 1981) is a Russian former competitive

ice dancer Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

. He skated with Jana Khokhlova until April 2010. Together, they are the 2008 World bronze medalists, 2009 European champions, and two-time (2008–09) Russian national champions.

Career

Originally a singles skater, he switched to dance after failing to get his triple jumps. Early in his career he skated with Oksana Goncharenko. He then skated with Natalia Lepetiukha until she retired.

Partnership with Jana Khokhlova

In October 2001, he teamed up with Jana Khokhlova, coached by Larisa Filina. Three months later, they finished seventh at the Russian Nationals. In 2003, they switched to the husband-and-wife coaching team of Alexander Svinin and Irina Zhuk. Khokhlova / Novitski trained mainly in Moscow's Sokolniki ice rink where ice time was limited, forcing them to move around to other rinks, however, the situation later improved. In 2006, Khokhlova / Novitski qualified for the Olympics in Turin, Italy, finishing 12th. In autumn of 2006, they won their first Grand Prix series medals and qualified for 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 placed 4th at 2007 Europeans and 8th at Worlds. Their breakthrough came during the 2007-08 season. At

2007 Trophée Eric Bompard 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

, Khokhlova / Novitski upset reigning European champions Isabel Delobel /

Olivier Schoenfelder Olivier Schoenfelder (born 30 November 1977) is a French retired ice dancing, ice dancer and coach. With partner Isabelle Delobel, he is the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships, 2008 World champion, the 2007 European Figure Skating Championsh ...

to win the free dance, although finishing second overall. They then claimed bronze at the 2008 Europeans. At 2008 Worlds, they were second after the

original dance The original dance (OD) was one of the programs performed by figure skaters in ice dance competitions, in which the ice dancers skated "a dance of their own creation to dance music they have selected for the designated rhythm(s)".Rulebook, p. 90 ...

which combined with a fifth place in the

free dance Free dance is a 20th-century dance form that preceded modern dance. Rebelling against the rigid constraints of classical ballet, Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis (with her work in theater) developed their own styles of free dance a ...

saw them finish in third overall and earn them a World medal. During the 2008-09 season, Khokhlova / Novitski won gold at the European Championships but slipped to 6th at Worlds. The following season, they slipped further in the rankings, dropping to third at 2010 Europeans and 9th at the Olympics. They withdrew from Worlds due to Novitski's injury. He was injured in a car accident in 2006 and never fully healed. Following his competitive retirement, Novitski began coaching in Moscow.

Programs

(with Khokhlova)

Competitive highlights

''GP:

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 ...

; JGP:

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 ...

With Khokhlova

With Lepetiukha

With Goncharenko

References

External links

*
Official site - Khokhlova / Novitski
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novitski, Sergei 1981 births Russian male ice dancers Figure skaters from Moscow Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Living people Olympic figure skaters for Russia World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Winter World University Games medalists in figure skating FISU World University Games gold medalists for Russia Medalists at the 2003 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2005 Winter Universiade 21st-century Russian sportsmen