Maxim Nikitin

Maxim Kostiantynovych Nikitin (Ukrainian: Максим Костянтинович Нікітін; born 5 October 1994) is a Ukrainian ice dancer. With partner Oleksandra Nazarova, he is the 2015 World Junior bronze medalist and 2012 Youth Olympic silver medalist. On the senior level, they are the 2017 Winter Universiade champions, 2014 CS Warsaw Cup silver medalists, 2016 Cup of Nice bronze medalists, four-time Ukrainian national champions (2015, 2017, 2018, 2020) and qualified a spot for Ukraine at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Maxim Nikitin
Nazarova and Nikitin at the 2018 European Championships
Personal information
Native nameМаксим Костянтинович Нікітін
Full nameMaxim Kostiantynovych Nikitin
Alternative namesMaksym Nikitin
Country representedUkraine
Born (1994-10-05) 5 October 1994
Kharkiv, Ukraine
Home townKharkiv
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
PartnerOleksandra Nazarova
CoachAlexander Zhulin, Halyna Churilova, Petr Durnev
Former coachIgor Shpilband, Fabian Bourzat, Oleg Volkov, Mariana Kozlova
ChoreographerSergei Petukhov
Former choreographerLarysa Fiodorova, Halyna Churilova, Mariana Kozlova, Greg Zuerlein, Adrienne Lenda
Skating clubKolos Kharkiv
Training locationsNovi, Michigan, United States
Former training locationsKharkiv, Ukraine
Moscow, Russia
Began skating1998
ISU personal best scores
Combined total172.98
2019 Lombardia Trophy
Short dance68.51
2019 Lombardia Trophy
Free dance104.47
2019 Lombardia Trophy

Personal life

Maxim Nikitin was born on 5 October 1994 in Kharkiv, Ukraine.[1] Around 2012, he enrolled at the Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture, where he is a correspondence student.[2]

Career

Early career

Nikitin was a recreational single skater in his early years. Around 2004, Halyna Churilova encouraged him and Oleksandra Nazarova, also a single skater from Kharkiv, to form an ice dancing partnership.[2]

Nazarova/Nikitin debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in 2010. They placed 11th in Graz, Austria and 7th in Sheffield, England. Churilova coached the team in their hometown.[3]

In the 2011–2012 season, they made no appearances on the JGP series but were sent to the Youth Olympics in January 2012 in Innsbruck, Austria. They won the silver medal behind Russia's Anna Yanovskaya / Sergey Mozgov.

2012–2013 season

Nazarova/Nikitin placed 5th at both of their 2012 JGP events and were assigned to their first World Junior Championships. At the latter competition, held in late February and early March 2013 in Milan, Italy, the duo placed 12th in the short dance, 9th in the free dance, and 11th overall. After the event, Churilova advised them to join Russian coach Alexander Zhulin.[2] They relocated to Moscow to train with Zhulin and Oleg Volkov.[4]

2013–2014 season

Nazarova/Nikitin won silver at both of their 2013 JGP assignments and qualified for the JGP Final. They placed fifth at the Final, held in December 2013 in Fukuoka, Japan. In March 2014, they finished fifth at the World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, having ranked seventh in the short dance and fourth in the free dance.

2014–2015 season: Senior debut

Nazarova/Nikitin continued training in Moscow in the 2014–2015 season.[5] At the Junior Grand Prix event in Courchevel, France, they ranked fifth in the short dance and third in the free dance. The duo finished fourth overall, 0.54 shy of third place. They won the bronze medal at their next JGP event, in Tallinn, Estonia, after placing sixth in the short and third in the free dance.

Making their senior international debut, Nazarova/Nikitin won the silver medal at the Warsaw Cup, a Challenger Series event in November 2014. After winning the Ukrainian senior national title, they were named in Ukraine's team to the European Championships, held in late January 2015 in Stockholm, Sweden. Ranked 12th in the short dance and 11th in the free dance, the two finished 11th overall.

In early March, the two competed at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. They were awarded the bronze medal after placing fifth in the short dance, second in the free dance, and third overall behind Anna Yanovskaya / Sergey Mozgov of Russia and Lorraine McNamara / Quinn Carpenter of the United States. It was Ukraine's first podium finish at the event since 2000. At the end of the same month, Nazarova/Nikitin competed on the senior level at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, China; they ranked 17th in both segments and overall.

2015–2016 season

Making their Grand Prix debut, Nazarova/Nikitin finished 7th at the 2015 Skate America. They withdrew from the Ukrainian Championships due to Nazarova's knee injury.[6] The duo returned to competition in late March 2016 at the World Championships in Boston. Ranked 20th in the short dance, they narrowly qualified for the free dance where they placed 18th, resulting in a final placement of 19th.

Deciding to change coaches, Nazarova/Nikitin joined Igor Shpilband and Fabian Bourzat in Novi, Michigan in late June 2016.[7][8][1]

2016–2017 season

Nazarova/Nikitin opened their season with a bronze medal at the International Cup of Nice. They finished 7th at their Grand Prix assignment, the 2016 Trophée de France, and 9th at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

In February, they received the gold medal at the 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In March, they placed 15th at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Due to their result, Ukraine qualified a spot in the ice dancing event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

2017–2018 season

Nazarova/Nikitin won the bronze medal at the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy and the 2017 CS Warsaw Cup, and placed fourth at the 2017 CS Ice Star. At their lone Grand Prix assignment for the year, 2017 NHK Trophy, they placed sixth. They placed eleventh at the European Championships, before competing at their first Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where they placed twenty-first. They concluded with the 2018 World Championships, placing fifteenth.

2018–2019 season

The new season began at the 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where they struggled, placing ninth. Assigned to two Grand Prix events, they placed eighth at Skate America and ninth at NHK Trophy. They did not compete at the Ukrainian or European Championships, with Darya Popova / Volodymyr Byelikov winning the former and attending the latter as the Ukrainian competitor. At the 2019 World Championships, Nazarova/Nikitin placed twentieth.

2019–2020 season

Nazarova/Nikitin began the season at the 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy, where they placed fourth in both programs to win the bronze medal overall. They went on to win the bronze medal at the 2019 CS Ice Star where they set a personal best in the Rhythm Dance and overall score. They went on to win two other international events and a silver medal at the 2019 Bosphorus Cup. Later that year, they won the Ukraine Championships.

National champions again, Nazarova/Nikitin finished the season at the 2020 European Championships, where they placed tenth.[9] They had been assigned to compete at the World Championships in Montreal, but these were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.[10]

2020–2021 season

Nazarova/Nikitin debuted at the 2020 CS Budapest Trophy, winning the gold medal. They competed on the Grand Prix at the 2020 Rostelecom Cup, placing sixth.[11]

Programs

(with Nazarova)

Season Short dance Free dance Exhibition
2019–2021
[12]
  • Prima Donna
  • Après la Pluie
  • Steppe
    by René Aubry
    choreo. by Sergei Petukhov
  • Moonlight Night
    by Oleg Vynnyk
2018–2019
[13]
2017–2018
[14]
2016–2017
[1]
  • Droit de cité
    by Raphaël Beau
    (from Micmacs)
  • Sur le mesure
    by Hugues Le Bars
  • Diabolique
    by Raphaël Beau
    (from Micmacs)
2015–2016
[15][16]
2014–2015
[17][18][2]
Senior level
  • Flamenco: Street Dance
    by Didulia
  • Paso Doble

Junior level

  • Samba Vocalizado
    by Luciano Perrone
  • Rhumba: Perfidia
    by John Altman
  • Samba Vocalizado
    by Luciano Perrone
2013–2014
[4]
2012–2013
[19]
2011–2012
[20]
2010–2011
[3]
2009–2010
  • Ukrainian folk dance
  • Hi-De-Ho
    by K7
  • This Business of Love
  • Hey Pachuco
2007–2008
  • Caravan

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Nazarova

International[21]
Event 07–08 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21
Winter Olympics21st
Worlds17th19th15th15th20thC
Europeans11th9th11th10th
GP NHK Trophy6th9th
GP Rostelecom Cup6th
GP Skate America7th8th
GP Trophée7th
CS Budapest1st
CS Golden Spin4th6th
CS Ice Star4th3rd
CS Lombardia3rd3rd
CS Nebelhorn9th
CS Tallinn Trophy6th
CS U.S. Classic4th
CS Warsaw Cup2nd3rd
Winter Universiade1st
Bosphorus Cup2nd
Cup of Nice3rd5th
Ice Star1st
Mezzaluna Cup1st
Open Ice Mall1st
Pavel Roman Memorial1st1st
Santa Claus Cup1st
LuMi Dance Trophy TBD
International: Junior and novice[21]
Junior Worlds11th5th3rd
Youth Olympics2nd
JGP Final5th
JGP Austria11th5th
JGP Croatia5th
JGP Czech Rep.4th
JGP Estonia2nd3rd
JGP Poland2nd
JGP U.K.7th
Volvo Open2nd J
Istanbul Cup5th J
NRW Trophy1st N1st N10th J5th J7th J
Santa Cup8th J1st J
National[21]
Ukrainian Champ.1st J1stWD1st1st1st
Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Event cancelled

References

  1. "Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 30 May 2017.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. Golinsky, Reut (23 March 2015). "Meet Alexandra (Sasha) Nazarova and Maxim Nikitin". Absolute Skating.
  3. "Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. "Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 21 June 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. Максим Никитин: О смене гражданства у нас даже мыслей не было [Maxim Nikitin: We did not consider changing citizenship] (in Russian). Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation. 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. "СПИСКИ УЧАСТНИКОВ ЧЕМПИОНАТА УКРАИНЫ ПО ФИГУРНОМУ КАТАНИЮ" [List of competitors at the Ukrainian Figure Skating Championships]. Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation (in Russian). 18 December 2015. Archived from the original on 18 December 2015.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. Vlasyuk, Lyudmyla (26 December 2016). "Своїм танцем ми прагнемо викликати у глядачів позитивні емоції" [We want to create positive emotions with our dance] (in Ukrainian). Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation.
  8. Samokhvalov, Anatoliy (29 June 2016). "Украинская пара фигуристов Назарова/Никитин перешла от тренера Жулина к Шпильбанду" [Ukrainian figure skating duo Nazarova/Nikitin changes coaches from Zhulin to Shpilband]. rsport.ru (in Russian).
  9. "2020 ISU European Figure Skating Championships Results". International Skating Union.
  10. Ewing, Lori (March 11, 2020). "World figure skating championships cancelled in Montreal". CBC Sports.
  11. "ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2020". International Skating Union.
  12. "Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 15 September 2019.
  13. "Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018.
  14. "Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 31 October 2017.
  15. "Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. Flade, Tatjana (July 9, 2015). "Nazarova and Nikitin take on new style for 2015-16". Golden Skate.
  17. "Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. "Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. "Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013.
  20. Golinsky, Reut (11 February 2012). "Youth Olympic Games 2012". Absolute Skating. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  21. "Competition Results: Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN". International Skating Union.
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