Ekaterina Vladimirovna Riazanova (Russian: Екатерина Владимировна Рязанова, born 6 April 1991) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer. With former partner Ilia Tkachenko, she is the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard silver medalist, the 2012 Skate Canada bronze medalist, and a three-time Russian national medalist.

Ekaterina Riazanova
Riazanova and Tkachenko in 2010
Full nameEkaterina Vladimirovna Riazanova
Born (1991-04-06) 6 April 1991 (age 32)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Figure skating career
Country Russia
Began skating1995
Retired2015
Medal record
Figure skating: Ice dancing
Representing  Russia
(with Tkachenko)
Russian Championships
Silver medal – second place 2011 Saransk Ice dancing
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Saransk Ice dancing
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Sochi Ice dancing
Representing  Russia
(with Guerreiro)
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Sofia Ice dancing
Junior Grand Prix Final
Bronze medal – third place 2008–09 Goyang Ice dancing

Career edit

Early career edit

Riazanova's parents put her in skating to improve her health.[1] She skated in singles until ankle problems led her to take up ice dancing under coach Svetlana Alexeeva.[1][2] She skated for six months with her first partner, Kirill Vakhnenko, and then teamed up with Jonathan Guerreiro in the summer of 2006.[1][2][3] Riazanova/Guerreiro competed together for three seasons and won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Junior Championships. They were coached by Elena Kustarova and Svetlana Alexeeva at Blue Bird FSC in Moscow.[4]

Senior career edit

In spring 2009, Ilia Tkachenko expressed interest in skating with Riazanova. After a tryout, they both felt it would be a good partnership, despite her needing time to adapt to his different technique and some disapproval from the Russian skating federation.[5] They were coached by Alexei Gorshkov at Odintsovo FSC, near Moscow.[5]

Riazanova/Tkachenko began competing together during the 2009–10 season. They finished fourth at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, sixth at their sole Grand Prix event, the 2009 Cup of Russia, and fourth at the Russian Nationals.

Riazanova/Tkachenko decided to scrap the free dance they had planned for the 2010–11 season and prepare a new one.[6] They placed fifth at their first Grand Prix event of the season, the 2010 Skate America, and then won silver at the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard. At the 2011 Russian Nationals, they won the silver medal and their first berth to the European Championships.[6] At the 2011 Europeans, Riazanova/Tkachenko placed fifth in the short dance, sixth in the free dance, and sixth overall.[7] Russia had only two spots to the World Championships and since both Bobrova/Soloviev and Ilinykh/Katsalapov had placed ahead of them at Europeans, they did not make the team, however, they continued training as first alternates and also worked on new programs until the end of May; after vacation, they resumed training for the new season on 20 June, including a three-week camp in Bulgaria.[5]

 
Riazanova and Tkachenko with coach Alexei Gorshkov (right) and choreographer Sergei Petukhov (left)

For the 2011–12 season, Riazanova/Tkachenko were assigned to 2011 Skate Canada and 2011 Cup of Russia as their Grand Prix events. On their free dance, which was choreographed by Sergei Petukhov, Riazanova said, "A young woman remembers her beloved, who is no longer alive. She is so deeply immersed in the memories of happy times that her dreams seem to become reality for a short while."[1] They had to withdraw from 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy because Tkachenko's new passport was not ready.[8][9] On 13 December 2011, Riazanova sustained a concussion and a broken nose when Tkachenko accidentally elbowed her in practice; she was released from hospital at her own risk on 20 December.[10][11] At the Russian Championships which began on 25 December, Riazanova/Tkachenko won the bronze medal after placing third in the short dance and fourth in the free dance.[11][12] They finished 5th overall at the 2012 European Championships but received a small bronze medal for their 3rd place in the short dance. They finished 9th at the 2012 World Championships.

In April 2012, Tkachenko said they would spend some time preparing for the following season in Marina Zueva and Igor Shpilband's group in the U.S.,[13] however, the coaches parted ways so the skaters decided to train with Shpilband in Novi, Michigan.[14][15] At a camp in Bulgaria, Tkachenko lost his balance while practicing a lift on the floor in skates and stepped on Riazanova's hand; she had surgery on her hand and recovered well.[15] At the suggestion of Tatiana Tarasova, they decided to scrap a new free dance to Pink Floyd's Hey You and made a new one to a waltz from the Godfather films.[15] Riazanova/Tkachenko won bronze medals at the 2012 Skate Canada and 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard. They repeated as bronze medalists at the 2013 Russian Championships.

In the 2013–14 season, Riazanova/Tkachenko finished fourth in their two Grand Prix events, the 2013 Skate Canada and the 2013 Rostelecom Cup. They then finished fourth at the 2014 Russian Championships behind Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan Zhiganshin. On 24 April 2014, Riazanova announced that they had parted ways and that she was seeking a new partner to continue her career.[16]

Riazanova had a tryout with Italy's Simone Vaturi. In May 2014, she stated that the Russian federation had agreed to release her to skate for another country.[17]

Personal life edit

Ekaterina Riazanova's father, Vladimir, was a member of the Russian national rugby team.[4] She has an older brother.[3] Riazanova studied at the Institute of Physiculture.[5]

Programs edit

With Tkachenko edit

 
Riazanova and Tkachenko at the 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard
Season Short dance Free dance Exhibition
2013–2014
[18]
2012–2013
[19][20]
My Fair Lady:
2011–2012
[1][21]
  • Paxi Ni Ngongo
    by Bonga
  • Cuba
2010–2011
[22]
Original dance
2009–2010
[23]

With Guerreiro edit

Season Original dance Free dance
2008–2009
[4]
2007–2008
[24]
  • Perfida
    by Alberto Dominguez
2006–2007
  • Spanish Dance
    by Jose Moren

Competitive highlights edit

With Vaturi edit

National
Event 2014–15
Italian Championships 4th

With Tkachenko edit

 
Riazanova and Tkachenko at 2009 Cup of Russia
Results[25]
International
Event 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14
Worlds 9th 11th
Europeans 6th 5th 4th 5th
GP Bompard 2nd 3rd
GP Rostelecom 6th 4th 4th
GP Skate America 5th
GP Skate Canada 5th 3rd 4th
Nebelhorn 4th 3rd
Golden Spin 2nd 1st
National
Russian Champ. 4th 2nd 3rd 3rd 4th
GP = Grand Prix; WD = Withdrew

With Guerreiro edit

 
Riazanova with Jonathan Guerreiro at the 2009 Junior Worlds
Results[26]
International: Junior
Event 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09
World Junior Champ. 6th 3rd
JGP Final 8th 3rd
JGP Germany 2nd
JGP Italy 2nd
JGP Romania 9th 2nd
JGP Spain 1st
NRW Trophy 1st J.
National
Russian Junior Champ. 3rd 1st
J. = Junior level; JGP = Junior Grand Prix

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Ermolina, Olga (26 August 2011). Надо выходить на лед с мыслью, что мы лучшие [You have to go out on the ice believing you're the best]. Moskovskiye Novosti (in Russian). Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b Mittan, Barry (16 August 2008). "An Aussie in Moscow". SkateToday.com.
  3. ^ a b "Ekaterina Riazanova & Jonathan Guerreiro". ice-dance.com. February 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  4. ^ a b c "Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Jonathan GUERREIRO: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d Flade, Tatjana (24 July 2011). "Riazanova and Tkachenko get into starting position for Sochi". GoldenSkate.
  6. ^ a b Kondakova, Anna (28 December 2010). "Bobrova and Soloviev win first Russian National title". GoldenSkate.com.
  7. ^ Flade, Tatjana (29 January 2011). "Pechalat and Bourzat dance to first European title". GoldenSkate.com.
  8. ^ Flade, Tatjana (16 September 2011). "Russian Skaters Preview New Programs". IFS Magazine. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01.
  9. ^ Kulinicheva, Ekaterina (9 September 2011). Илья Ткаченко: "С акробатами работаем до сих пор" [Ilia Tkachenko: "We still work with acrobats"]. Sport Express (in Russian).
  10. ^ Flade, Tatjana (28 December 2011). "Plushenko Captures Ninth Title: A Recap of Russian Nationals". IFS Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012.
  11. ^ a b Kondakova, Anna (26 December 2011). "Bobrova and Soloviev defend national title". Golden Skate.
  12. ^ Kondakova, Anna (25 December 2011). "Bobrova and Soloviev skate last to finish first". Golden Skate.
  13. ^ Simonenko, Andrei (24 April 2012). Работа в группе Шпильбанда/Зуевой пойдет на пользу - фигурист Ткаченко [Figure skater Tkachenko: Working in Shpilband/Zueva's group will be of benefit]. rsport.ru (in Russian).
  14. ^ Luchianov, Vladislav (14 November 2012). "Shpilband opens new horizons for Russian duo". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  15. ^ a b c Kulinicheva, Ekaterina (22 August 2012). Екатерина РЯЗАНОВА: "САМА СЕБЕ ЗАВИДУЮ, ЧТО РАБОТАЮ СО ШПИЛЬБАНДОМ". Sport Express (in Russian).
  16. ^ Khodorovsky, Boris (24 April 2014). Фигуристы Екатерина Рязанова и Илья Ткаченко больше не будут выступать вместе [Figure skaters Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko will no longer skate together]. ITAR-TASS (in Russian).
  17. ^ Zubakov, Alexei (30 May 2014). Екатерина Рязанова: я буду выступать за Италию в дуэте с Симоне Ватури [Ekaterina Riazanova: I will compete for Italy with Simone Vaturi]. team-russia2014.ru (in Russian).
  18. ^ "Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Ilia TKACHENKO: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014.
  19. ^ "Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Ilia TKACHENKO: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013.
  20. ^ Екатерина Рязанова и Илья Ткаченко: в новом сезоне мы ставим перед собой максимальные задачи [Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko: On the new season]. team-russia2014.ru (in Russian). 12 September 2012. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014.
  21. ^ "Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Ilia TKACHENKO: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012.
  22. ^ "Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Ilia TKACHENKO: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 October 2010.
  23. ^ "Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Ilia TKACHENKO: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2010.
  24. ^ "Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Jonathan GUERREIRO: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008.
  25. ^ "Competition Results: Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Ilia TKACHENKO". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014.
  26. ^ "Competition Results: Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Jonathan GUERREIRO". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012.

External links edit

  Media related to Ekaterina Riazanova at Wikimedia Commons