# Ilia Tkachenko

Ilia Alexeyevich Tkachenko (Russian: Илья Алексеевич Ткаченко, born 26 December 1986) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer. Skating for Russia with Ekaterina Riazanova, he became the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard silver medalist, the 2012 Skate Canada International bronze medalist, and a three-time Russian national medalist. Competing with Isabella Tobias for Israel, he won four medals on the ISU Challenger Series.

## Personal life

Tkachenko was born on 26 December 1986 in Perm, Russian SFSR, the elder of two boys. He studied municipal administration. He married his wife, Ksenia, who is also from Perm, on 15 June 2012.
After deciding to compete for Israel, Tkachenko applied for Israeli citizenship. In November 2017, news media reported that his application had been unsuccessful.

## Career
### Early career

Tkachenko began skating at the age of four in Perm. Initially, he was a single skater, training in Andrei Kislukhin's group, but when it dissolved he took up ice dancing. He moved with his grandmother to Moscow at age 13.
Tkachenko competed with Anastasia Gorshkova from 2002 to 2006, coached by her father, Alexei Gorshkov. They won the bronze medal at the 2005 World Junior Championships and four medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series — two gold, one silver, one bronze. They finished 7th at the 2006 World Junior Championships. Gorshkova retired from competition in July 2006 due to a hip injury.

### 2006–2007 season: Debut of Monko/Tkachenko

Around late August 2006, Tkachenko began training with Maria Monko in Odintsovo under Gorshkov. They won the silver medal at the 2007 Russian Junior Championships and placed fifth at the 2007 World Junior Championships.

### 2007–2008 season

Monko/Tkachenko won a pair of medals on the Junior Grand Prix series and qualified for the JGP Final where they took gold. They finished fourth at the 2008 World Junior Championships after Monko fell on twizzles in both the original and free dance.

### 2008–2009 season

Monko/Tkachenko received two senior Grand Prix assignments, 2008 Skate America and 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, and prepared new programs. They withdrew, however, from both events.
After their partnership ended, Tkachenko briefly skated with Isabella Tobias in 2008. Tobias and Tkachenko did not compete together. In spring 2009, Tkachenko expressed interest in skating with Ekaterina Riazanova. After a tryout, they both felt it would be a good partnership, despite her needing time to adapt to his different technique and some disapproval from the Russian skating federation. They decided to be coached by Gorshkov at Odintsovo FSC, near Moscow.

### 2009–2010 season: Debut of Riazanova/Tkachenko

Riazanova/Tkachenko began competing together during the 2009–2010 season. They finished fourth at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, sixth at their sole Grand Prix event, the 2009 Cup of Russia, and fourth at the Russian Nationals.

### 2010–2011 season

Riazanova/Tkachenko decided to scrap the free dance they had planned for the 2010–2011 season and prepare a new one. They placed fifth at their first Grand Prix event of the season, the 2010 Skate America, and then won silver at the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard. At the 2011 Russian Nationals, they won the silver medal and their first berth to the European Championships. At the 2011 Europeans, Riazanova/Tkachenko placed fifth in the short dance, sixth in the free dance, and sixth overall. Russia had only two spots to the World Championships and since both Bobrova/Soloviev and Ilinykh/Katsalapov had placed ahead of them at Europeans, they did not make the team, however, they continued training as first alternates and also worked on new programs until the end of May; after vacation, they resumed training for the new season on 20 June, including a three-week camp in Bulgaria.

### 2011–2012 season

For the 2011–2012 season, Riazanova/Tkachenko were assigned to 2011 Skate Canada and 2011 Cup of Russia as their Grand Prix events. On their free dance, which was choreographed by Sergei Petukhov, Riazanova said, "A young woman remembers her beloved, who is no longer alive. She is so deeply immersed in the memories of happy times that her dreams seem to become reality for a short while." They had to withdraw from 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy because Tkachenko's new passport was not ready. On 13 December 2011 Riazanova sustained a concussion and a broken nose when Tkachenko accidentally elbowed her in practice; she was released from hospital at her own risk on 20 December At the Russian Championships which began on December 25, Riazanova/Tkachenko won the bronze medal after placing third in the short dance and fourth in the free dance. They finished 5th overall at the 2012 European Championships but received a small bronze medal for their 3rd place in the short dance. They finished 9th at the 2012 World Championships.

### 2012–2013 season

In April 2012, Tkachenko said that they would spend some time preparing for the following season in Marina Zueva and Igor Shpilband's group in the United States, however, the coaches parted ways so the skaters decided to train with Shpilband in Novi, Michigan. At a camp in Bulgaria, Tkachenko lost his balance while practicing a lift on the floor in skates and stepped on Riazanova's hand; she had surgery on her hand and recovered well. At the suggestion of Tatiana Tarasova, they decided to scrap a new free dance to Pink Floyd's Hey You and made a new one to a waltz from the Godfather films. Riazanova/Tkachenko won bronze medals at the 2012 Skate Canada and 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard. They repeated as bronze medalists at the 2013 Russian Championships.

### 2013–2014 season

Riazanova/Tkachenko finished fourth at their two Grand Prix events, the 2013 Skate Canada International and the 2013 Rostelecom Cup. They then finished fourth at the 2014 Russian Championships behind Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan Zhiganshin. In April 2014, Tkachenko left the partnership.

### 2014–2015 season

Tkachenko and Isabella Tobias teamed up in the summer of 2014 to represent Israel. They had skated together for six months in 2008. On their decision regarding which country to represent, Tobias stated: "The U.S. would have granted him citizenship one year too late at best; Russia wanted me to give away my American passport, which I would never do; and the experts we consulted assured (us) that Lithuania would never grant him citizenship (I barely got mine). So we chose Israel, as I am of Jewish origin, and Ilia has also some Jewish roots via his family, which makes it easier." The two sat out the 2014–2015 season in order to become eligible to compete for the following season.

### 2015–2016 season: Debut of Tobias/Tkachenko

Tobias/Tkachenko began the season on the Challenger Series (CS), winning silver medals at the Finlandia Trophy and Mordovian Ornament. They placed 10th at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, and 12th at the 2016 World Championships in Boston, United States. They were coached by Igor Shpilband and Adrienne Lenda in Novi, Michigan.

### 2016–2017 season

Tobias/Tkachenko ranked 4th at the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International in Canada before making their Grand Prix debut as a team. After placing 6th at the 2016 Skate America and 5th at the 2016 Trophée de France, they won silver behind Elena Ilinykh / Ruslan Zhiganshin at the 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy.
The two placed 12th at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Due to their result, Israel qualified a spot in the ice dancing event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. They were coached by Shpilband and Lenda in Novi, Michigan.
On 12 April 2017, Tobias/Tkachenko announced a coaching change, having decided to join Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein, Massimo Scali, and Johnny Johns at the Arctic Edge in Canton, Michigan.

### 2017–2018 season

Tobias/Tkachenko withdrew from both of their Grand Prix assignments – the 2017 NHK Trophy and 2017 Skate America. Due to Tkachenko's unsuccessful application for Israeli citizenship, they were not included in Israel's team to the 2018 Winter Olympics.

### Post-competitive career

In January 2019, Tkachenko moved to Estero, Florida, to coach at the Hertz Arena's International Skating Academy.

## Programs
### With Tobias

| Season | Short dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
| 2017–2018 | Shape of You by Ed Sheeran She Will Be Loved from Rhythms del Mundo Fireball by Pitbull | Samson et Delilah by Camille Saint-Saëns | |
| 2016–2017 | Blues: Real Life by The Weeknd Hip hop: Can't Feel My Face by The Weeknd | Pas de deux (from The Nutcracker) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Earned It by The Weeknd |
| 2015–2016 | Waltz: A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes (from Cinderella) performed by Lily James Polka: Cinderella by Patrick Doyle March: Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo (from Cinderella) performed by Helena Bonham Carter | Polovtsian Dances by Alexander Borodin | |

### With Riazanova

| Season | Short dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
| 2013–2014 | Chicago by John Kander | The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber | Hey you by Pink Floyd |
| 2012–2013 | My Fair Lady by Frederick Loewe I Could Have Danced All Night With a Little Bit of Luck | The Godfather by Nino Rota | Hey You by Pink Floyd |
| 2011–2012 | Paxi Ni Ngongo by Bonga Cuba | Romance (from The Blizzard) by Georgy Sviridov choreo. by Sergei Petukhov | |
| 2010–2011 | Waltz (from The Blizzard) by Georgy Sviridov | Danzón no. 2 by Arturo Márquez | The Master and Margarita by Igor Kornelyuk |
| | Original dance | | |
| 2009–2010 | Berezka (Russian: Во поле берёза стояла) | The Master and Margarita by Igor Kornelyuk | |

### With Monko

| Season | Original dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
| 2007–2008 | I'm Going Out on the Street (Russian: Вдоль по улице) | Song of the Spirit by Karl Jenkins | |
| 2006–2007 | Tango Passion by Ástor Piazzolla | Romeo and Juliet (soundtrack) | |

### With Gorshkova

| Season | Original dance | Free dance |
| 2005–2006 | Baila Son | Cirque du Soleil by René Dupéré |
| 2004–2005 | Slow foxtrot: Why Don't You Do Right? (from Who Framed Roger Rabbit) Quickstep: Give me that thing | Selection from Kill Bill Bang, Bang (from Kill Bill) Hu Ha |

## Competitive highlights

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

### With Tobias for Israel

International :
| Event | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 |
| World Champ. | 12th | 12th | |
| European Champ. | 10th | 4th | |
| GP NHK Trophy | | | WD |
| GP Skate America | | 6th | WD |
| GP Trophée de France | | 5th | |
| CS Autumn Classic | | 4th | |
| CS Finlandia Trophy | 2nd | | |
| CS Mordovian Ornament | 2nd | | |
| CS Tallinn Trophy | 1st | 2nd | |
| Lake Placid IDI | 1st | | |

### With Riazanova

International :
| Event | 09–10 | 10–11 | 11–12 | 12–13 | 13–14 |
| World Champ. | | | 9th | 11th | |
| European Champ. | | 6th | 5th | 4th | 5th |
| GP Bompard | | 2nd | | 3rd | |
| GP Rostelecom Cup | 6th | | 4th | | 4th |
| GP Skate America | | 5th | | | |
| GP Skate Canada | | | 5th | 3rd | 4th |
| Golden Spin | 2nd | | | 1st | |
| Nebelhorn Trophy | 4th | 3rd | | | |
| National ||||||
| Russian Champ. | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 4th |

### With Monko

International :
| Event | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 |
| GP Skate America | | | WD |
| GP Trophée Bompard | | | WD |
| International: Junior ||||
| World Junior Champ. | 5th | 4th | |
| JGP Final | | 1st | |
| JGP Austria | | 2nd | |
| JGP United Kingdom | | 1st | |
| National ||||
| Russian Junior Champ. | 2nd | 2nd | |

### With Gorshkova

International: Junior :
| Event | 2004–05 | 2005–06 |
| World Junior Champ. | 3rd | 7th |
| JGP Final | 5th | 5th |
| JGP Estonia | | 1st |
| JGP Poland | | 1st |
| JGP Serbia | 2nd | |
| JGP United States | 3rd | |
| National |||
| Russian Junior Champ. | 2nd | 2nd |