Violetta Sierova

Violetta Sierova
Full name	Violetta Ruslanivna Sierova
Native name	Віолетта Русланівна Сєрова (Ukrainian)
Other names	Serova Violetta/Viktoriia Bychkova
Born	(2007-02-24) 24 February 2007 (age 17) Kyiv, Ukraine
Hometown	Kyiv
Height	1.56 m (5 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Ukraine
Partner	Ivan Khobta (2018–2024)
Coach	Filip Zalevski
Skating club	Sport School Leader Kyiv
Began skating	2010
Medal record Figure skating: Pairs Representing  Ukraine World Junior Championships 2023 Calgary Pairs

Violetta Ruslanivna Sierova (Ukrainian: Віолетта Русланівна Сєрова; born 24 February 2007) is a Ukrainian pair skater. With former skating partner, Ivan Khobta, she is the 2023 World Junior bronze medalist and a four-time silver medalist on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. Competing as seniors, they are the 2022 Ice Challenge bronze medalists and 2021 Ukrainian national champions.

Personal life

Sierova was born on 24 February 2007 in Kyiv, Ukraine.^[1] She has an older brother.^[2]

Career

Early career

Sierova began figure skating in 2010.^[1]

She and pair partner, Ivan Khobta, debuted during the 2018–19 figure skating season, winning gold at the 2019 Ukrainian Novice Championships, silver at the 2019 Ukrainian Junior Championships, and silver at the 2019 Ukrainian Championships.^[1]

The following year, they won their second consecutive gold medal at the 2020 Ukrainian Novice Championships, gold at the 2020 Ukrainian Junior Championships, and silver at the 2020 Ukrainian Championships. Additionally, they won gold at the novice level at the 2019 Ice Star and at the 2019 Volvo Open Cup.^[1]

During the 2020–21 figure skating season, Sierova/Khobta won gold at both the 2021 Ukrainian Junior Championships, and the at the 2021 Ukrainian Championships.^[1]

2021–22 season

Sierova/Khobta debuted on the 2021–22 Junior Grand Prix series, placing fifth at 2021 JGP Slovakia and seventh at 2021 JGP Austria.^[1] They then went on to win their third consecutive gold medal at the 2022 Ukrainian Junior Championships.^[1]

With Sierova and Khobta's hometown of Kyiv becoming a central point of conflict, they were forced to relocate elsewhere to train. They and coach Filip Zalevski ultimately settled in Bergamo, Italy and Chemnitz, Germany to train.^[3][4][5] Despite the invasion, they competed at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, and finished sixth.^[1]

2022–23 season

Sierova/Khobta began their season at the 2022 JGP Poland I and 2022 JGP Poland II, winning silver at both events and ultimately qualifying for the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final.^[6][7] They went on to compete at the 2022 CS Ice Challenge and the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup, placing third and sixth, respectively.^[1]

At the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy, Sierova/Khobta finished fifth.^[1] Competing on the senior level at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, Sierova/Khobta placed tenth in the short program and eighth in the free skate, finishing in ninth-place overall.^[1]

Sierova/Khobta went on to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Alberta, coming fourth in the short program, but only narrowly behind the third-place team.^[8] In the free skate, they set a new personal best and moved up to third place overall, winning the bronze medal. This was the first World Junior pairs medal for Ukraine since 2000, and the first in any discipline since ice dance team Nazarova/Nikitin's bronze in 2015.^[9][10] Speaking afterward, they said that they felt "all the support of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada and that gave us strength. We hope to do our best in our next competition. This Junior Worlds was very important for us and our country."^[9]

At the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Sierova/Khobta placed twenty-second in the short program, failing to qualify for the free skate, after missing a planned triple twist.^[1]

2023–24 season

Sierova/Khobta began the season on the Junior Grand Prix, winning the silver medal at the 2023 JGP Hungary in Budapest. With Sierova recovering from injury, they restricted themselves to double elements other than their triple twist.^[3] They won another silver medal at their second event, the 2023 JGP Poland, qualifying to their second consecutive Junior Grand Prix Final.^[11]

Following their Junior Grand Prixes, the team took three weeks off training in the hopes that Sierova could recover from her hip and back problems. However, upon restarting their preparations they discovered the issues remained. They were limited in what elements they could attempt at the Final, and finished in sixth place. Sierova hoped to be able to perform triple jumps in the future, once her health was restored.^[12]

Sierova's health continued to be an issue for the team in the remainder of the season, and they finished seventh at the 2024 World Junior Championships in Taipei.^[13]

The pair announced their separation in September 2024.^[14]

Programs

With Khobta

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2023–2024 [15]	If I Can Dream by Elvis Presley & Walter Earl Brown performed by Måneskin choreo. by Filip Zalevski, Hendrik Hilpert, Raffaella Cazzaniga	Bird Set Free by Sia & Greg Kurstin choreo. by Filip Zalevski
2022–2023 [5]	Весна (Vesna) by Vopli Vidopliassova choreo. by Filip Zalevski, Oleksii Oliinyk	Halo by Beyoncé choreo. by Filip Zalevski, Oleksii Oliinyk	Zori by Kalush
2021–2022 [4]	Birds of Prey by Daniel Pemberton Joke's on You (from Birds of Prey) by Charlotte Lawrence choreo. by Filip Zalevski, Oleksii Oliinyk

Competitive highlights

CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Khobta

International [1]
Event	18–19	19–20	20–21	21–22	22–23	23–24
Worlds					22nd
Europeans					9th
CS Warsaw Cup					6th
Ice Challenge					3rd
International: Junior [1]
Junior Worlds				6th	3rd	7th
JGP Final					5th	6th
JGP Austria				7th
JGP Hungary						2nd
JGP Poland					2nd^1	2nd
					2nd^2
JGP Slovakia				5th
International: Advanced novice [1]
Ice Star		1st N
Volvo Open Cup		1st N
National [1]
Ukrainian Champ.	2nd	2nd	1st	WD		WD
Ukrainian Junior	2nd	1st	1st	1st
Ukrainian Novice	1st	1st
^1JGP Poland I; ^2JGP Poland II TBD = Assigned Levels: N = Novice

Detailed results

Small medals for short and free programs are awarded only at ISU Championships. Personal bests are highlighted in bold.

With Khobta

Junior results

2023–24 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
Feb. 26 – Mar. 3, 2024	2024 World Junior Championships	Junior	8 48.93	7 85.08	7 134.01
December 7–10, 2023	2023–24 JGP Final	Junior	6 47.52	5 92.65	6 140.17
September 27–30, 2023	2023 JGP Poland	Junior	2 54.51	2 97.02	2 151.53
September 20–23, 2023	2023 JGP Hungary	Junior	1 55.52	2 98.25	2 153.77
2022–23 season
March 22–25, 2023	2023 World Championships	Senior	22 44.74	–	22 44.74
February 27–March 5, 2023	2023 World Junior Championships	Junior	4 58.47	3 100.92	3 159.39
January 23–29, 2023	2023 European Championships	Senior	10 47.53	8 96.19	9 143.72
November 17–20, 2022	2022 CS Warsaw Cup	Senior	5 53.65	6 99.74	6 153.39
November 9–13, 2022	2022 CS Ice Challenge	Senior	3 47.25	3 93.11	3 140.36
November 3–4, 2022	2022–23 JGP Final	Junior	4 50.74	5 92.32	5 143.06
October 5–8, 2022	2022 JGP Poland II	Junior	3 55.50	2 99.26	2 154.76
September 28–October 1, 2022	2022 JGP Poland I	Junior	3 55.23	3 88.25	2 143.48
2021–22 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
April 13–17, 2022	2022 World Junior Championships	Junior	6 49.57	6 84.89	6 134.46
January 25–27, 2022	2022 Ukrainian Junior Championships	Junior	1 52.29	1 94.27	1 146.56
October 6–9, 2021	2021 JGP Austria	Junior	6 52.77	7 97.77	7 150.54
September 1–4, 2021	2021 JGP Slovakia	Junior	6 45.14	4 98.08	5 143.22

References

1. "Violetta SIEROVA / Ivan KHOBTA: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
2. Sierova, Violetta. "Birthday". Instagram. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
3. "Six Skaters celebrate their spots for ISU Junior Grand Prix Final after competing in Budapest (HUN)". International Skating Union. September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
4. "Violetta SIEROVA / Ivan KHOBTA: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022.
5. "Violetta SIEROVA / Ivan KHOBTA: 2022/23". International Skating Union. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
6. "Shimada (JPN) scores second Junior Grand Prix victory". International Skating Union. October 3, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
7. "More Skaters secure spots for the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final". International Skating Union. October 10, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
8. "Baram/Tioumentsev (USA) lead in Pairs Short program at ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships (CAN)". International Skating Union. March 1, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
9. "Baram/Tioumentsev take first Junior Pairs gold for USA in 10 years". International Skating Union. March 3, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
10. Кулай, София. "Украина впервые за 8 лет завоевала медаль ЧМ по фигурному катанию: яркое видео". 24 канал Спорт. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
11. "Figure Skaters grab eight more tickets to the Final at ISU Junior Grand Prix in Gdansk (POL)". International Skating Union. October 2, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
12. Slater, Paula (December 9, 2023). "Metelkina and Berulava secure historic gold in Beijing". Golden Skate. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
13. Slater, Paula (February 29, 2024). "Metelkina and Berulava seize Junior World pairs title". Golden Skate. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
14. @sierova_violetta2402 (September 26, 2024). "Hey everyone" – via Instagram.
15. "Violetta SIEROVA / Ivan KHOBTA: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
16. "Figure skating latest sport to ban Russian participation". CBC Sports. March 1, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.

External links

• Violetta Sierova / Ivan Khobta at the International Skating Union