# Alexei Sviatchenko

Alexei Vadimovich Sviatchenko (Russian: Алексей Вадимович Святченко; born 24 March 1999) is a Russian pair skater who currently competes for Hungary. With his current skating partner, Maria Pavlova, he is the 2023 Skate Canada International silver medalist, the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo bronze medalist, the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy bronze medalist, and a two-time Hungarian national champion (2023–24).

## Personal life

Sviatchenko was born on 24 March 1999 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Fluent Russian, he has also been learning how to speak the Hungarian language.
In March 2024, his girlfriend, former Russian ice dancer and choreographer, Sofia Evdokimova, announced that they were engaged.

## Career
### Early years and career for Russia

Sviatchenko began learning how to skate in 2006. He became interested in the sport upon first seeing skaters at an ice rink and asked his mother to put him in lessons. He trained first as a single skater in Kolpino, a suburb of St. Petersburg, and at the age of 12 took up pair skating at the Figure Skating Club of St. Petersburg coached by Alexei Sokolov.
Sviatchenko competed with his first partner, Daria Kvartalova, until 2019. The team competed at four junior international events together, most notably finishing third at the 2018 JGP Canada. Following his split with Kvartalova, Sviatchenko had two more short-lived partnerships for Russia, one with Anastasia Balabanova during the 2020–21 season, and another with Nadezhda Labazina the following year. Labazina/Sviatchenko had one international start together before parting ways, finishing ninth at the 2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge.

### Partnership with Pavlova for Hungary
#### 2022–23 season: Debut of Pavlova/Sviatchenko

Sviatchenko had his first tryout with his current skating partner, Maria Pavlova, in March 2022 at what is now their current training base in Sochi. The duo chose to move forward as a new team for Hungary not long after, coached by Pavlova's staff consisting of Dmitri Savin, Fedor Klimov, Sofia Evdokimova, and Gurgen Vardanjan.
Pavlova/Sviatchenko made their competitive debut late in the 2022–23 season at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they finished ninth. Weeks later, the team claimed their first Hungarian national title at the 2023 Four Nationals Championship, the combined national championship event for Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. Due to their placement at the event, Pavlova/Sviatchenko were named to the Hungarian teams for the 2023 European Championships in January, and the 2023 World Championships in March.
At the European Championships, Pavlova/Sviatchenko placed sixth in the short program and fourth in the free skate to finish fifth overall, the best placement for a Hungarian team at the event in many years. In preparation for the World Championships, the team competed at two senior B events, the 2023 Bavarian Open and the 2023 Challenge Cup, where they placed first and second respectively.
Pavlova/Sviatchenko capped their season at Worlds, hosted in Saitama, Japan. There, the duo set new personal bests in both segments of competition, placing eighth in the short program and seventh in the free skate for seventh-place finish overall, another landmark placement for a Hungarian pair team at the competition in recent memory.

#### 2023–24 season

Pavlova/Sviatchenko opened their second season together in September at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy where they finished fifth. They followed up this placement with a third-place finish at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy, and a silver medal in the Challenger ineligible pairs event at the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy.
The team made their ISU Grand Prix series debut in late October at the 2023 Skate Canada International, held in Vancouver. Pavlova/Sviatchenko placed fourth in the short program, and rose to second in the free skate to finish second overall between Canadian gold medalists Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps and Italian third-place finishers Beccari/Guarise. Their placement marked the first medal for Hungary in pairs at a Grand Prix event. Following the free skate, Pavlova remarked, "We're really happy with our performance and we're going to improve every time and we have a lot of things to work on. Our federation is happy for us. We're giving good results for our country and we will continue to do that."
They were again fourth in the short program at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo, but another second-place free skate won them the bronze medal.
The team's results on the Grand Prix initially had them finishing as first alternates to the Grand Prix Final. They were called up to compete at the Beijing event following the withdrawal of German team Hocke/Kunkel, and came in fourth at the event.
Pavlova/Sviatchenko competed next at the 2024 European Championships, finishing fourth in the short program, less than two points back of third place. They came third in the free skate, winning a bronze small medal, but remained fourth overall, 1.66 points behind bronze medalists Ghilardi/Ambrosini of Italy. They expressed dissatisfaction with the judging of their performances, with Pavlova saying "our motivation goes down every time we keep getting these scores."
Finishing the season at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Pavlova/Sviatchenko came sixth in the short program. They moved up to fourth after the free skate, which she called "very motivating for next season."

#### 2024–25 season

Pavlova/Sviatchenko started the season by competing at the 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy and the 2024 Shanghai Trophy, where they won bronze and gold, respectively. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, the pair placed fifth at 2024 Skate America and win silver at the 2024 Finlandia Trophy.

## Programs
### Pair skating with Maria Pavlova (for Hungary)

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2022–23 | I See Red by Everybody Loves an Outlaw choreo. by Sofia Evdokimova | Angel by Tokio Myers Somebody to Love by Queen choreo. by Sofia Evdokimova | Big Spender (from Sweet Charity) by Cy Coleman & Dorothy Fields choreo. by Sofia Evdokimova |
| 2023–24 | Another One Bites the Dust by Queen choreo. by Sofia Evdokimova | My Perception of Love by Benjamin Amaru Iron 2021 by Woodkid choreo. by Sofia Evdokimova | Austin Powers The "Shag-adelic" Austin Powers Score Medley by George S. Clinton Shining Star by Earth, Wind & Fire Hey Goldmember by Beyonce Soul Bossa Nova by Quincy Jones |
| 2024–25 | Kiss by Prince performed by Tom Jones Sex Bomb by Tom Jones performed by Tom Jones & Froro choreo. by Sofia Evdokimova | Pirates of the Caribbean Hoist Your Colours The Medallion Calls Up Is Down Guilty of Being Jack Sparrow Marry Me by Hans Zimmer & Klaus Badelt choreo. by Sofia Evdokimova | 24K Magic by Bruno Mars U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer Hips Don't Lie by Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) by Beyoncé Boombastic by Shaggy Pump It by Black Eyed Peas Money, Money, Money by ABBA |

### With Kvartalova

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2018–2019 | The Feeling Begins by Peter Gabriel choreo. by Roman Soloviev, Valentin Molotov | Rain, In Your Black Eyes by Ezio Bosso choreo. by Roman Soloviev, Valentin Molotov |
| 2017–2018 | The Feeling Begins by Peter Gabriel choreo. by Roman Soloviev, Valentin Molotov | Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 by Muse choreo. by Roman Soloviev, Valentin Molotov |

## Competitive highlights

* GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
* CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series

### Pair skating with Maria Pavlova (for Hungary)

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| World Championships | 7th | 4th | TBD |
| European Championships | 5th | 4th | 4th |
| Grand Prix Final | | 4th | |
| Hungarian Championships | 1st | 1st | |
| Four Nationals Championships | 1st | 1st | |
| GP Finland | | 3rd | 2nd |
| GP Skate America | | | 5th |
| GP Skate Canada | | 2nd | |
| CS Finlandia Trophy | | 3rd | |
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 9th | | |
| CS Lombardia Trophy | | | 3rd |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | | 5th | |
| Bavarian Open | 1st | | |
| Budapest Trophy | | 2nd | |
| Challenge Cup | 2nd | | |
| Shanghai Trophy | | | 1st |

### With Labazina for Russia

International :
| Event | 2021–22 |
| CS Denis Ten Memorial | 9th |

### With Balabanova for Russia

National :
| Event | 2020–21 |
| Russian Champ. | 10th |

### With Kvartalova for Russia

International: Junior :
| Event | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 |
| JGP Canada | | | 3rd |
| JGP Croatia | | 6th | |
| Tallinn Trophy | 1st | 1st | |
| National ||||
| Russian Jr. Champ. | 6th | 5th | |

## Detailed results
### Pair skating with Maria Pavlova (for Hungary)

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 204.60 | 2024 World Championships |
| Short program | TSS | 68.01 | 2024 World Championships |
| Short program | TES | 38.25 | 2023 World Championships |
| Short program | PCS | 30.69 | 2024 Skate America |
| Free skating | TSS | 136.59 | 2024 World Championships |
| Free skating | TES | 74.40 | 2024 World Championships |
| Free skating | PCS | 62.19 | 2024 World Championships |
* Small medals for the short program and free skating are only awarded at ISU Championships.
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 7–10, 2022 | 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 9 | 53.58 | 9 | 97.67 | 9 | 151.25 |
| Dec 15–17, 2022 | 2023 Four Nationals Championships | 1 | 61.84 | 1 | 112.01 | 1 | 173.85 |
| Dec 15–17, 2022 | 2023 Hungarian Championships | 1 | — | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Jan 25–29, 2023 | 2023 European Championships | 6 | 57.97 | 4 | 115.01 | 5 | 172.98 |
| Jan 31 – Feb 5, 2023 | 2023 Bavarian Open | 2 | 65.07 | 1 | 112.71 | 1 | 177.78 |
| Feb 23–26, 2023 | 2023 International Challenge Cup | 4 | 58.44 | 2 | 115.19 | 2 | 173.63 |
| Mar 22–26, 2023 | 2023 World Championships | 8 | 64.43 | 7 | 126.24 | 7 | 190.67 |
Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 20–23, 2023 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 5 | 61.34 | 5 | 121.26 | 5 | 182.60 |
| Oct 4–8, 2023 | 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy | 3 | 61.66 | 4 | 107.73 | 3 | 169.39 |
| Oct 12–15, 2023 | 2023 Budapest Trophy | 1 | 63.08 | 2 | 129.28 | 2 | 192.36 |
| Oct 27–29, 2023 | 2023 Skate Canada International | 4 | 62.22 | 2 | 125.56 | 2 | 187.78 |
| Nov 10–12, 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo | 4 | 61.53 | 2 | 124.66 | 3 | 186.19 |
| Dec 7–10, 2023 | 2023–24 Grand Prix Final | 4 | 65.51 | 5 | 126.51 | 4 | 192.02 |
| Dec 14–16, 2023 | 2024 Four Nationals Championships | 1 | 64.87 | 1 | 131.31 | 1 | 196.18 |
| Dec 14–16, 2023 | 2024 Hungarian Championships | 1 | — | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Jan 8–14, 2024 | 2024 European Championships | 4 | 65.29 | 3 | 128.73 | 4 | 194.02 |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 | 2024 World Championships | 6 | 68.01 | 4 | 136.59 | 4 | 204.60 |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 12–15, 2024 | 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy | 4 | 66.89 | 1 | 129.78 | 3 | 196.67 |
| Oct 3–5, 2024 | 2024 Shanghai Trophy | 1 | 62.66 | 1 | 120.54 | 1 | 183.20 |
| Oct 18–20, 2024 | 2024 Skate America | 4 | 65.11 | 5 | 118.90 | 5 | 184.01 |
| Nov 15–17, 2024 | 2024 Finlandia Trophy | 3 | 54.33 | 2 | 122.92 | 2 | 184.21 |
| Jan 28 – Feb 2, 2025 | 2025 European Championships | 3 | 65.88 | 4 | 125.56 | 4 | 191.44 |
* 1 2 In Hungary, the Hungarian Championships are contested as part of the Four Nationals Championships.