# Asaf Kazimov

Asaf Kazimovich Kazimov (Russian: Асаф Казимович Казимов; born 12 March 2000) is a German-Spanish ice dancer who currently competes for Spain. With his skating partner, Sofía Val, he is the 2025 Winter World University Games champion and the 2023 Trophée Métropole Nice champion.

## Personal life

Kazimov was born on 12 March 2000 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He and his family immigrated to Germany in 2012. Kazimov has his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.

## Career
### Early years

Kazimov began learning how to skate in 2006 in his native Saint Petersburg. He trained as a single skater under Valentina Chebotareva and Olga Ivanova until he was 11, at which point he was encouraged to pursue ice dance. Kazimov and his family emigrated from Russia to Germany in 2012, and there he took up the sport with his first competitive partner, Diana Scheidt. Scheidt/Kazimov competed as advanced novices both internationally and domestically during the 2014–15 season before splitting during the first half of 2015.

### 2015–2019: Partnership with Luft

Kazimov teamed up with his second skating partner, Lara Luft, in 2015. They competed for Germany for three seasons together, from 2016 to 2019, including three Junior Grand Prix assignments, a bronze medal in the junior ice dance category at the 2017 Christmas Cup, and a silver medal at the 2019 German junior national championship. Luft/Kazimov split in 2019.

### 2019–2022: Partnership with Lopusova

Kazimov next formed a partnership with fellow Russian-born skater Viktoriia Lopusova, with whom he competed for three seasons from 2019 to 2022 and made his senior international debut. Lopusova/Kazimov competed at two junior international events during the 2019–20 season and won the bronze medal at the 2019 German junior national championship, but did not appear internationally or domestically during the 2020–21 season.
The team returned to make their senior international debut at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, the final qualifying event to the 2022 Winter Olympics, where they finished 15th. They competed at six other international senior B events over the course of the 2021–22 season, and finished 4th at the 2021 German Championships.

### 2022–23 season: Debut of Val/Kazimov

Lopusova/Kazimov split in August 2022, despite having prepared for the upcoming 2022–23 season. Kazimov connected with his current skating partner, Sofía Val, through their now coach, Sara Hurtado, and the skaters convened in Madrid for a five-day tryout period in September. They elected to team up for Val's native Spain not long after, and Kazimov relocated to Madrid to train under Hurtado and her former skating partner, Kirill Khaliavin.
The new team was ineligible to compete internationally until January 2023 when Kazimov received his release from the German Ice Skating Union. Val/Kazimov debuted at the 2023 Challenge Cup at the end of February where they placed sixth of 14 and secured their technical minimum scores to be eligible to compete at the 2023 World Championships.
At the World Championships in March, Val/Kazimov placed 30th in the rhythm dance and did not advance to the free dance portion of the competition.

### 2023–24 season

Val/Kazimov opened their first full competitive season with a 13th-place finish at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial. They set new personal bests in both segments of competition, as well as overall, at their next ISU Challenger Series assignment, the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy, where they placed sixth. The team won their first international medal a week later at the 2023 Trophée Métropole Nice, taking the title ahead of Lithuanian and Chinese teams Ramanauskaitė/Kizala and Xiao/He.
Competing at their first Spanish Championships in December, Val/Kazimov won the silver medal behind the new team Smart/Dieck. Despite the latter being the national champions, it was initially announced by the Spanish federation that Val/Kazimov would represent the country at the 2024 European and World Championships. Following controversy around the criteria used to arrive at this result, on 27 December the Spanish federation announced that Smart/Dieck would instead be given the country's lone World Championship berth, while Val/Kazimov would go to the European Championships.
In the rhythm dance at the European Championships in Kaunas, Val lost a level on her twizzle sequence, and both partners had low levels on their step sequences. They were 23rd in the segment, and missed the cut for the free dance.

## Programs
### With Val

| Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance |
| 2024–2025 | I Was Made for Lovin' You by Kiss Last Train to London by Electric Light Orchestra choreo. by Kirill Khaliavin | W.E. Charms Dance For Me Wallis by Abel Korzeniowski choreo. by Kirill Khaliavin |
| 2023–2024 | Top Gun Playing with the Boys by Kenny Loggins Take My Breath Away by Berlin Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins choreo. by Kirill Khaliavin | SOFIA by Askjell, Aurora, and Iris Turning Page by Sleeping At Last choreo. by Kirill Khaliavin |
| 2022–2023 | Havana Don't Go Yet by Camila Cabello choreo. by Kirill Khaliavin | SOFIA by Askjell, Aurora, and Iris Turning Page by Sleeping At Last choreo. by Kirill Khaliavin |

### With Lopusova

| Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance |
| 2022–2023 | Rhumba: Temptation by Diana Krall Samba: Timbale by Watazu choreo. by Adam Solya, Maurizio Margaglio | End Title (from The Godfather Part II) Parla più piano (from The Godfather) by Nino Rota choreo. by Luca Lanotte |
| 2021–2022 | Blues: I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues Disco: Victim of Love by Elton John choreo. by Matteo Zanni | Belonging II by Denis Stelmakh Smallest Light by Ingrid Michaelson Obscura by Christian Reindl Shine a Light by Banners choreo. by Matteo Zanni |

### With Luft

| Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance |
| 2018–2019 | Argentine Tango: Tango de Besame by Roni Benise Waltz: Corazón de Oro by Lalo Schifrin choreo. by Mariana Kozlova, Alexander Tolstik | Say Something by A Great Big World, feat. Christina Aguilera Six Breath, The Last Breath by Ezio Bosso choreo. by Mariana Kozlova, Alexander Tolstik |
| 2017–2018 | Cha Cha: Everybody Cha Cha by Cecil Jonni Lauro Rhumba: La Playa by Chayanne Samba: Tequila by Sonia & Selena choreo. by Mark Hanretty, Alexander Tolstik | Gimme That Swing! by Cissie Redgwick After Dark by Tito & Tarantula Rock It For Me by Caravan Palace choreo. by Mark Hanretty, Alexander Tolstik |

## Competitive highlights
### Ice dance with Sofía Val (for Spain)

International :
| Event | 22–23 | 23–24 | 24–25 |
| Worlds | 30th | | |
| Europeans | | 23rd | |
| CS Budapest Trophy | | 6th | |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | | | 11th |
| CS Nepela Memorial | | 13th | |
| CS Tallinn Trophy | | | 6th |
| Bosphorus Cup | | 3rd | |
| Challenge Cup | 6th | | |
| Ephesus Cup | | 1st | |
| Pavel Roman Memorial | | | 2nd |
| Trophée Métropole Nice | | 1st | |
| Winter University Games | | | 1st |
| National ||||
| Spanish Championships | | 2nd | 2nd |

### With Lopusova for Germany

International :
| Event | 19–20 | 21–22 |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | | 15th |
| CS Warsaw Cup | | 20th |
| Bavarian Open | | 8th |
| Challenge Cup | | 7th |
| Egna Dance Trophy | | 9th |
| Open d'Andorra | | 9th |
| Trophée Métropole Nice | | 10th |
| International: Junior |||
| Golden Spin | 10th | |
| Grand Prix of Bratislava | 4th | |
| National |||
| German Champ. | 3rd J | 4th |

### With Luft for Germany

International: Junior :
| Event | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 |
| JGP Armenia | | | 11th |
| JGP Austria | | 16th | |
| JGP Lithuania | | | 10th |
| Bavarian Open | 19th | | |
| Christmas Cup | | | 3rd |
| Ice Star | | 7th | |
| Mentor Toruń Cup | | | 10th |
| Volvo Open Cup | | | 11th |
| National ||||
| German Champ. | | | 2nd J |

## Detailed results
### Ice dance with Sofía Val (for Spain)

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 170.50 | 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy |
| Short program | TSS | 66.67 | 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy |
| Short program | TES | 38.31 | 2023 CS Budapest Trophy |
| Short program | PCS | 28.87 | 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy |
| Free skating | TSS | 103.83 | 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy |
| Free skating | TES | 59.73 | 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy |
| Free skating | PCS | 45.10 | 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | RD | RD | FD | FD | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 19-21, 2024 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 7 | 6404 | 12 | 91.02 | 11 | 155.06 |
| Nov 8-10, 2024 | 2024 Pavel Roman Memorial | 2 | 69.54 | 2 | 104.24 | 2 | 173.78 |
| Nov 12–17, 2024 | 2024 CS Tallinn Trophy | 8 | 66.67 | 6 | 103.83 | 6 | 170.50 |
| Dec 12-15, 2024 | 2025 Spanish Championships | 2 | 70.35 | 2 | 105.95 | 2 | 176.30 |
| Jan 16–18, 2025 | 2025 Winter University Games | 1 | 66.42 | 1 | 106.35 | 1 | 172.77 |