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.
Personal life
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
Early years
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
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
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.
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
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]
