# Gleb Smolkin

Gleb Borisovich Smolkin (Russian: Глеб Борисович Смолкин; Georgian: გლებ ბორისოვიჩ სმოლკინი, born 27 August 1999) is a Russian ice dancer who currently represents Georgia. Representing Russia with his partner, Diana Davis, he is the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup champion and the 2022 Russian national silver medalist.
On the junior level, Davis/Smolkin are the 2020 Russian junior national bronze medalists, finished in the top five at the 2020 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, and competed at the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final.

## Personal life

Smolkin was born on 27 August 1999 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He is the son of Russian actor Boris Smolkin [ru] and his wife Svetlana. He has one half-brother, Vladimir. As of 2022, Gleb is married to his skating partner Diana Davis.
During a hiatus from figure skating in 2014, Smolkin briefly played professional beach soccer as a member of the BSC Lokomotiv Moscow team.

## Career
### Early years

Smolkin began learning how to skate in 2004. He competed as a single skater until the 2014–15 season when he took a year-long hiatus from the sport. He returned to figure skating in November 2015 to compete as an ice dancer with his first partner, Ekaterina Mironova. The team competed together until spring of 2016 before parting ways. During the 2016–17 season Smolkin teamed up with Svetlana Lizunova, but the partnership was short-lived and lasted only a season before Smolkin began competing with his current partner, Diana Davis, coached by Svetlana Alexeeva and her team in Moscow.

### 2018–19 season: Junior international debut

Davis/Smolkin made their junior international debut in September 2018 at the 2018 JGP Croatia. The team finished third overall at the event behind Russian teammates Khudaiberdieva/Nazarov in first and Georgian competitors Kazakova/Reviya in second, but despite their podium placement did not receive a second JGP assignment.
The team competed three more times internationally during the season, finishing third in the junior event at the 2018 Volvo Open Cup and second at both the 2018 Tallinn Trophy (junior) and the 2018 Russian-Chinese Youth Winter Games. At the 2019 Russian Junior Figure Skating Championships in February, they finished ninth.

### 2019–20 season

In the summer before the start of the season, Davis and Smolkin relocated their training base from Moscow to Novi, Michigan to work with Igor Shpilband and Pasquale Camerlengo. The team opened their season in August at the 2019 JGP United States where they won the silver medal behind American training-mates Nguyen/Kolesnik. At their second assignment, 2019 JGP Russia, the team again finished second overall, this time behind fellow Russian competitors Shanaeva/Naryzhnyy, and with 26 qualifying points they advanced to the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final. The team competed just once more before the Junior Grand Prix Final, taking the junior title at the 2019 Volvo Open Cup.
At the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final, Davis/Smolkin entered the competition as the bottom seeded team and had a disappointing outing, finishing sixth in both segments of competition and sixth overall. However, they regrouped in the interim between the Final and the 2020 Russian Junior Championships and managed to earn the bronze medal at junior nationals, earning a spot on Russian team for the 2020 World Junior Championships. Competing at Junior Worlds, Davis/Smolkin scored personal bests in both segments of competition as well as overall, and finished in fifth.

### 2020–21 season

After Davis sustained an ankle fracture in July 2020, her long-term recovery and a subsequent illness delayed Davis/Smolkin's return to full-time training. They did not compete at the 2021 Russian Junior Championships in January, but planned to return to Russia for the Russian Cup Final in March. At the Russian Cup Final, Davis/Smolkin placed first in both the rhythm dance and the free dance to take the junior title by a margin of about 5 points over silver medalists Kaganovskaia/Angelopol. They retained their Aristocats rhythm dance from the season prior, but debuted a new free dance to selections from the soundtrack of Moulin Rouge!.

### 2021–22 season: Senior international debut and Beijing Olympics

Davis/Smolkin received their first senior-level Grand Prix assignment to the 2021 Skate Canada International, which was not without controversy in Russia as both they and the Morozov/Bagin, another team with political pull with the Russian Figure Skating Federation, received invitations, while other teams with higher rankings did not. In order to guarantee admission to Canada during the pandemic, both were vaccinated with the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine in addition to having previously received Russia's own Sputnik V vaccine. The team debuted their programs for the Olympic season at the 2021 senior Russian test skates in September.
Davis/Smolkin made their senior international debut the week after test skates at the 2021 U.S. International Classic in Norwood, Massachusetts. At the event, the team won the silver medal behind American team Hubbell/Donohue. Going on to the Grand Prix, they placed fifth at Skate Canada International with new personal bests in both segments and overall.
Following their stint on the Grand Prix circuit, Davis/Smolkin competed at back-to-back ISU Challenger Series events in November. At the 2021 CS Cup of Austria, they finished just off the podium in fourth and set new personal bests in both segments of competition, as well as overall. Davis/Smolkin then competed at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup, where they won their first international title. They upgraded their three new personal bests previously set at Cup of Austria the week before to take the gold medal ahead of Japanese team Muramoto/Takahashi in second, and American team Green/Parsons in third.
At their first senior Russian Championships in December, Davis/Smolkin controversially placed third in the rhythm dance ahead of longtime Russian number three team Zahorski/Guerreiro, outscoring them in the segment by over five points. In the free dance, Davis/Smolkin were able to capitalize on the withdrawal of top Russian team Sinitsina/Katsalapov due to injury and advance to second in the segment. They took the silver medal behind new national champions Stepanova/Bukin. Their placement was, again, not without controversy, with even bronze medalist Egor Bazin questioning the fairness of the scoring. As a result of their placement, Davis/Smolkin were assigned to the 2022 European Championships as one of three dance teams representing Russia.
Davis/Smolkin made their European Championships debut in January in Tallinn, Estonia. They placed eighth in the rhythm dance and seventh in the free dance to place seventh overall. When asked about the controversies surrounding their national placements, Smolkin remarked "after the Russian nationals, we stopped paying attention to all that. We let the redundant things go."
Davis/Smolkin were officially named to the Russian team for the 2022 Winter Olympics on 20 January. Competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics dance event, they placed fourteenth in the rhythm dance. Afterward the team rebuffed queries from reporters about a burgeoning doping scandal involving Kamila Valieva, a student of Davis' mother Eteri Tutberidze. Davis/Smolkin held their standing of fourteenth place in the free dance to finish fourteenth overall in their Olympic debut.

### Release from Russia and transition to representing Georgia

Davis/Smolkin, along with their Russian compatriots, were barred from international competition indefinitely by the International Skating Union on 1 March 2022 due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The team chose to remain in the United States rather than return to Russia to compete domestically during the 2022–23 season, sparking rumors that they planned to transition to representing the U.S. as Davis is a dual citizen. Speculation was further fueled by the revelation that Davis and Smolkin wed on 18 March 2022, and were working towards attaining a green card for Smolkin. The team, along with Russian Figure Skating Federation spokesperson Olga Ermolina, denied that they would discontinue representing Russia. However, this changed on 5 June 2023 when it was announced that Davis/Smolkin had been released by the Russian Figure Skating Federation and would continue their ice dance career representing Georgia. Davis is of Georgian heritage through her maternal grandparents.

### 2023–24 season: Debut for Georgia

Davis/Smolkin began their career under the Georgian flag with a victory at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International. On the Challenger circuit, they won the silver medal at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial, before taking gold at both the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial and the 2023 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge.
Making their European Championship debut for Georgia at the 2024 edition in Kaunas, coming eighth. They went on to finish twelfth at the 2024 World Championships.

### 2024–2025 season

Davis and Smolkin started their season at the 2024 Skate America. They scored 73.16 in the rhythm dance and ranked in third place. They ranked fourth in the free dance and fourth overall, missing the podium by 4.56 points. One week later they won the silver at the 2024 Nepela Memorial. Going on to compete at the 2024 Cup of China, the team finished the event in eighth place.

## Programs
### With Davis

| Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
| 2024–25 | Lady Marmalade performed by Sheila E. Music Is My Way of Life by Patti LaBelle Lady Marmalade performed by Girls' Generation choreo. by Marie-France Dubreuil, Romain Haguenauer, and Samuel Choinard | Kashmir performed by Bond Kashmir by Led Zeppelin The Rain Song performed by Beth Hart Black Dog by Led Zeppelin choreo. by Marie-France Dubreuil, Romain Haguenauer, and Samuel Choinard | Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked Survivor by The Chipettes Party Rock Anthem by The Chipmunks & The Chipettes |
| 2023–24 | Bad Liberian Girl Cheater by Michael Jackson | Suite (from Swan Lake) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky performed by Riccardo Muti Nina's Dream Power, Seduction, Cries Perfection (from Black Swan) by Clint Mansell choreo. by Elena Novak, Alexei Kiliakov | |
| 2021–22 | Boom Boom Pow by The Black Eyed Peas Bom Bidi Bom (from Fifty Shades Darker) by Nick Jonas & Nicki Minaj choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo and Adrienne Lenda | El Tango de Roxanne performed by Ewan McGregor, José Feliciano, and Jacek Koman Your Song performed by Ewan McGregor and Alessandro Safina (from Moulin Rouge!) choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo and Adrienne Lenda | Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat (from The Aristocats) by Phil Harris choreo. by Igor Shpilband and Pasquale Camerlengo |
| 2020–21 | Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat (from The Aristocats) by Phil Harris choreo. by Igor Shpilband and Pasquale Camerlengo | El Tango de Roxanne performed by Ewan McGregor, José Feliciano, and Jacek Koman Your Song performed by Ewan McGregor and Alessandro Safina (from Moulin Rouge!) choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo and Adrienne Lenda | |
| 2019–20 | Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat (from The Aristocats) by Phil Harris choreo. by Igor Shpilband and Pasquale Camerlengo | Always Watching You Love Is Gone by Peter Cincotti choreo. by Igor Shpilband, Pasquale Camerlengo | |
| 2018–19 | Tango: Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla Tango: Por una Cabeza performed by Il Divo choreo. by Mikhail Kolegov | Los Muertos Vivos Estan by Tambuco Writing's on the Wall (from Spectre) by Sam Smith choreo. by Mikhail Kolegov | Diamonds by Rihanna |

## Competitive highlights

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

### Ice dance with Diana Davis (for Georgia)

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| World Championships | 12th | TBD |
| European Championships | 8th | 8th |
| GP Cup of China | | 8th |
| GP Skate America | | 4th |
| CS Budapest Trophy | 1st | |
| CS Denis Ten Memorial | 1st | |
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | | 2nd |
| CS Nepela Memorial | 2nd | 2nd |
| Lake Placid Ice Dance | 1st | |

### Ice dance with Diana Davis (for Russia)

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2021–22 |
| Winter Olympics | 14th |
| European Championships | 7th |
| Russian Championships | 2nd |
| GP Skate Canada | 5th |
| CS Cup of Austria | 4th |
| CS Warsaw Cup | 1st |
| U.S. Classic | 2nd |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 |
| World Junior Championships | | 5th | |
| Junior Grand Prix Final | | 6th | |
| Russian Championships | 9th | 3rd | |
| JGP Czech Republic | 3rd | | |
| JGP Russia | | 2nd | |
| JGP United States | | 2nd | |
| Russian–Chinese Winter Youth Games | 2nd | | |
| Russian Cup | 2nd | | 1st |
| Tallinn Trophy | 2nd | | |
| Volvo Open Cup | 3rd | 1st | |

## Detailed results
### Ice dance with Diana Davis

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 201.87 | 2024 CS Nepela Memorial |
| Rhythm dance | TSS | 80.32 | 2024 CS Nepela Memorial |
| Rhythm dance | TES | 45.88 | 2024 CS Nepela Memorial |
| Rhythm dance | PCS | 34.44 | 2024 CS Nepela Memorial |
| Free dance | TSS | 121.55 | 2024 CS Nepela Memorial |
| Free dance | TES | 68.25 | 2024 CS Nepela Memorial |
| Free dance | PCS | 53.30 | 2024 CS Nepela Memorial |

#### For Georgia

Results in the 2023-24 season :
| Date | Event | RD | RD | FD | FD | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 1–2, 2023 | 2023 Lake Placid Ice Dance International | 2 | 74.35 | 1 | 117.47 | 1 | 191.82 |
| Sep 28–30, 2023 | 2023 CS Nepela Memorial | 2 | 77.62 | 4 | 111.32 | 2 | 188.94 |
| Oct 13–15, 2023 | 2023 CS Budapest Trophy | 1 | 75.21 | 1 | 116.63 | 1 | 191.84 |
| Nov 1–4, 2023 | 2023 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge | 1 | 76.56 | 1 | 116.11 | 1 | 192.67 |
| Jan 10–14, 2024 | 2024 European Championships | 7 | 76.33 | 8 | 113.13 | 8 | 189.46 |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 | 2024 World Championships | 12 | 74.46 | 14 | 113.88 | 12 | 188.34 |
Results in the 2024-25 season :
| Date | Event | RD | RD | FD | FD | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 18-20, 2024 | 2024 Skate America | 3 | 73.16 | 4 | 113.89 | 4 | 113.89 |
| Oct 24-26, 2024 | 2024 CS Nepela Memorial | 2 | 80.32 | 2 | 121.55 | 2 | 201.87 |
| Nov 22–24, 2024 | 2024 Cup of China | 8 | 70.53 | 7 | 111.79 | 8 | 182.32 |
| Dec 4–7, 2024 | 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 3 | 70.62 | 2 | 107.97 | 2 | 178.59 |

#### For Russia
##### Senior level

2021–22 season :
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total |
| February 12–14, 2022 | 2022 Winter Olympics | 14 71.66 | 14 108.16 | 14 179.82 |
| January 10–16, 2022 | 2022 European Championships | 8 73.32 | 7 113.29 | 7 186.61 |
| December 21–26, 2021 | 2022 Russian Championships | 3 83.99 | 2 123.71 | 2 207.70 |
| November 17–20, 2021 | 2021 CS Warsaw Cup | 1 81.30 | 1 118.60 | 1 199.90 |
| November 11–14, 2021 | 2021 CS Cup of Austria | 4 73.37 | 4 111.25 | 4 184.62 |
| October 29–31, 2021 | 2021 Skate Canada International | 7 70.66 | 5 109.91 | 5 180.57 |
| September 15–18, 2021 | 2021 U.S. International Classic | 2 75.21 | 2 115.42 | 2 190.63 |

##### Junior level

2020–21 season :
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total |
| Feb. 26 – Mar. 2, 2021 | 2021 Russian Cup Final | 1 74.22 | 1 112.16 | 1 186.38 |
| 2019–2020 season |||||
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total |
| March 2–8, 2020 | 2020 World Junior Championships | 5 66.53 | 5 98.69 | 5 165.22 |
| February 4–8, 2020 | 2020 Russian Junior Championships | 3 70.91 | 3 110.06 | 3 180.97 |
| December 5–8, 2019 | 2019 Junior Grand Prix Final | 6 59.89 | 6 92.32 | 6 152.21 |
| November 5–10, 2019 | 2019 Volvo Open Cup | 1 68.00 | 1 99.17 | 1 167.17 |
| September 11–14, 2019 | 2019 JGP Russia | 2 64.79 | 3 93.45 | 2 158.24 |
| August 28–31, 2019 | 2019 JGP United States | 2 62.12 | 2 98.05 | 2 160.17 |
| 2018–2019 season |||||
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total |
| Jan. 31 – Feb. 4, 2019 | 2019 Russian Junior Championships | 9 60.31 | 9 93.78 | 9 154.09 |
| February 20–23, 2019 | 2018 Russian-Chinese Youth Winter Games | 1 61.15 | 2 94.05 | 2 155.20 |
| Nov. 25 – Dec. 2, 2018 | 2019 Tallinn Trophy | 2 62.16 | 2 89.00 | 2 151.16 |
| November 6–11, 2018 | 2018 Volvo Open Cup | 3 61.78 | 3 92.65 | 3 154.43 |
| September 26–29, 2018 | 2018 JGP Czech Republic | 3 56.55 | 3 92.07 | 3 148.62 |