Sofja Stepčenko (born 21 December 2006) is a Latvian

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. She is a two-time Latvian national champion (2022-23) and 2023

Volvo Open Cup The Volvo Open Cup is an annual international figure skating competition held in Riga, Latvia. In some years, the event is part of the ISU Challenger Series. Medals may be awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance ...

champion. She placed eleventh at the 2023 European Championships.

Career

Early years

Stepčenko began figure skating in 2010. She competed in the advanced novice category for two seasons and then moved up to the junior ranks in 2020.

2021–22 season

Stepčenko made her

ISU 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 figure skating competition, junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded ...

(JGP) debut in September, finishing seventeenth at 2021 JGP Poland. She followed this up with a twenty-sixth place finish at 2021 JGP Austria. She subsequently won silver on the junior level at the 2021 Victor Petrenko Cup, at the 2021 Volvo Open Cup, and at the 2022 Kurbada Cup.

2022–23 season

Stepčenko began her season on the

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 ...

series, finishing twenty-first at the 2022 JGP France and twelfth at the 2022 JGP Latvia. In November, making her senior international debut, she placed fourth at the

and seventh at the

Tallinn Trophy The Tallinn Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted in Tallinn, Estonia, by the Estonian Skating Union (). It debuted in 2002 as a regional competition before e ...

. Her first senior international medal, gold, came in December at the Latvia Trophy. The second-best Latvian woman at the event was

Angelīna Kučvaļska Angelīna Kučvaļska (born 6 December 1998) is a Latvian figure skater. She is the 2014 CS Volvo Open Cup champion, a two-time Toruń Cup champion (2015, 2016), the 2014 Tallinn Trophy champion, and a five-time Latvian Figure Skating Championship ...

, who finished in fifth place. Stepčenko was nominated to represent Latvia at the 2023 European Championships, which took place in January in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland. Ranked fourteenth in the short program, she qualified to the free skate and climbed to eleventh overall. This was the best European result by a Latvian woman since Angelina Kučvaļska's fourth place at the 2016 edition. Stepčenko came twenty-third at the 2023 World Championships.

2023–24 season

Sofja Stepcenko 2024 Worlds Short Program 0

Stepčenko started the season by competing on the

series, finishing sixth at the 2023 JGP Turkey. She went on to compete on the senior international level as well, winning the 2023 Jelgava Cup and placing twelfth at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial. Appearing again on the Junior Grand Prix, Stepčenko finished tenth at the 2023 JGP Armenia. Her next event was the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy, where she finished eleventh. Going on to compete at two events in Latvia, Stepčenko won silver at the 2023 Volvo Open Cup and gold at the 2023 Latvia Trophy. Selected to compete at the 2024 European Championships in

Kaunas, Lithuania Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, Stepčenko placed twenty-first in the short program and thirteenth in the free skate, finishing thirteenth overall. At this event, Stepčenko scored a new personal best free skate score. Soon after, Stepčenko competed on the junior level at the 2024 Volvo Open Cup, winning the gold medal. Competing at the 2024 Youth Olympics, Stepčenko finished sixteenth. She then competed at the 2024 World Championships, where she placed thirty-first.

2024–25 season

In July, it was announced that Stepčenko had left longtime coach, Olga Kovalkova and had relocated to

Champéry Champéry (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Monthey (district), Monthey in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Valais in Switzerland. History Champéry is first mentioned in 1286 as ''Champery''. The Ho ...

, Switzerland to train under

Stéphane Lambiel Stéphane Lambiel (born 2 April 1985) is a Swiss former competitive figure skater who now works as a coach and choreographer. He is a two-time (2005–2006) World champion, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time (2005, 2007) Grand Prix ...

. Competing at the

2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 19–21, 2024, in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was part of the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. En ...

, Stepčenko finished twelfth. Debuting on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, Stepčenko finished twelfth at 2024 Skate America. She then went on to finish ninth at the

2024 CS Tallinn Trophy The 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy was held on November 12–17, 2024, in Tallinn, Estonia, as a part of the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, and ice dance. Entries The International Skating Union ...

and at the 2024 Santa Claus Cup. In December, Stepčenko won the silver medal at the 2025 Latvian Championships behind Anastasija Konga. She subsequently finished sixth at the 2025 Bavarian Open and won the bronze medal at the 2025 Skate Helena. Although she completed the short program at the 2025 Dragon Trophy, she withdrew before the event's free skate. In March, Stepčenko competed at the 2025 Daugava Open Cup, where she finished in fourth place. The following week, she 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. She placed thirtieth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.

Programs

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 ...

; CS: Challenger Series; JGP:

Detailed results

Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.

Senior results

Junior results

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stepcenko, Sofja 2006 births Living people Latvian female single skaters Figure skaters from Riga Figure skaters at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics