Vladimir Samoilov (figure Skater)

Vladimir Sergeevich Samoilov (, ; born 13 May 1999) is a Russian-born figure skater who currently represents Poland. He is the 2022 Bavarian Open champion, the 2022 Volvo Open Cup champion, and a four-time Polish national champion (2022-25).

Personal life

Samoilov was born on 13 May 1999 in Moscow, Russia. He has an older sister, Katerina, who coaches figure skating.

Career

Early career

Samoilov began skating in 2003 at CSKA Sports School in Moscow under coach Irina Galustyan. He remained with Galustyan until 2009, after which he changed coaches several times, moving to Elena Sokolova for the 2009–2010 season, Anastasia Timofeeva for the 2010–2011 season, and Irina Smirnova for the summer of 2011. In December 2011, he moved back to CSKA to train under Inna Goncharenko.

His time with Goncharenko lasted until the 2016–2017 season, after which he moved to Sambo 70 to train under Eteri Tutberidze, Sergei Dudakov, and Daniil Gleikhengauz on the advice of Goncharenko. Samoilov was only in Tutberidze's camp for one season with little success due to a back injury he incurred there, which prevented him from training normally. He contemplated retiring from competition before he eventually moved to Evgeni Plushenko's new Academy Angels of Plushenko in August 2017.

2017–18 season

After four years of competition on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, Samoilov earned his first JGP medal in October 2017 at JGP Italy in Egna-Neumarkt. Samoilov won the short program with a score of 77.65 but was third in the free program after a series of falls. He won the silver medal behind Italian skater Matteo Rizzo and ahead of bronze medalist, American Tomoki Hiwatashi.

Samoilov competed next at 2017 Minsk-Arena Ice Star, where he placed first in the junior men's division by a margin of almost 20 points over silver medalist Irakli Maysuradze. He attempted three quadruple jumps in the free program, including one in combination, and successfully completed two.

At the 2018 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Samoilov had his best career finish at the event at the senior level, placing sixth overall – a major improvement over his seventeenth-place finish the year before. As a result of his placement at the event, Samoilov was named onto the Russian senior men's national reserve team for the 2018–2019 season.

2018–19 season

Samoilov departed Plushenko's training camp in the summer before the start of the 2018–19 season, following assistant coaches Alexei Vasilevsky and Yulia Lavrenchuk to their new program. He only competed domestically this season, finishing eleventh at the 2019 Russian Figure Skating Championships.

2019–20 season

Samoilov again changed coaches before the start of the 2019–20 season, this time moving to train under Viktoria Butsaeva. Under Butsaeva, Samoilov appeared to strengthen his jumps, demonstrating the ability to perform all five different types of quad jumps (4T, 4S, 4Lo, 4F, and 4Lz), as well as difficult combinations such as the triple Axel-triple loop. He again qualified to the 2020 Russian Figure Skating Championships through the domestic Cup of Russia system but was only able to finish fifteenth overall after a disastrous short program left him initially in seventeenth place.

2020–21 season: End of career for Russia

Samoilov did not compete during the 2020–21 figure skating season but continued to train under Butsaeva. During the season, he displayed impressive jumping feats on social media, including quad Salchow-Euler-quad Salchow and quad Lutz-Euler-quad Salchow combinations. On 18 May 2021, Russian media outlets began reporting that Samoilov had put in a request with the Russian Figure Skating Federation for a transfer to represent Poland. Samoilov confirmed the transition in an interview with Sport-Express.ru. The transfer process, in actuality, began in 2019.

2021–22 season: Debut for Poland

Due to his transfer to represent Poland, Samoilov was banned from training in Russia by the Russian Figure Skating Federation and was forced to leave coach Viktoria Butsaeva. He began training in Egna, Italy, with coaches Lorenzo Magri and Angelina Turenko in October 2021. He was scheduled to make his domestic debut representing Poland at the Federation's season-opening event in early September but withdrew before the start of the competition because of inadequate preparation time. He later received his first international assignment for Poland, the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, replacing French skater Adam Siao Him Fa after he withdrew from the event. In Zagreb, Samoilov placed fifteenth in the short program after falling on a downgraded triple Axel attempt. His struggles continued in the free skate, where he fell to twenty-first in the segment and eighteenth overall.

The following weekend, Samoilov won his first Polish national title at the 2022 Four National Championships. He placed fourth in the short program due to a fall on a downgraded planned quad Salchow and a popped triple Axel attempt but climbed to second in the free skate by skating a mostly clean program of triple jumps. He placed third in the overall event behind Czech skaters Matyáš Bělohradský and Georgii Reshtenko but finished first of the Polish entrants. Despite his win, Samoilov was only named as first alternate to the Polish men's berth at the 2022 European Championships, with Kornel Witkowski receiving the assignment.

Samoilov next competed at the 2022 Bavarian Open in January. He placed third in the short program after popping his planned quad Salchow to an invalid double but climbed to first in the free skate to take the title ahead of Austria's Luc Maierhofer and Kai Jagoda of Germany.

Samoilov was assigned to Poland's berth in the men's event at the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier in late March. He popped a planned triple Axel into a single in the short program and later fell during his step sequence. He scored 60.71 and did not advance to the free skate, finishing in twenty-seventh place.

2022–23 season

Samoilov appeared three times on the Challenger circuit, coming seventh at the 2022 CS Budapest Trophy, sixth at the 2022 CS Nepela Memorial, and seventh at the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup. He finished first among all skaters at the 2023 Four National Championships, earning a second Polish title.

Making his debut at the European Championships, Samoilov finished sixth in the short program and set a new personal best of 78.26. He dropped to seventeenth after the free skate. Samoilov finished thirty-third at the 2023 World Championships.

2023–24 season

Samoilov started the season by competing on the 2023–24 ISU Challenger Series, finishing tenth at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial, sixth at the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy, and fifth at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb. Between the latter two events, Samoilov would also win the 2023 Volvo Open Cup.

In December, he would win the bronze medal at the 2024 Four National Championships behind Adam Hagara and Georgii Reshtenko. Selected to compete at the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, Samoilov placed sixteenth in the short program but achieved a personal best score in the free skate, placing fifth in that segment and moving up to eighth place overall. He subsequently finished fifth at the 2024 International Challenge Cup.

Samoilov would then compete at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in March. He placed thirty-first in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.

2024–25 season

Samoilov began the season by finishing eighth at the 2024 CS Budapest Trophy. Making his senior ISU Grand Prix debut, Samoilov competed at the 2024 Finlandia Trophy, where he finished eighth. Continuing to compete on the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series, he won the gold medal at the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup and finished sixth at the 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.

In mid-December, he won the bronze medal at the 2025 Four National Championships. He then followed this up with a silver medal win at the 2025 Volvo Open Cup.

Selected to compete at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Samoilov placed third in the short program, winning a small bronze medal. However, he struggled during the free program, only placing thirteenth in that segment and dropping to tenth place overall. He subsequently finished fifth at the Road to 26 Trophy in Milan, Italy, a test event for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

In March, he competed at the 2025 World Championships held in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, where he finished twenty-third overall. His placement won Poland a quota for men's singles skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Programs

Competitive highlights

Single skating (for Poland)

Single skating (for Russia)

Detailed results

Single skating (for Poland)

Single skating (for Russia)

Senior level

Junior level

References

External links

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Vladimir Samoilov (for Poland)
at SkatingScores

Vladimir Samoilov (for Russia)
at SkatingScores

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samoilov, Vladimir
1999 births
Russian male single skaters
Polish male single skaters
Figure skaters from Moscow
Living people
21st-century Russian sportsmen
21st-century Polish sportsmen