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Maxim Kovtun

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Maxim Kovtun
Kovtun at the 2014 Grand Prix Final
Full nameMaxim Pavlovich Kovtun
Born (1995-06-18) 18 June 1995 (age 29)
Yekaterinburg, Russia
HometownMoscow, Russia
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country Russia
DisciplineMen's singles
Began skating1997
Retired23 April 2019
Highest WS6th (2015–16)
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2015 Stockholm Singles
Silver medal – second place 2017 Ostrava Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Bratislava Singles
Russian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Sochi Singles
Gold medal – first place 2015 Sochi Singles
Gold medal – first place 2016 Yekaterinburg Singles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Saransk Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Chelyabinsk Singles
World Team Trophy
Silver medal – second place 2015 Tokyo Team
Silver medal – second place 2017 Tokyo Team
Junior Grand Prix Final
Gold medal – first place 2012–13 Sochi Singles

Maxim Pavlovich Kovtun (Russian: Максим Павлович Ковтун; born 18 June 1995) is a retired Russian figure skater. He is a three-time European medalist (silver in 2015 and 2017, bronze in 2016) and four-time (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019) Russian national champion. On the junior level, he is the 2012 JGP Final champion. Kovtun has successfully landed two quad jumps in a short program, and three quads in a free program.

On 23 April 2019, Kovtun announced his retirement from competition.[1]

Personal life

[edit]

Maxim Pavlovich Kovtun was born 18 June 1995 in Yekaterinburg.[2] His two older brothers formerly competed in figure skating and his father, Pavel, is a skating coach and former pair skater.[3][4] He was in a relationship with a gymnast Chilita Bagdzhi from 2015 until 2016. He has been dating a Russian group rhythmic gymnast Evgeniia Levanova since 2019.[5]

Career

[edit]
For details on jumps including abbreviations, see figure skating jumps.

Taken to the ice rink by his father, Kovtun began skating at age four in Yekaterinburg and was coached mainly by Maria Voitsekhovskaia in his early years.[4] He also trained in ice hockey but chose skating at age ten.[6]

2011–12 season: JGP and senior debuts

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In the spring of 2011, Kovtun began training with Nikolai Morozov. He debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) circuit in the 2011–12 season, winning gold at his first event in Romania and then silver in Estonia. He qualified for the 2011–12 JGP Final where he finished fourth. At the 2012 Russian Championships, Kovtun finished twelfth on the senior level and won the bronze medal on the junior level. He was assigned to the 2012 World Team Trophy—his first senior international event—following Sergei Voronov's injury-related withdrawal.[7] He finished twelfth at the event.

2012–13 season: Gold at JGP Final

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In the summer of 2012, Kovtun switched coaches to Elena Buianova (Vodorezova).[6][8] He began the 2012–13 season by winning a pair of gold medals at JGP events in Croatia and Germany. In Croatia, he scored a personal best 80.00 points in free skating TES.[9] Kovtun qualified for the JGP Final in Sochi, Russia, where he won gold by eleven points over silver medalist Joshua Farris.[10] At the event, he scored 149.78 points for his free skate which included a 4T-3T, 3A-3T and 3A.[11]

Kovtun said he would try two quads in his free program at the 2013 Russian Championships.[12] Although he finished fifth on the senior level, he was named in the Russian team to the 2013 European Championships because Russian regulations guaranteed berths only to the top two finishers while a committee had the right to choose the third entry.[13] In his European debut, Kovtun placed seventh in the short program, fourth in the free skate, and fifth overall with a total score of 226.57 points. In the free skate, his fourth combination (3S-2T) was deemed invalid. Kovtun finished seventeenth in his first World Championships, held in London, Ontario, Canada. He was eighth in the men's event at the 2013 World Team Trophy and Team Russia finished fourth.

2013–14 season: First senior national title

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Kovtun found his short program for the 2013–14 season very challenging, stating, "When we [began training the program], it was just hell. [...] I needed half an hour to learn one step, so it took a very long time to put this all together."[14] He made his senior Grand Prix debut at the 2013 Cup of China. He placed second in the short—landing a 4S-3T, 4T and 3A—and first in the free skate, in which he landed a 4S, 4S-2T, 3A-2T and 3A. Kovtun won the silver medal overall behind China's Han Yan. He won another silver medal at the 2013 Rostelecom Cup. The results qualified him to his first senior Grand Prix Final. He finished fifth at the event in Fukuoka, Japan.

At the 2014 Russian Championships, Kovtun placed second in the short program and first in the free skate. He was awarded the gold medal ahead of three-time Olympic medalist Evgeni Plushenko. After Kovtun again placed fifth at the European Championships, Russia received a sole spot in the men's event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which was assigned to Plushenko despite Kovtun placing higher. Plushenko skated earlier in the Olympics in helping win gold in the team competition. On Thursday 13 February 2014, Plushenko decided to withdraw from the men’s singles competition following his pre-short program warm up during which he sustained a back injury. However, Plushenko's withdrawal was after the Sunday deadline to name a replacement which left Russia without an entry in men's singles.[15][16]

Kovtun was sent to the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. He placed seventh in the short program, fifth in the free skate, and finished fourth overall behind Spain's Javier Fernández.

2014–15 season: Silver at Europeans

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For the 2014–15 Grand Prix season, Kovtun was assigned to compete at the Cup of China and Trophée Bompard.[14][17] He placed first in both segments to win the gold medal in China, ahead of the Olympic champion, Yuzuru Hanyu, and Richard Dornbush.[18] He then won the gold medal in France[19] ahead of Tatsuki Machida and Denis Ten. Kovtun qualified to the Grand Prix Final as the only skater that won both of his assignments. He placed third in the short program, skating last, and then fifth in the free skate, finishing fourth overall behind his teammate Sergei Voronov.

At the 2015 Russian Championships, Kovtun won his second national title. At the 2015 European Championships, he ranked fourth in the short program and second in the free skate, ending in second place overall, behind Javier Fernández. He then finished seventh at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, China.

2015–16 season

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Kovtun started the 2015–16 season with gold at the 2015 CS Mordovian Ornament. Turning to the Grand Prix series, he placed second in the short program (SP) at the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard. Due to the November 2015 Paris attacks, the free skate was cancelled and the SP standings were deemed the final results.[20] Kovtun finished tenth at his second GP event, the 2015 NHK Trophy, which meant he did not qualify for the Final. In December, he won his third consecutive national title, at the 2016 Russian Championships in his home city of Yekaterinburg.

In late January, Kovtun was awarded the bronze medal at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, having placed second in the short and sixth in the free. He finished 18th at the 2016 World Championships in Boston. On 16 May 2016, Buyanova announced that Kovtun had left her group and joined Inna Goncharenko.[21]

2016–17 season

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After taking the bronze medal at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, Kovtun finished seventh at both of his Grand Prix assignments, the 2016 Skate America and 2016 Cup of China. At the 2017 Russian Championships, he received the bronze medal, having finished third to Mikhail Kolyada and Alexander Samarin. He said that he had begun consulting a psychologist.[22] He won the silver medal at the 2017 European Championships, earning new personal bests in the short program, free skate and overall. He placed eleventh at the 2017 World Championships.

2017–18 season

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Kovtun withdrew from the 2017 Finlandia Trophy and his first Grand Prix assignment, 2017 Skate Canada, due to a back injury.[23] Kovtun competed in the short program at 2017 Skate America, placing twelfth, and withdrew as a result of continued back and knee problems. At the 2018 Russian Championships, he placed sixteenth in the short program, and again withdrew. Commenting afterward on his disappointing result, Kovtun said it was a "novel experience" and that he "was physically unable to train, simply because I could not bend down to tie my laces and then straighten up again."[24] He resumed training in February 2018.[25]

2018–19 season

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Coached by Elena Buianova and Alexander Uspenski at CSKA Moscow,[25] Kovtun began his season by winning the gold medal at the 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy. Competing at the 2019 Russian Championships, he placed first in both the short program and the free skate to claim his fourth Russian national title.[26]

At the 2019 European Championships, Kovtun placed fifth in the short program. He had serious problems in the free skate, popping several of his planned quad and triple jumps, and as a result placed sixteenth in the free and dropped to fourteenth overall.[27]

In March 2019, he took silver at the 2019 Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Kovtun withdrew from the 2019 World Championships, citing medical reasons.[28]

On 23 April 2019, Kovtun announced his retirement from competitive skating.[1]

Programs

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Kovtun at the 2013 Cup of China podium.
Kovtun at the 2016 European Figure Skating Championships podium.
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2018–19
[29]
2017–18
[30]
  • Flamenco selection
2016–17
[31]
2015–16
[32][33]
2014–15
[3]
2013–14
[8]
  • Summertime
2012–13
[34]
  • Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
2011–12
[35]

Competitive highlights

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Competition placements at senior level [36]
Season 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19
World Championships 17th 4th 7th 18th 11th
European Championships 5th 5th 2nd 3rd 2nd 14th
Grand Prix Final 5th 4th
Russian Championships 11th 12th 5th 1st 1st 1st 3rd WD 1st
World Team Trophy 5th
(12th) 		4th
(8th) 		2nd
(7th) 		2nd
(9th)
GP Cup of China 2nd 1st 7th
GP NHK Trophy 10th
GP Rostelecom Cup 2nd
GP Skate America 7th WD
GP Trophée Éric Bompard 1st 2nd
CS Finlandia Trophy 3rd
CS Mordovian Ornament 1st
CS Tallinn Trophy 1st
Winter Universiade 2nd
Competition placements at senior level [36][37]
Season 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13
Junior Grand Prix Final 4th 1st
Russian Championships 5th 3rd
Croatia 1st
Estonia 2nd
Germany 1st
Romania 1st
European Youth Olympic Festival 2nd

Detailed results

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Senior level

[edit]

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only.

Kovtun at the 2012–13 JGP Final
Kovtun at the 2014–15 GP Final
2018–19 season
Date Event SP FS Total
7–9 March 2019 2019 Winter Universiade 1
91.74 		3
167.75 		2
259.49
21–27 January 2019 2019 European Championships 5
87.70 		16
128.48 		14
216.18
19–23 December 2018 2019 Russian Championships 1
95.14 		1
186.45 		1
281.59
26 November – 2 December 2018 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy 1
80.91 		1
166.64 		1
247.55
2017–18 season
Date Event SP FS Total
21–24 December 2017 2018 Russian Championships 16
64.72 		WD WD
24–26 November 2017 2017 Skate America 12
64.98 		WD WD
2016–17 season
Date Event SP FS Total
20–23 April 2017 2017 World Team Trophy 11
64.62 		10
148.29 		2T/9P
29 March – 2 April 2017 2017 World Championships 10
89.38 		14
156.46 		11
245.84
25–29 January 2017 2017 European Championships 2
94.53 		2
172.27 		2
266.80
20–26 December 2016 2017 Russian Championships 7
76.65 		2
172.72 		3
249.37
18–20 November 2016 2016 Cup of China 10
70.10 		7
151.33 		7
221.43
21–23 October 2016 2016 Skate America 10
67.43 		6
163.32 		7
230.75
6–10 October 2016 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy 1
88.26 		3
141.31 		3
229.57
2015–16 season
Date Event SP FS Total
28 March – 3 April 2016 2016 World Championships 13
78.46 		21
131.68 		18
210.14
26–31 January 2016 2016 European Championships 2
88.09 		6
154.12 		3
242.21
24–27 December 2015 2016 Russian Championships 1
93.05 		1
173.08 		1
266.13
27–29 November 2015 2015 NHK Trophy 4
82.27 		11
130.36 		10
212.63
13–15 November 2015 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard 2
86.82 		cancelled 2
86.82
16–19 October 2015 2015 CS Mordovian Ornament 4
73.14 		1
163.24 		1
236.38
2014–15 season
Date Event SP FS Total
16–19 April 2015 2015 World Team Trophy 8
74.83 		6
158.91 		2T/7P
233.74
23–29 March 2015 2015 World Championships 16
70.82 		6
159.88 		7
230.70
26 January – 1 February 2015 2015 European Championships 4
78.21 		2
157.47 		2
235.68
24–27 December 2014 2015 Russian Championships 1
98.14 		2
173.38 		1
271.52
11–14 December 2014 2014–15 Grand Prix Final 3
87.02 		5
155.25 		4
242.27
20–23 November 2014 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard 6
77.11 		1
166.24 		1
243.35
7–9 November 2014 2014 Cup of China 1
85.96 		1
157.38 		1
243.34
2013–14 season
Date Event SP FS Total
24–30 March 2014 2014 World Championships 7
84.66 		5
162.71 		4
247.37
15–19 January 2014 2014 European Championships 4
83.15 		5
149.22 		5
232.37
24–27 December 2013 2014 Russian Championships 2
93.08 		1
174.05 		1
267.13
5–8 December 2013 2013–14 Grand Prix Final 5
68.92 		5
164.32 		5
233.24
21–23 November 2013 2013 Rostelecom Cup 1
92.53 		2
147.81 		2
240.34
1–2 November 2013 2013 Cup of China 2
81.84 		1
156.81 		2
238.65

Junior level

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2012–13 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
11–14 April 2013 2013 World Team Trophy Senior 7
76.67 		8
145.12 		4T/8P
221.79
10–17 March 2013 2013 World Championships Senior 19
65.85 		14
141.55 		17
207.40
23–27 January 2013 2013 European Championships Senior 7
74.46 		4
152.11 		5
226.57
25–28 December 2012 2013 Russian Championships Senior 3
75.38 		5
149.64 		5
225.02
6–8 December 2012 2012–13 Junior Grand Prix Final Junior 2
72.53 		1
149.78 		1
222.31
10–13 October 2012 2012 JGP Germany Junior 1
68.13 		2
124.91 		1
193.04
4–7 October 2012 2012 JGP Croatia Junior 2
69.47 		1
149.72 		1
219.19
2011–12 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
18–22 April 2012 2012 ISU World Team Trophy Senior 11
60.93 		12
111.53 		5T/12P
172.46
5–7 February 2012 2012 Russian Junior Championships Junior 5
65.21 		2
128.74 		3
193.95
5–7 February 2012 2012 Russian Championships Senior 12
66.11 		11
127.82 		12
193.93
8–11 December 2011 2011–12 Junior Grand Prix Final Junior 4
63.68 		4
130.08 		4
193.76
13–15 October 2011 2011 JGP Estonia Junior 2
58.47 		2
128.40 		2
186.87
22–24 September 2011 2011 JGP Romania Junior 2
61.14 		1
121.77 		1
182.91
2010–11 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
12–19 February 2011 2011 European Youth Olympic Festival Junior 1
60.93 		2
100.82 		2
161.75
2–4 February 2011 2011 Russian Junior Championships Junior 4
63.32 		6
119.25 		5
182.57
26–29 December 2010 2011 Russian Championships Senior 6
67.63 		12
120.87 		11
188.50

References

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  1. ^ a b "Maxim Kovtun | Максим Ковтун on Instagram: "Писал, стирал и снова писал, снова стирал... Самое сложное письмо в моей Жизни... Этот день должен был настать. Пришла пора прощаться... Не…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  2. ^ Ковтун Максим Павлович [Maxim Pavlovich Kovtun] (in Russian). Russian Figure Skating Federation. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Maxim KOVTUN: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015.
  4. ^ a b Khodorovsky, Boris (April 2013). ЮНОСТЬ МАКСИМА (PDF) (in Russian). Figurnoye Kataniye. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  5. ^ "С кем из гимнасток сейчас встречается Максим Ковтун?". Яндекс Дзен | Платформа для авторов, издателей и брендов. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  6. ^ a b Luchianov, Vladislav (17 December 2012). "New coaches raise Kovtun's skating to next level". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  7. ^ Kuznetsov, Artem (9 April 2012). Командный ЧМ поможет фигуристу Ковтуну найти путь развития - тренер [The World Team Trophy will help figure skater Kovtun in his development, according to coach]. rsport.ru (in Russian).
  8. ^ a b "Maxim KOVTUN: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Personal Bests: Maxim KOVTUN". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019.
  10. ^ Kondakova, Anna (7 December 2012). "Kovtun captures Junior Men's title in Sochi". GoldenSkate.
  11. ^ "ISU Grand Prix Final 2012: JUNIOR MEN FREE SKATING JUDGES DETAILS PER SKATER" (PDF). International Skating Union.
  12. ^ Максим Ковтун: задачу в Сочи ставлю себе серьезную – отобраться на чемпионат Европы [Maxim Kovtun: My goal in Sochi is to be selected for the European Championships]. Ves Sport (in Russian). 20 December 2012.
  13. ^ Фигурист Ковтун все-таки заменил Меньшова в составе сборной на ЧЕ [Figure skater Kovtun still in the team for the European Championships instead of Menshov]. rsport.ru (in Russian). 10 January 2013.
  14. ^ a b Flade, Tatjana (4 July 2014). "Russia's Maxim Kovtun moves forward". Golden Skate.
  15. ^ "Backlash Swells over Plushenko's Last-Minute Withdrawal from Olympic Figure Skating". 14 February 2014.
  16. ^ "Evgeni Plushenko Makes a Painful Exit Amid Controversy at Sochi". Bleacher Report.
  17. ^ "ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2014/15 - Men" (PDF). International Skating Union. 2 September 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  18. ^ "Figure Skating - Kovtun takes Cup of China win as Olympic champion Hanyu suffers crash". Eurosport Yahoo. 8 November 2014.
  19. ^ "Two Russians, Perfect on Jumps, Win in France". NYTimes Sports. 23 November 2014.
  20. ^ "ISU Communication 1980" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  21. ^ Vaytsekhovskaya, Elena (16 May 2016). Ковтун ушел от Буяновой [Kovtun left Buyanova]. Sport Express (in Russian).
  22. ^ Kondakova, Anna (23 December 2016). "Mikhail Kolyada wins first national title". Golden Skate.
  23. ^ "Рецидив травмы спины не позволит фигуристу Ковтуну выступить в Канаде - Гончаренко". 30 September 2017.
  24. ^ Kondakova, Anna (24 December 2017). "Kolyada defends Russian National title". Golden Skate.
  25. ^ a b Flade, Tatjana (15 January 2019). "Maxim Kovtun: Unfinished Business". International Figure Skating Magazine.
  26. ^ Flade, Tatjana (21 December 2018). "Maxim Kovtun wins fourth national title in Saransk". Golden Skate.
  27. ^ Slater, Paula (January 26, 2019). "Fernandez snags seventh consecutive European title". Golden Skate.
  28. ^ Skating, ISU Figure [@isu_figure] (2019-03-13). "Maxim Kovtun has withdrawn from the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2019 in Saitama, JPN. He will be replaced by Andrei Lazukin. http://ow.ly/UL4o30o1K9o #WorldFigure #FigureSkatingpic.twitter.com/78cMArqVJV" (Tweet). Retrieved 2019-04-23 – via Twitter.
  29. ^ "Maxim KOVTUN: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 January 2019.
  30. ^ "Maxim KOVTUN: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018.
  31. ^ "Maxim KOVTUN: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017.
  32. ^ "Maxim KOVTUN: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016.
  33. ^ The ICE 2015 (Television production). Aichi Prefecture: Chūkyō Television Broadcasting. August 16, 2015.
  34. ^ "Maxim KOVTUN: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013.
  35. ^ "Maxim KOVTUN: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012.
  36. ^ a b "RUS–Maxim Kovtun". SkatingScores.com.
  37. ^ "Competition Results: Maxim KOVTUN". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018.
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