Fedor Alexandrovich Klimov was born on 7 September 1990 in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.[1] He attended the Lesgaft Academy of Physical Education in Saint Petersburg.[2]
Klimov began skating due to his mother who is a coach at the Figure Skating Academy in Saint Petersburg.[2] He placed 9th in men's singles at the 2007 Russian Junior Championships.
Although initially not interested in pair skating, he made the switch on his coach's advice when he was 16.[2] His coach, Natalia Golubeva, paired him with Maria Chashina, who was also switching from singles.[4]
Klimov and his next partner, Alexandra Malakhova, placed 8th at the Russian Junior Championships in January 2009.
During the 2010–11 season, Stolbova/Klimov won both of their JGP events and qualified for the JGP Final. They also debuted on the senior GP circuit, finishing 5th at Skate America. They won silver at the Junior Grand Prix Final. At the 2011 Russian Championships, Stolbova/Klimov finished sixth overall in their senior national debut and won their second junior national title. They were the silver medalists at the 2011 World Junior Championships.
Stolbova/Klimov were originally the first alternates for the 2012 European Championships but Alexander Smirnov had an emergency surgery and was not able to recover in time. Replacing Kavaguti/Smirnov at the event, Stolbova/Klimov set new personal bests in their short and long program to win their first European medal, bronze.
First alternates for the 2013 European Championships, Stolbova/Klimov were called up to replace Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov who withdrew due to Larionov's wrist injury.[6] After finishing sixth at Europeans in Zagreb, they won their first senior international title at the 2013 Bavarian Open. In April 2013, the pair said they wanted to move to Moscow to work with Nina Mozer, who agreed to take them in her group.[7][8][9] The move was opposed by Oleg Nilov, the head of the Saint Petersburg skating association, arguing against a concentration of skaters in Moscow,[10] but was authorized by the Russian skating federation.[11]
After relocating to Moscow, the pair focused on improving their basic skating skills.[4] Their training was interrupted when Klimov fell off a bicycle in late May 2013, resulting in a broken leg.[4]
At the 2014 European Championships, Stolbova/Klimov placed fourth in the short, first in the free skate, and scored a total of 207.98 points to win the silver medal behind Volosozhar/Trankov and ahead of Bazarova/Larionov. All three pairs were sent to the 2014 Winter Olympics. Assigned to the free skate in the inaugural Olympic team event, Stolbova/Klimov placed first in their segment and Team Russia went on to win the gold medal. In the pairs event, Stolbova/Klimov placed third in the short and advanced to second after the free skate with an overall score of 218.68 points. They won the silver medal ahead of four-time World champions Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy who took the bronze medal. Stolbova/Klimov won the silver medal in their first appearance at the 2014 World Championships.
Stolbova/Klimov started the 2015–16 season competing in a challenger series at the 2015 Ondrej Nepela Trophy where they won the gold medal. They competed in their first Grand Prix of the season at the 2015 Skate America finishing 4th place. However, they polished their program and elements and won the gold medal in their second Grand Prix at the 2015 Rostelecom Cup ahead of teammates Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov. They qualified for the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final in Barcelona where they placed first in both segments in pairs short program and in the free skate where they scored 154.60 points, just 0.06 lower than the free skate World record achieved by compatriots Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov at the 2013 Skate America. Stolbova/Klimov landed clean side-by-side 3T-3T-2T jumps, as well as 3 Flip, 3 Salchow throws in their free skate. They won the gold medal with a total of 229.44 points.[13][14]
Stolbova/Klimov withdrew from the entry list at the 2016 Russian Championships due to Klimov's allergic reaction from a therapeutic massage a week before nationals.[citation needed] They were selected to compete at the 2016 European Championships but withdrew before the event.[15] A nerve problem affected Klimov's arm and shoulder muscles, preventing him from performing lifts.[4]
At the 2016 World Championships in Boston, the pair placed 5th in the short program, 4th in the free skate, and 4th overall.
In January 2017 they competed at the 2017 European Championships where they placed 4th after placing 4th in both the short program and the free skate. Two months later they competed at the 2017 World Championships where they placed 5th after placing only 13th in the short program but 3rd in the free skate.