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Solène Mazingue

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Solène Mazingue
Solène Mazingue and Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko at the 2024 World Championships
Born (2003-02-11) 11 February 2003 (age 21)
Paris, France
HometownVersailles, France
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Figure skating career
Country Estonia (2021–24)
 France (2018–20)
DisciplineIce dance
PartnerMarko Jevgeni Gaidajenko (2021–24)
Maxime Dos Reis (2018–20)
CoachRomain Haguenauer
Marie-France Dubreuil
Patrice Lauzon
Pascal Denis
Josée Piché
Sebastien Soldevila
Emilie Bonnavaud
Eva Airapetian
Skating clubAnna Levandi Figure Skating Club
Began skating2006
Medal record
Estonian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Tallinn Ice dance
Gold medal – first place 2024 Tallinn Ice dance

Solène Mazingue (French pronunciation: [sɔlɛn mazɛ̃ɡ]; born 11 February 2003) is a French-Estonian ice dancer.

With former partner, Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko, she is the 2021 JGP France II bronze medalist, a two time Estonian national champion (2022, 2024), and competed in the final segment at the 2022 European Championships.

Personal life

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Mazingue was born on 11 February 2003 in Paris, France. As of 2022, she is a university student studying law.[1]

In November 2024, Mazingue alleged that fellow ice dancer Ivan Desyatov sexually assaulted her in a hotel room during the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb after she had taken medication prescribed for a brain injury sustained in 2022. Mazingue also accused the Ice Academy of Montreal coaches of not taking her claims seriously, alleging that she had confided in Marie-France Dubreuil about what had happened to her. She further alleged that Dubreuil promised to report the incident to SkateSafe and the leaders of Team USA. However, Dubreuil did not follow through for the U.S. Center for SafeSport did not receive any prior report about the alleged incident until September 2024, which Mazingue filed herself. This report would result in Desyatov receiving an indefinite suspension as SafeSport investigates Mazingue's claims.[2][3]

Career

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Early years

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Mazingue began learning how to skate in 2006 as a three-year-old. By the 2012–13 season, she was competing in ice dance with Jean-Hans Fourneaux for France. The duo trained at Rouen Olympic Club in Rouen.[4]

By 2018, Mazingue had teamed up with Maxime Dos Reis for France. Mazingue/Dos Reis competed together from 2018 to 2020. During their partnership, they appeared at six junior international events and finished sixth at the 2019 and 2020 French Junior Championships. The team split after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought the 2019–20 season to an end. The pandemic made searching for a new partner difficult, but Mazingue eventually arranged a tryout in France with Estonian ice dancer Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko in December 2020. In January 2021, they announced their partnership.[5]

2021–2022 season

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Mazingue/Gaidajenko made their international debut in August at the 2021 JGP France II, the second of two events held in Courchevel. There, the team placed fifth in the rhythm dance but rose to third in the free dance to claim the bronze medal overall behind American teams Brown/Brown and Flores/Tsarevski. Their medal marked the first medal for Estonia on the Junior Grand Prix circuit in ice dance since 2011.[6] At their second JGP event, the 2021 JGP Austria, Mazingue/Gaidajenko finished ninth.[7]

Moving up to the senior level, Mazingue/Gaidajenko made their Challenger Series debut in November at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup. They placed fifteenth at the event. Later in December, they won their first senior national title at the 2022 Estonian Championships before returning to the Challenger Series at the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they finished ninth. Due to their placement at Estonian nationals, Mazingue/Gaidajenko were assigned to Estonia's berth in ice dance at the 2022 European Championships.[7] On the decision to compete at both levels in one season, atypical in ice dance, Gaidajenko would later note "it's usually more challenging because it's usually absolutely two different rhythm dances, but last season that was the same subject, like a hip hop and street culture. Also, it was both the blues. It's Midnight Blues (senior) and Blues (junior), so it was easier."[5]

At the European Championships, held in Gaidajenko's hometown Tallinn, Mazingue/Gaidajenko set a new personal best in the rhythm dance to qualify to the free dance in twentieth place. They maintained their standing in the free dance and finished twentieth overall.[7] Mazingue/Gaidajenko concluded the season at the 2022 World Championships, held in Montpellier with Russian dance teams absent due to the International Skating Union banning all Russian athletes due to their country's invasion of Ukraine.[8] They qualified to the free dance and finished nineteenth.[7]

2022–2023 season

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The Russo-Ukrainian War necessitated that Mazingue and Gaidajenko leave their Moscow training location, which had already been inconvenient in terms of visa access. In advance of the next season, they opted to move to train at the Ice Academy of Montreal, widely considered the world's top ice dance training center, under Canadian coaches Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon and Frenchman Romain Haguenauer.[5] They were scheduled to begin the season at the Finlandia Trophy in October, but a week in advance of the event, they had a major training accident. After Gaidajenko tripped while practicing a lift, Mazingue hit her head on the ice, suffering a skull fracture and intracranial bleeding that required surgery.[9]

After months of physiotherapy, Mazingue was allowed to return to the ice in January. Describing her resumption of training later, she said that "the day I finally got on the ice, I started crying because I had so many emotions at once — excitement, sadness, joy. All at once! I cried and hugged Marko and then I knew that nothing can stop me, one day I will become an Olympic champion. Because this accident was crazy, but I came back to the ice and this is my victory."[9]

After resuming training, with Mazingue wearing a protective helmet until March, the team was eventually cleared to compete at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama. Gaidajenko explained that "we made this decision for Solene and for us as a couple. Every person needs a goal to strive for."[9] Mazingue/Gaidajenko placed twenty-eighth in the rhythm dance with a score of 55.67 points. They did not qualify for the free dance, but Mazingue stated afterward that they went in knowing that was unlikely, and that had they managed to do so, they would have withdrawn beforehand as they were not ready for it yet.[10]

As a result of their low placements in the season, the team lost their financial support from the Estonian Skating Union and began to fundraise via GoFundMe.[5]

2023–2024 season

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Mazingue/Gaidajenko started the season by winning gold at the 2023 NRW Trophy and finishing seventh at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.[7]

They went on to win their second national title at the 2024 Estonian Championships. Selected to compete at the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, Mazingue/Gaidajenko finished twentieth. Two months later at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, they place thirty-third in the rhythm dance and failed to advance to the free dance.[7]

In October 2024, it was announced that Mazingue/Gaidajenko's partnership had ended.[11] Mazingue would share that she had been unable to bring herself to skate since the World Championships due to the trauma of having been sexually assaulted.[12]

Programs

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Ice dance with Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko (for Estonia)

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Season Rhythm dance Free dance
2023–2024
[13]
2022–2023
[1]
2021–2022
[14]

Competitive highlights

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Ice dance with Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko (for Estonia)

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Competition placements at senior level [15]
Season 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
World Championships 19th 28th 33rd
European Championships 20th 20th
Estonian Championships 1st 1st
CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 9th 7th
CS Warsaw Cup 15th
NRW Trophy 1st
Competition placements at junior level [15]
Season 2021–22
JGP Austria 9th
JGP France 3rd

Ice dance with Maxime Dos Reis (for France)

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Competition placements at junior level [16]
Season 2018–19 2019–20
French Championships 6th 6th
Bosphorus Cup 11th
Ice Star 10th
Master's de Patinage 6th
Mentor Cup 17th 22nd
Pavel Roman Memorial 10th
Volvo Open Cup 13th

Detailed results

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Ice dance with Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko (for Estonia)

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Senior level

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Results in the 2021–22 season[15]
Date Event RD FD Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 19–20, 2021 Poland 2021 CS Warsaw Cup 17 57.83 14 89.71 15 147.54
Dec 4–5, 2021 Estonia 2022 Estonian Championships 2 61.95 1 93.60 1 155.55
Dec 9–11, 2021 Croatia 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 8 58.89 9 88.62 9 147.51
Jan 10–16, 2022 Estonia 2022 European Championships 20 60.36 20 83.53 20 142.89
Mar 21–27, 2022 France 2022 World Championships 20 63.97 19 85.07 19 149.04
Results in the 2022–23 season[15]
Date Event RD FD Total
P Score P Score P Score
Mar 22–26, 2023 Japan 2023 World Championships 28 55.67 28 55.67
Results in the 2023–24 season[15]
Date Event RD FD Total
P Score P Score P Score
Dec 6–9, 2023 Croatia 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 6 63.86 6 99.89 7 163.75
Dec 16–17, 2023 Estonia 2024 Estonian Championships 1 66.33 1 104.10 1 170.43
Mar 18–24, 2024 Canada 2024 World Championships 33 57.09 33 57.09

Junior level

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Results in the 2021–22 season[15]
Date Event RD FD Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 25–28, 2021 France 2021 JGP France II 5 54.23 3 84.00 3 138.23
Oct 7–9, 2021 Austria 2021 JGP Austria 11 48.81 7 82.42 9 131.23

References

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  1. ^ a b "Solene Mazingue / Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023.
  2. ^ Foll, Clément Le (2024-11-05). "Après une plainte pour viol, une danseuse sur glace face à l'inaction des instances". Mediapart (in French). Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  3. ^ "Grievances | U.S. Figure Skating". www.usfigureskating.org. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  4. ^ Callier, Sylvie (16 September 2015). "Sportifs et élèves de 5e, Solène et Jean-Hans, danseurs sur glace". francetvinfo.fr.
  5. ^ a b c d "Mazingue & Gaidajenko: The Journey and the Miracle". Ice Dance.com. April 14, 2023.
  6. ^ "USA and Canada strike gold as ISU Junior Grand Prix continues in Courchevel". International Skating Union. 31 August 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Solene Mazingue / Mark Jevgeni Gaidajenko: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022.
  8. ^ Campigotto, Jesse (March 22, 2022). "Get ready for a bizarre figure skating world championships". CBC Sports.
  9. ^ a b c Värv, Maarja (March 19, 2023). "Ränga vigastuse seljatanud Eesti jäätantsupaar naaseb MM-il võistlustulle" [After a serious injury, Estonian ice dance couple will return to competition at the World Championships] (in Estonian). Eesti Rahvusringhääling.
  10. ^ Golden Skate [@goldenskate] (24 March 2023). "Solene Mazingue / Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko 🇪🇪 55.67" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 27 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ @marcopolosfuture (October 30, 2024). "In this post I want to share the most beautiful moments we shared together as one strong team" – via Instagram.
  12. ^ Mazingue, Solène. "Après l'agression sexuelle que j'ai subie, j'ai tenté de noyer la douleur dans un emploi du temps surchargé jusqu'aux Championnats du Monde. J'avais besoin de m'épuiser pour ne pas affronter la réalité mais quand les congés d'avril sont arrivés tout m'a explosé au visage. Le cauchemar que j'évitais est revenu avec force et la peur constante de me retrouver face à mon agresseur a envahi chaque moment de ma vie. C'est la raison pour laquelle depuis les Championnats, je n'ai pas encore été capable de remettre les patins…". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Solene Mazingue / Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Solene Mazingue / Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d e f "EST–Solène Mazingue/Marko Evgeni Gaidajenko". SkatingScores.com.
  16. ^ "FRA–Solène Mazingue/Maxime Dos Reis". SkatingScores.com.
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