Marilena Kitromilis (born October 15, 2004) is a Cypriot-American figure skater who represents Cyprus in women's singles skating. She is the 2021 CS Autumn Classic International champion. She is the first Cypriot figure skater to win an ISU-sanctioned international competition. Kitromilis also made history by being the first Cypriot figure skater to compete at a senior Grand Prix event.
| Marilena Kitromilis | |
|---|---|
 Kitromilis at 2022 Skate America | |
| Born | October 15, 2004 Georgetown, D.C. |
| Hometown | Ipswich, Massachusetts |
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  Cyprus (2020–) United States (until 2020) |
| Coach | Sergei Komolov |
| Skating club | Leader FSC |
Personal life edit
Kitromilis was born on October 15, 2004, to her Cypriot mother, Maria Kitromilis, and American father, William Adams. She has a twin brother, Mikhail. Though born and raised in the United States, Kitromilis is of Cypriot descent. She traveled to Cyprus multiple times throughout her childhood to spend summers with the families of her grandfather's siblings and many cousins. Her maternal grandfather was born and raised in Karavas, Cyprus. She enjoys reading books of various genres in her free time.
Career edit
Early years edit
Kitromilis started skating on ponds with her mother and twin brother at the age of two and half. She began learn-to-skate classes at four years old with coach Becky Curry and quickly progressed to private lessons.[1] She competed domestically in the United States at the juvenile through novice levels before transitioning to represent Cyprus, internationally, in advance of the 2020–21 season.[2]
2020–21 season edit
Kitromilis made her international senior debut representing Cyprus in October at the 2020 CS Budapest Trophy, where she finished twelfth. She competed at one other international event that season, the 2020 Santa Claus Cup, where she placed sixth. Throughout the 2020–21 season, Kitromilis was in the process of transitioning to a new coaching team from former coaches Mark Mitchell and Peter Johansson. She changed coaches to Olga Ganicheva, Aleksey Letov, and Sergei Minaev.[3]
2021–22 season edit
Kitromilis opened the Olympic season competing at the Cranberry Cup in mid-August in Norwood, Massachusetts. She placed eighth in the short program and tenth in the free skate to finish eighth overall. At her second assignment of the season, Kitromilis earned her first international title by winning the 2021 CS Autumn Classic International, in what was considered an upset victory. She scored personal bests in both segments of the competition, as well as overall.[4] She won the gold medal ahead of South Korean competitors You Young and Ji Seo-yeon.[5] Kitromilis' scores met the required technical minimums to allow her to compete at the 2022 European and World Championships. She is the first-ever Cypriot figure skater to win an ISU-sanctioned international competition.
She competed at two more Challenger events in the fall, the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup and the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where she finished twelfth and fifth, respectively. In January 2022, Kitromilis made her European Championships debut in Tallinn, Estonia. She finished thirty-second in the short program and did not advance to the free skate. She was thirtieth in the short program at her 2022 World Championship debut.[2]
2022–23 season edit
Kitromilis began this season with an injury to her left knee.[6] After finishing ninth at the 2022 U.S. Classic, Kitromilis made her Grand Prix debut at 2022 Skate America. Despite the pain in her knee, she competed and finished eleventh. Kitromilis then competed at the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup and the 2022 CS Golden Spin before going to Latvia for the 2022 Latvia Trophy, where she placed third overall.
At the 2023 European Championships, she finished in eighteenth place after the SP after a misstep in her footwork. She placed thirteenth overall after the free skate, where she was in tenth place with a season's best score. A week later, Kitromilis competed at the 2023 Bavarian Open, where she placed third overall. She also changed coaches to Sergei Komolov and relocated to Dubai for training.[7] Going into the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Kitromilis faced difficulties training with her ongoing knee injury going into Worlds and came in thirty-first overall, which was not enough to reach the free skate. At the end of the season, she ranked 46th in the ISU season's world ranking for women.[8]
2023–24 season edit
Kitromilis did not compete this season. She entered the 2023 Golden Spin of Zagreb, but she withdrew in November. In February 2024, she underwent surgery for her knee injury.[9]
Programs edit
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 |
|
|
|
| 2022–2023[10] |
|
|
|
| 2021–2022[3] |
|
|
Competitive highlights edit
For Cyprus edit
| International | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 |
| Worlds | 30th | 31st | |
| Europeans | 31st | 13th | |
| GP Skate America | 11th | ||
| CS Autumn Classic | 1st | ||
| CS Budapest Trophy | 12th | ||
| CS Golden Spin | 5th | 11th | |
| CS U.S. Classic | 9th | ||
| CS Warsaw Cup | 12th | 19th | |
| Bavarian Open | 3rd | ||
| Cranberry Cup | 8th | ||
| Santa Claus Cup | 6th | ||
| Latvia Trophy | 3rd | ||
Detailed results edit
ISU Personal best in bold.
For Cyprus edit
| 2022–23 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 22–26, 2023 | 2023 World Championships | 31 48.92 |
- |
31 48.92 |
| Jan. 31 – Feb. 5, 2023 | 2023 Bavarian Open | 5 50.31 |
3 100.94 |
3 151.25 |
| January 25–29, 2023 | 2023 European Championships | 18 53.71 |
10 105.20 |
13 158.91 |
| December 17-18, 2022 | 2022 Latvia Trophy | 1 64.92 |
5 100.89 |
3 165.81 |
| December 7–10, 2022 | 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 5 54.58 |
14 95.43 |
11 150.01 |
| November 16–20, 2022 | 2022 CS Warsaw Cup | 24 39.32 |
16 88.98 |
19 128.30 |
| October 21–23, 2022 | 2022 Skate America | 12 46.01 |
11 89.47 |
11 135.48 |
| September 13–16, 2022 | 2022 CS U.S. Classic | 7 52.55 |
11 77.09 |
9 129.64 |
| 2021–22 season | ||||
| March 21–27, 2022 | 2022 World Championships | 30 53.32 |
– |
30 53.32 |
| January 10–16, 2022 | 2022 European Championships | 32 44.03 |
- |
32 44.03 |
| December 9–11, 2021 | 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 5 58.71 |
5 108.24 |
5 166.65 |
| November 17–20, 2021 | 2021 CS Warsaw Cup | 12 54.77 |
12 102.35 |
12 157.12 |
| September 16–18, 2021 | 2021 CS Autumn Classic | 1 61.33 |
2 119.39 |
1 180.72 |
| August 11–15, 2021 | 2021 Cranberry Cup International | 8 57.93 |
10 101.46 |
8 159.39 |
| 2020–21 season | ||||
| November 26–29, 2021 | 2020 Santa Claus Cup | 9 38.11 |
5 94.82 |
6 132.93 |
| October 14–17, 2021 | 2020 CS Budapest Trophy | 14 33.10 |
11 83.20 |
12 116.30 |
References edit
- ^ Niederhelman, Ella (2021-09-27). "Ipswich's Marilena Kitromilis wins gold at 2021 Autumn Classic International". North Shore News. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
- ^ a b "Competition Results: Marilena KITROMILIS". International Skating Union.
- ^ a b "Marilena KITROMILIS: 2021–22". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022.
- ^ Capellazzi, Gina (September 18, 2021). "Cyprus' Marilena Kitromilis wins surprising gold medal at Autumn Classic". Figure Skaters Online.
- ^ Triukas, Paul. "Marilena Kitromilis wins Autumn Classic International". The Skating Times. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021.
- ^ Sausa, Christie (22 September 2022). "Malinin makes history with quad axel at International Classic". Lake Placid News. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
- ^ "Marilena KITROMILIS". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023.
- ^ "ISU World Standings 2022/2023: Women". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023.
- ^ Marilena Kitromilis [@lena.mariki] (21 February 2024). "Just had a small operation for my left knee! Second photo is me messing around with the crutches, but don't worry I'm being careful{☆^☆}! Unfortunately, the problem with my knee was not able to be resolved with the other less invasive treatments I tried for the last two or so years" – via Instagram.
- ^ "Marilena KITROMILIS: 2022–2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 28, 2023.