Maria Sotskova

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Romanovna and the family name is Sotskova.

Maria Romanovna Sotskova (pron. SOT-skoh-vah; Russian: Мария Романовна Сотскова; born 12 April 2000) is a retired Russian figure skater. She is the 2017 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time Internationaux de France silver medalist (2016, 2017), the 2016 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, the 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy champion, and the 2018 Russian national silver medalist. She placed 8th at the 2017 and 2018 World Figure Skating Championships and at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Maria Sotskova
Sotskova at the 2018 Internationaux de France
Full name	Maria Romanovna Sotskova
Native name	Мария Романовна Сотскова (Russian)
Born	(2000-04-12) 12 April 2000 (age 24) Reutov, Russia
Hometown	Reutov, Russia
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Russia  Olympic Athletes from Russia (Russia not recognised in 2018 Olympics Winter Games[1])
Coach	Svetlana Sokolovskaya
Skating club	CSKA Moscow
Began skating	2003
Retired	2020
Medal record Representing  Russia Figure skating: Ladies' singles Grand Prix Final 2017–18 Nagoya Ladies' singles Winter Youth Olympics 2016 Lillehammer Ladies' singles World Junior Championships 2016 Debrecen Ladies' singles Junior Grand Prix Final 2013–14 Fukuoka Ladies' singles 2015–16 Barcelona Ladies' singles

Earlier in her career, Sotskova won silver at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics, silver at the 2016 World Junior Championships, and gold at the 2013 Junior Grand Prix Final.

Personal life

Maria Romanovna Sotskova was born on 12 April 2000 in Reutov, Moscow Oblast, Russia.^[2] As a young child, she was engaged in both skating and rhythmic gymnastics but dropped gymnastics after her coach said that she needed to choose.^[3]

Sotskova plans to work in choreography and will begin an undergraduate degree at the Russian University of Theatre Arts - GITIS in the Ballet Masters program, from which graduates become either choreographers or tutors in the field of theatre, variety or sports choreography.

Sotskova's father passed away in June 2019.^[4]

Skating career

Early years

Sotskova began skating as a four-year-old after her mother decided to bring her to an ice rink.^[5] Her first coach was Svetlana Panova.^[2] She won a bronze medal behind Serafima Sakhanovich at the 2013 Russian Junior Championships.

2013–2014 season: JGP Final champion

Sotskova made her junior international debut at the 2013 Junior Grand Prix (JGP) event in Riga, Latvia; she won the silver medal behind Evgenia Medvedeva by a margin of 3.03 points. At her next JGP assignment, in Ostrava, Czech Republic, she finished second to Alexandra Proklova by over 15 points. Sotskova's silver medals qualified her for the JGP Final in Fukuoka, Japan, where she defeated teammates Sakhanovich and Medvedeva for the gold. She then took silver behind Sakhanovich at the 2014 Russian Junior Championships and was assigned to the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. She withdrew due to a meniscus injury.^[6][7]

2014–2015 season: The second Junior season

During the 2014 JGP series, Sotskova took silver in Tallinn, Estonia, finishing second to Japan's Miyu Nakashio by 0.97, and then won gold in Zagreb, Croatia, by a margin of 1.4 points over Karen Chen of the United States. She finished fourth in Barcelona, Spain at her second JGP Final. Making her senior national debut, she placed sixth at the Russian Championships before winning the junior silver medal. Concluding her season, she placed fifth at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn.

2015–2016 season: World Junior silver medalist

In June 2015, Sotskova travelled to Artesia, California to have her programs choreographed, and to work with Rafael Arutyunyan on her jumps.^[8] Competing in the 2015 JGP series, she won gold in Riga, Latvia, and Linz, Austria, resulting in qualification to her third JGP Final. Her first senior gold medal came at the Tallinn Trophy, an ISU Challenger Series event in November. In December, at the JGP Final in Barcelona, Sotskova placed fourth in the short and second in the free skate, which brought her the silver medal behind teammate Polina Tsurskaya and ahead of Japan's Marin Honda.

At the Russian Championships, she finished fifth on the senior level, in December, and went on to win the junior silver medal behind Tsurskaya, in January. In February, Sotskova represented Russia at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Hamar, Norway, winning the silver medal behind teammate Tsurskaya again.^[9] In March, she was awarded silver at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, between two Japanese Honda and Wakaba Higuchi. She was the only Russian to finish the competition, as her two teammates Polina Tsurskaya and Alisa Fedichkina withdrew right before the short skate and the free respectively, due to unexpected ankle injuries for both. Sotskova's silver medal secured the three spots for Russia in the next Junior World Champions, yet ended the Russia's five-year streak of World Junior ladies' titles.

Following the end of the season, she switched from Svetlana Panova to Elena Buianova due to CSKA Moscow's better training conditions.^[10]

2016–2017 season: Senior debut

Sotskova began her season at the 2016 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial, where she placed second in the short and first in the free skate to win the gold medal ahead of teammate Yulia Lipnitskaya.^[11] Making her Grand Prix debut, she won silver at the 2016 Trophée de France and bronze at the 2016 NHK Trophy, earning qualification to the Grand Prix Final in Marseille, France. In December, she finished fifth in France and then received the bronze medal at the Russian Championships, having ranked second in the short and third in the free skate, which made her qualify for European and World Champions in her first senior season. In January 2017, she placed fourth at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, behind the bronze medalist Carolina Kostner by 18 points due to a messy free program. Two months later, at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, she placed sixth in the short, eleventh in the free, and eighth overall.

2017–2018 season: Winter Olympics

After winning silver at the 2017 Skate Canada International and 2017 Internationaux de France, Sotskova qualified to her second Grand Prix Final. In December, she won two more silver medals, at the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan, and 2018 Russian Championships in Saint Petersburg.

At the 2018 European Championships, held in January in Moscow, Sotskova finished fourth, losing to teammates Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva and Italy's Carolina Kostner. On the next day, she was named to the Russian Olympic team (together with Medvedeva and Zagitova).^[12] In February, Sotskova represented OAR (Olympic Athletes from Russia) in Pyeongchang, South Korea.^[13] She was not selected for the team event. Competing in individual ladies' singles, she placed twelfth in the short program, seventh in the free skate, and eighth overall. The following month, she ended up with the same final result at the 2018 World Championships in Milan, Italy, after placing fifth in the short and ninth in the free.^[14]

2018–2019 season

Sotskova made her season debut at the 2018 Japan Open, where she placed sixth individually. Competing in her third Grand Prix season, she placed ninth at the 2018 NHK Trophy and seventh at the 2018 Internationaux de France. This was the first time Maria had not qualified for the Grand Prix Final. In early December she finished fifth at the 2018 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb after obtaining a season's best score of 179.18 points. It was the first time that season that she executed a triple flip-Euler-triple Salchow combination.

At the 2019 Russian Championships, Sotskova placed twelfth in the short program due to doubling her triple Lutz, therefore losing 3.8 points in base value. In the free skate, she made many errors on her jumps, including multiple falls and underrotations. She placed sixteenth in the free skate and sixteenth overall.^[15] She was named as the second alternate to the 2019 Winter Universiade, and after the withdrawals of teammates Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and Evgenia Medvedeva, she was added to the team along with Stanislava Konstantinova. She placed seventh there with a total score of 170.20, the lowest score of her senior career.^[16]

At the end of her season, Sotskova made the decision to part ways with coach Elena Buianova and joined Svetlana Sokolovskaya's training group. The parting was amicable.^[16]

2019–2020 season

In the early season, Sotskova was ninth at the 2019 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial and eighth at the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge. At her lone Grand Prix assignment, the 2019 Internationaux de France, she was eleventh of eleven skaters. She later withdrew from the Russian Nationals.

In July 2020, she announced her retirement from competitive skating.^[17]

Over two months after her retirement, she received a 10-year disqualification from the sport by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency for forging a medical certificate to explain a doping violation; it was later reported that Sotskova was using the banned diuretic furosemide.^[18] The Figure Skating Federation of Russia issued a verdict in March 2021 based on the RUSADA decision to disqualify Sotskova until April 5, 2030, backdating the start of her ban to April 2020.^[19]

Programs

Sotskova at the 2016 World Junior Championships podium

Sotskova with her former coach, Svetlana Panova

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2019–2020 [16]	To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra, Patrick Watson choreo. by Nikolai Morozov	Fifty Shades of Grey choreo. by Nikita Mikhailov
2018–2019 [14]	Santana choreo. by Peter Tchernyshev	Summertime by George Gershwin choreo. by Peter Tchernyshev	Kalinka by Ivan Larionov L-O-V-E by Natalie Cole
2017–2018 [20]	Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky	Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy	Kalinka[21] by Ivan Larionov
2016–2017 [10][22][23]	Agitato I Waltz of Farewell (from The Story of an Unknown Actor) by Alfred Schnittke V. Rondo: Agitato (from Concerto Grosso No. 1) by Alfred Schnittke choreo. by Nikita Mikhailov	At the Manilovs (from Dead Souls) by Alfred Schnittke choreo. by Peter Tchernyshev	All by Myself performed by Celine Dion
2015–2016 [24][25]	Black Magic Woman performed by Carlos Santana choreo. by Nadezda Kanaeva, Ilona Protasenia	Romeo and Juliet The Young Juliet Montagues and Capulets by Sergei Prokofiev choreo. by Vera Arutyunyan	Writing's on the Wall by Sam Smith
2014–2015 [26]	Winter (from The Four Seasons) by Antonio Vivaldi choreo. by Ilona Protasenia	Funny Face by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin Breakfast at Tiffany's by Henry Mancini choreo. by Vera Arutyunyan	Tous les garçons et les filles by Françoise Hardy
2013–2014 [27][28][29]	Winter (from The Four Seasons) by Antonio Vivaldi choreo. by Ilona Protasenia Nuevo Tango by Viejos Aires choreo. by Ilona Protasenia	Pina by Thomas Hanreich choreo. by Ilona Protasenia	Nuevo Tango by Viejos Aires choreo. by Ilona Protasenia
2012–2013	Nuevo Tango by Viejos Aires choreo. by Ilona Protasenia	Pina by Thomas Hanreich choreo. by Ilona Protasenia choreo. by Ilona Protasenia
2011–2012	Nuevo Tango by Viejos Aires choreo. by Ilona Protasenia	Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor by Frédéric Chopin choreo. by Ilona Protasenia

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International[30]
Event	12–13	13–14	14–15	15–16	16–17	17–18	18–19	19–20
Olympics						8th
Worlds					8th	8th
Europeans					4th	4th
GP Final					5th	2nd
GP France					2nd	2nd	7th	11th
GP NHK Trophy					3rd		9th
GP Skate Canada						2nd
CS Finlandia						1st	WD
CS Golden Spin							5th
CS Ondrej Nepela					1st			9th
CS Tallinn Trophy				1st
Denis Ten MC								8th
Shanghai Trophy						3rd
Universiade							7th
International: Junior[30]
Youth Olympics				2nd
Junior Worlds		WD	5th	2nd
JGP Final		1st	4th	2nd
JGP Austria				1st
JGP Croatia			1st
JGP Czech Rep.		2nd
JGP Estonia			2nd
JGP Latvia		2nd		1st
National[31]
Russia			6th	5th	3rd	2nd	16th	WD
Russia: Junior	3rd	2nd	2nd	2nd
Team events
Japan Open							2nd T 6th P
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew T = Team result; P = Personal result. At team events, medals awarded for team result only.

Detailed results

Senior level

Sotskova at the 2018 European Championships.

Sotskova at the 2016–17 Grand Prix Final.

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships.

2019–20 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
24–29 December 2019	2020 Russian Championships	WD	WD	WD
1–3 November 2019	2019 Internationaux de France	11 50.38	11 94.51	11 144.89
9–12 October 2019	2019 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge	7 49.80	8 84.77	8 134.57
19–21 September 2019	2019 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial	10 48.93	7 106.32	9 155.25
2018–19 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
7–9 March 2019	2019 Winter Universiade	7 58.43	6 111.77	7 170.20
19–23 December 2018	2019 Russian Championships	12 65.73	16 114.17	16 179.90
5–8 December 2018	2018 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb	5 60.35	5 119.37	5 179.72
23–25 November 2018	2018 Internationaux de France	5 61.76	7 115.83	7 177.59
9–11 November 2018	2018 NHK Trophy	9 60.75	9 116.24	9 176.99
6 October 2018	2018 Japan Open	–	6 111.78	6P/2T
2017–18 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
19–25 March 2018	2018 World Championships	5 71.80	9 124.81	8 196.61
14–25 February 2018	2018 Winter Olympics	12 63.86	7 134.24	8 198.10
15–21 January 2018	2018 European Championships	4 68.70	3 132.11	4 200.81
21–24 December 2017	2018 Russian Championships	2 76.39	2 145.37	2 221.76
7–10 December 2017	2017–18 Grand Prix Final	4 74.00	2 142.28	2 216.28
24–26 November 2017	2017 Shanghai Trophy	–	3 128.18	3
17–19 November 2017	2017 Internationaux de France	2 67.79	2 140.99	2 208.78
27–29 October 2017	2017 Skate Canada	3 66.10	2 126.42	2 192.52
6–8 October 2017	2017 CS Finlandia Trophy	2 67.69	1 137.61	1 205.30
2016-17 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
29 March – 2 April 2017	2017 World Championships	6 69.76	11 122.44	8 192.20
25–29 January 2017	2017 European Championships	4 72.17	5 120.35	4 192.52
20–26 December 2016	2017 Russian Championships	2 74.39	3 145.51	3 219.90
8–11 December 2016	2016–17 Grand Prix Final	6 65.74	5 133.05	5 198.79
25–27 November 2016	2016 NHK Trophy	2 69.96	3 125.92	3 195.88
11–13 November 2016	2016 Trophée de France	3 68.71	2 131.64	2 200.35
29 September - 1 October	2016 Ondrej Nepela Trophy	2 61.58	1 128.38	1 189.96

Junior level

Sotskova at the 2015–16 Junior Grand Prix Final

Sotskova at the 2014–15 Junior Grand Prix Final

Sotskova at the 2013–14 Junior Grand Prix Final

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships.

2015–16 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
14–20 March 2016	2016 World Junior Championships	Junior	3 64.78	3 123.94	2 188.72
12–21 February 2016	2016 Winter Youth Olympics	Junior	8 53.40	2 116.10	2 169.50
19–23 January 2016	2016 Russian Junior Championships	Junior	2 67.70	2 124.11	2 191.81
24–27 December 2015	2016 Russian Championships	Senior	8 66.14	4 135.18	5 201.32
10–13 December 2015	2015−16 JGP Final	Junior	4 62.64	2 121.37	2 184.01
17–22 November 2015	2015 Tallinn Trophy	Senior	1 64.82	1 121.48	1 186.30
9–12 September 2015	2015 JGP Austria	Junior	2 62.97	1 122.47	1 185.44
27–30 August 2015	2015 JGP Latvia	Junior	2 62.73	1 121.72	1 184.45
2014–15 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
2–8 March 2015	2015 World Junior Championships	Junior	10 53.95	5 115.09	5 169.04
4–7 February 2015	2015 Russian Junior Championships	Junior	2 65.93	3 120.37	2 186.30
24–27 December 2014	2015 Russian Championships	Senior	8 61.66	6 124.40	6 186.06
11–14 December 2014	2014–15 JGP Final	Junior	4 62.28	4 113.71	4 175.99
8–11 October 2014	2014 JGP Croatia	Junior	2 58.48	1 112.33	1 170.81
24–27 September 2014	2014 JGP Estonia	Junior	2 52.06	2 107.61	2 159.67
2013–14 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
23–25 January 2014	2014 Russian Junior Championships	Junior	2 64.26	2 127.43	2 191.69
5–6 December 2013	2013–14 JGP Final	Junior	1 61.29	1 115.46	1 176.75
3–5 October 2013	2013 JGP Czech Republic	Junior	3 57.74	2 107.85	2 165.59
29–30 August 2013	2013 JGP Latvia	Junior	1 59.45	2 107.04	2 166.49
2012–13 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
2–3 February 2013	2013 Russian Junior Championships	Junior	7 58.83	3 122.29	3 181.12
2010–11 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
24–25 April 2010	Rostelecom Crystal Skate	Novice	2 39.80	2 80.88	2 120.68

References

1. Ruiz, Rebecca R.; Panja, Tariq (5 December 2017). "Russia Banned from Winter Olympics by I.O.C." The New York Times.
2. Сотскова Мария Романовна [Maria Romanovna Sotskova] (in Russian). Russian Figure Skating Federation. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014.
3. ""Больше не прошу забрать меня домой". Как Мария Сотскова полюбила соревноваться" [How Maria Sotskova began to love competing]. sovsport.ru (in Russian). 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
4. Pilyasov, Anton. "У Марии Сотсковой умер папа" [Maria Sotskova's dad passed] (in Russian). Sports.ru.
5. Ermolina, Olga (6 December 2013). Мария Сотскова: Положила свой страх в рюкзак [Maria Sotskova cast aside her fear] (in Russian). Russian Figure Skating Federation. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014.
6. Фигуристка Медведева заменила Сотскову на юниорском ЧМ в Болгарии [Figure skater Medvedeva replaces Sotskova at the World Junior Championships in Bulgaria] (in Russian). R-Sport. 11 March 2014.
7. Ermolina, Olga (20 March 2014). Мария Сотскова: «У меня поврежден мениск, но операция не понадобится» [Maria Sotskova: "I injured the meniscus but an operation is not necessary"] (in Russian). Russian Figure Skating Federation. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014.
8. "Мария Сотскова: приехала в США специально и целенаправленно для занятий у Рафаэля Арутюняна". All Sports Info. All Sports Info. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
9. "Top two Tsurskaya and Sotskova cap a memorable day at Hamar for Russia". Olympic. 16 February 2016.
10. Flade, Tatjana (26 July 2016). "New beginnings for Russia's Maria Sotskova". Golden Skate.
11. Renee, Felton (30 September 2016). "Sotskova roars back in free to win Ondrej Nepela". Ice network.
12. "Объявлены имена российских фигуристов, которые поедут на Олимпиаду в Пхенчхане" (in Russian). R-Sport / RIA Novosti. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
13. "Athlete Profile - Maria SOTSKOVA". pyeongchang2018.com. 2018-06-29. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018.
14. Flade, Tatjana (16 May 2018). "Sotskova: 'I'll remain in skating for many years to come'". goldenskate.com.
15. Flade, Tatjana (21 December 2018). "Zagitova skates to confident lead in Saransk as Medvedeva falters". Golden Skate.
16. Flade, Tatjana (5 June 2019). "Maria Sotskova: 'I can't give up. This is what I love'". Golden Skate.
17. Sotskova, Mariya (July 8, 2020). "Когда ты впервые почувствовал вкус победы, тебе кажется, что это никогда не закончится" [When you first get a taste of victory, you think it will never end.] (Instagram) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
18. "Мария Сотскова дисквалифицирована на 10 лет за подделку медицинской справки" [Maria Sotskova was disqualified for 10 years for forging a medical certificate] (in Russian). Rsport. September 17, 2020.
19. "Maria Sotskova, retired Russian figure skater, banned 10 years". NBC Sports. March 3, 2021.
20. "Maria SOTSKOVA: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
21. ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2017 Skate Canada International - Gala Exhibition (Television production). Eurosport. 29 October 2017.
22. Luchianov, Vladislav (17 October 2016). "Sotskova feels confident ahead of Grand Prix debut". IceNetwork.com.
23. "Maria SOTSKOVA: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
24. Мария Сотскова: в короткой программе у меня Black Magic Woman Карлоса Сантаны, в произвольной – музыка из балета "Ромео и Джульетта" [Maria Sotskova: For short program I have Black Magic Woman by Carlos Santana, for free - music from the ballet "Romeo and Juliet"]. Team Russia 2014 (in Russian). 28 July 2015. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
25. "Maria SOTSKOVA: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016.
26. "Maria SOTSKOVA: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
27. "Maria SOTSKOVA: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
28. "Maria SOTSKOVA: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
29. Ermolina, Olga (30 January 2014). Мария Сотскова: «Спортсмены – это лицо тренера» [Maria Sotskova interview] (in Russian). Russian Figure Skating Federation. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014.
30. "Competition Results: Maria SOTSKOVA". International Skating Union.
31. Сотскова Мария Романовна [Maria Romanovna Sotskova] (in Russian). fskate.ru.

External links

Media related to Maria Sotskova at Wikimedia Commons

• Maria Sotskova at the International Skating Union
• Maria Sotskova on Instagram