Solène Mazingue (; born 11 February 2003) is a French-Estonian

ice dance 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. Ac ...

r. With former partner,

Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko (born 1 November 2001) is an Estonian ice dancer. With former partner, Solène Mazingue, he is the 2021 JGP France II bronze medalist, a two-time Estonian national champion (2022, 2024), and he competed in the final seg ...

, she is the 2021 JGP France II bronze medalist, a two time Estonian national champion (2022, 2024), and competed in the final segment 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

Mazingue was born on 11 February 2003 in Paris, France. As of 2022, she is a university student studying law. In November 2024, Mazingue alleged that fellow ice dancer Ivan Desyatov sexually assaulted her in a hotel room during the

2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb The 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb was held on December 6–9, 2023, in Sisak, Croatia. It was the ninth and final event of the 2023–24 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. ...

after she had taken medication prescribed for a brain injury sustained in 2022. Mazingue also accused the Ice Academy of Montreal coaches of not taking her claims seriously, alleging that she had confided in

Marie-France Dubreuil Marie-France Dubreuil (born August 11, 1974) is a Canadian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With her husband Patrice Lauzon, she is a two-time (2006–2007) World silver medallist. Personal life Marie-France Dubreuil was born on Augu ...

about what had happened to her. She further alleged that Dubreuil promised to report the incident to SkateSafe and the leaders of Team USA. However, Dubreuil did not follow through for the U.S. Center for SafeSport did not receive any prior report about the alleged incident until September 2024, which Mazingue filed herself. This report would result in Desyatov receiving an indefinite suspension as SafeSport investigates Mazingue's claims. She would also accuse the Estonian Skating Union of failing to take action upon being made aware of her claims.

Career

Early years

Mazingue began learning how to skate in 2006 as a three-year-old. By the 2012–13 season, she was competing in ice dance with Jean-Hans Fourneaux for France. The duo trained at Rouen Olympic Club in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

. By 2018, Mazingue had teamed up with Maxime Dos Reis for France. Mazingue/Dos Reis competed together from 2018 to 2020. During their partnership, they appeared at six junior international events and finished sixth at the 2019 and 2020 French Junior Championships. The team split after the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

brought the 2019–20 season to an end. The pandemic made searching for a new partner difficult, but Mazingue eventually arranged a tryout in France with Estonian ice dancer

in December 2020. In January 2021, they announced their partnership.

2021–2022 season

Mazingue/Gaidajenko made their international debut in August at the 2021 JGP France II, the second of two events held in

Courchevel Courchevel () is a French Alps ski resort located in the Tarentaise Valley. It is a part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski areas in the world. Courchevel also refers to the towns of Courchevel 1300 (Le Praz), Courchevel 1550, Co ...

. There, the team placed fifth in the rhythm dance but rose to third in the free dance to claim the bronze medal overall behind American teams

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

and

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...

/ Tsarevski. Their medal marked the first medal for Estonia on the Junior Grand Prix circuit in ice dance since 2011. At their second JGP event, the 2021 JGP Austria, Mazingue/Gaidajenko finished ninth. Moving up to the senior level, Mazingue/Gaidajenko made their Challenger Series debut in November at the

2021 CS Warsaw Cup The 2021 CS Warsaw Cup was held on November 17–20 in Warsaw, Poland. 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. Entries The Int ...

. They placed fifteenth at the event. Later in December, they won their first senior national title at the 2022 Estonian Championships before returning to the Challenger Series 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 ...

, where they finished ninth. Due to their placement at Estonian nationals, Mazingue/Gaidajenko were assigned to Estonia's berth in ice dance at the

. On the decision to compete at both levels in one season, atypical in ice dance, Gaidajenko would later note "it's usually more challenging because it's usually absolutely two different rhythm dances, but last season that was the same subject, like a hip hop and street culture. Also, it was both the blues. It's Midnight Blues (senior) and Blues (junior), so it was easier." At the European Championships, held in Gaidajenko's hometown

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 ...

, Mazingue/Gaidajenko set a new personal best in the rhythm dance to qualify to the free dance in twentieth place. They maintained their standing in the free dance and finished twentieth overall. Mazingue/Gaidajenko concluded the season at the 2022 World Championships, held in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

with Russian dance teams absent due to the

International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international sport governing body, governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded ...

banning all Russian athletes due to their country's invasion of Ukraine. They qualified to the free dance and finished nineteenth.

2022–2023 season

The Russo-Ukrainian War necessitated that Mazingue and Gaidajenko leave their Moscow training location, which had already been inconvenient in terms of visa access. In advance of the next season, they opted to move to train at the Ice Academy of Montreal, widely considered the world's top ice dance training center, under Canadian coaches

and

Patrice Lauzon Patrice Lauzon (born November 26, 1975) is a Canadian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With his wife Marie-France Dubreuil, he is a two-time (2006–2007) World silver medalist. Personal life Patrice Lauzon was born in Montreal, Quebe ...

and Frenchman

Romain Haguenauer Romain Haguenauer (born 16 July 1976) is a French ice dancing coach, choreographer, and former competitor. He is best known for his work with the French five-time World and 2022 Olympic champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron; and with ...

. They were scheduled to begin the season at the

Finlandia Trophy The Finlandia Trophy an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by Skating Finland (). The competition debuted in 1995 in Helsinki, and when the ISU launched the ISU Challenger ...

in October, but a week in advance of the event, they had a major training accident. After Gaidajenko tripped while practicing a lift, Mazingue hit her head on the ice, suffering a

skull fracture A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near the site of ...

and

intracranial bleeding Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) refers to any form of bleeding within the skull. It can result from trauma, vascular abnormalities, hypertension, or other medical conditions. ICH is broadly categorized into several subtypes based on the location ...

that required surgery. After months of physiotherapy, Mazingue was allowed to return to the ice in January. Describing her resumption of training later, she said that "the day I finally got on the ice, I started crying because I had so many emotions at once — excitement, sadness, joy. All at once! I cried and hugged Marko and then I knew that nothing can stop me, one day I will become an Olympic champion. Because this accident was crazy, but I came back to the ice and this is my victory." After resuming training, with Mazingue wearing a protective helmet until March, the team was eventually cleared to compete at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama. Gaidajenko explained that "we made this decision for Solene and for us as a couple. Every person needs a goal to strive for." Mazingue/Gaidajenko placed twenty-eighth in the rhythm dance with a score of 55.67 points. They did not qualify for the free dance, but Mazingue stated afterward that they went in knowing that was unlikely, and that had they managed to do so, they would have withdrawn beforehand as they were not ready for it yet. As a result of their low placements in the season, the team lost their financial support from the Estonian Skating Union and began to fundraise via

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

2023–2024 season

Mazingue/Gaidajenko started the season by winning gold at the 2023 NRW Trophy and finishing seventh at the

. They went on to win their second national title at the 2024 Estonian Championships. 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 ...

, Mazingue/Gaidajenko finished twentieth. Two months later at the 2024 World Championships in

Montreal, Quebec 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 ...

, Canada, they place thirty-third in the rhythm dance and failed to advance to the free dance. In October 2024, it was announced that Mazingue/Gaidajenko's partnership had ended. Mazingue would share that she had been unable to bring herself to skate since the World Championships due to the trauma of having allegedly been sexually assaulted in December 2023.

Programs

Ice dance with Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko (for Estonia)

Competitive highlights

Ice dance with Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko (for Estonia)

Ice dance with Maxime Dos Reis (for France)

Detailed results

Ice dance with Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko (for Estonia)

Senior level

Junior level

References

External links

*
Solène Mazingue & Marko Evgeni Gaidajenko
at SkatingScores.com
Solène Mazingue & Maxime Dos Reis
at SkatingScores.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mazingue, Solene Estonian female ice dancers French female ice dancers Figure skaters from Paris Living people 2003 births 21st-century French sportswomen