# Mark Gorodnitsky

Mark Gorodnitsky (Hebrew: מארק גורודניצקי; born March 23, 2001) is an Israeli figure skater. He is the 2023 Nepela Memorial bronze medalist, the 2018 Volvo Open Cup silver medalist and a four-time Israeli national champion (2020, 2022-24).

## Personal life

Gorodnitsky was born on March 23, 2001, in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada to a Latvian mother and Belarusian father. His sister, Maya, who is three years younger, has also competed in figure skating for Israel on the international junior level.
Gorodnitsky graduated from Richmond Green Secondary School in 2019, where he was part of the high performance athlete program.

## Career
### Early career

Gorodnitsky began learning to skate in 2005 at around the age of four, and has been coached by Andrei Berezintsev and Inga Zusev at the Richmond Training Centre in Richmond Hill, Ontario since the age of five.
Due to Gorodnitsky's father, Dmitry, having previously lived in Israel for eight years, the Israel Ice Skating Federation reached out to Gorodnitsky's parents when Gorodnitsky was fourteen years old, asking if he would be interested in competing for Israel. Ultimately, Gorodnitsky agreed to the request.

### 2015–16 season

He debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in October 2015 at the 2015 JGP Croatia, placing twentieth. In February, he competed at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Norway and finished 13th. He did not advance to the free skate at the 2016 World Junior Championships, held a month later in Debrecen, Hungary.

### 2016–17 season

Gorodnitsky began the season by placing tenth and fifteenth, respectively at the 2016 JGP Japan and the 2016 JGP Germany. He then placed sixth at the 2016 Santa Claus Cup.
At the 2016–17 Israeli Championships, Gorodnitsky won the bronze medal and was sent to compete at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic but did not advance to the free skate, finishing thirtieth overall. He went on to compete at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Taiwan, finishing twenty-second overall.

### 2017–18 season

Gorodnitsky started the season with a seventh-place finish at the 2017 JGP Austria and tenth-place finish at the 2017 JGP Poland. He also finished ninth at the 2017 CS Autumn Classic International.
He went on to win the gold medal at the 2017 Golden Spin of Zagreb on the junior level. At the 2017–18 Israeli Junior Championships, Gorodnitsky won the gold medal.
He then competed at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, placing eighteenth in the short program, fourteenth in the free program, and fourteenth overall.

### 2018–19 season

Gorodnitsky started the season competing at the 2018 JGP Austria and 2018 JGP Slovenia, placing seventh and sixth, respectively. He then placed ninth at the CS Autumn Classic International for the second year in a row.
Gorodnitsky went on to win his first senior international medal, taking silver at the Volvo Open Cup. At the 2018–19 Israeli Championships, Gorodnitsky won his second national bronze medal.
Competing at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, Gorodnitsky ranked fifteenth in the short program, eighteenth in the free skate, and seventeenth overall.

### 2019–20 season

Gorodnitsky began his season competing on the Junior Grand Prix series, placing fifth at the 2019 JGP France and seventh at the 2019 JGP Croatia. He also competed at the 2019 CS Autumn Classic International, 2019 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, and the 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, respectively finishing seventh, fifth, and twelfth.
At the 2019–20 Israeli Championships, Gorodnitsky won his first senior national title. He was then sent to compete at the 2020 European Championships in Graz, Austria, where he finished seventeenth.

### 2020–21 season

Gorodnitsky was assigned to make his Grand Prix debut at the 2020 Skate Canada International, but the event was cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. He did not compete for the rest of the reason.

### 2021–22 season

Gorodnitsky began his season with an eleventh-place finish at the 2021 Cranberry Cup. He then went on to place eighth at the 2021 U.S. Classic, twentieth at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup, and fifteenth at the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.
At the 2021–22 Israeli Championships, Gorodnitsky won his second national title.
Although assigned to compete at the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Gorodnitsky ultimately withdrew from the event due to his coach testing positive for COVID-19. At the 2022 International Challenge Cup, Gorodnitsky finished fourth.
Making his World Championships debut in Montpellier, France, Gorodnitsky placed twenty-fifth in the short program, failing to advance to the free skate.

### 2022–23 season

Gorodnitsky started the season by winning gold at the 2022 Cranberry Cup International. He went on to finish fourth at the 2022 CS U.S. Classic, ninth at the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup, and sixth at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.
At the 2022–23 Israeli Championships, Gorodnitsky won his third national title.
Competing at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland, Gorodnitsky finished thirteenth. He then went on to place sixth at the 2023 International Challenge Cup. At the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Gorodnitsky skated a career best short and free program, ultimately finishing sixteenth at the event.

### 2023–24 season

Gorodnitsky began the season by winning the gold medal at the 2023 Cranberry Cup International for a second consecutive time. Given two Challenger assignments, he came sixth at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International before winning the bronze medal at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial. Appearing on the Grand Prix, Gorodnitsky came sixth at the 2023 Skate Canada International. He went on to win the silver medal at the 2023 CS Warsaw Cup behind Lukas Britschgi of Switzerland, earning personal best scores in all competition segments.
In the second half of the season, Gorodnitsky finished twelfth at both the European and World Championships.

## Programs

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2023–2024 | Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven performed by Marcin Patrzalek choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev, Inga Zusev | Shape of Lies True Love's Last Kiss by Eternal Eclipse choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev, Inga Zusev |
| 2022–2023 | Follow Your Heart by Scorpions choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev, Inga Zusev | Shape of Lies True Love's Last Kiss by Eternal Eclipse choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev, Inga Zusev |
| 2021–2022 | Ricordami by Il Volo, Natalia Jiménez, & Armando Avila choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev, Inga Zusev | Bull Run (from Knight and Day) by John Powell choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev, Inga Zusev |
| 2020–2021 | Did not compete this season | Did not compete this season |
| 2019–2020 | Stop It (I Like It) by Rick Guard choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev | Bull Run (from Knight and Day) by John Powell choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev, Inga Zusev Burnt by the Sun by Sophie Solomon choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev |
| 2018–2019 | Quando l'amore diventa poesia by Mogol, Piero Soffici performed by Il Volo choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev | Stop! by Sam Brown performed by Joe Bonamassa choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev |
| 2017–2018 | Diego, libre dans sa tête by Michel Berger performed by Johnny Hallyday Band choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev | Per Te performed by Josh Groban choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev |
| 2016–2017 | Puttin' On the Pin-Stripe Remix A by Chris Walden, Mark Kilian choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev | Iron Man 3 by Brian Tyler choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev |
| 2015–2016 | Megapolis by Evgeni Sokolovski performed by Bel Suono choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev | Lonely Heart by Evgeni Sokolovski performed by Bel Suono choreo. by Andrei Berezintsev |

## 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
Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| World Championships | | | | | 25th | 16th | 12th | TBD |
| European Championships | 30th | | | 17th | | 13th | 12th | |
| Israeli Championships | 3rd | | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd |
| GP Skate Canada | | | | | | | 6th | 10th |
| GP NHK Trophy | | | | | | | | 11th |
| CS Autumn Classic | | 9th | 9th | 7th | | | 6th | |
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | | | | 12th | 15th | 6th | | 7th |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | | | | | | | | 7th |
| CS Nepela Memorial | | | | | | | 3rd | |
| CS U.S. Classic | | | | | 8th | 4th | | |
| CS Warsaw Cup | | | | | 20th | 9th | 2nd | |
| Bavarian Open | | | | | | | 6th | |
| Challenge Cup | | | | | 4th | 6th | | |
| Cranberry Cup | | | | | 11th | 1st | 1st | |
| Denis Ten Memorial | | | | 5th | | | | |
| Santa Claus Cup | 6th | | | | | | | |
| Volvo Open Cup | | | 2nd | | | | | |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 |
| Winter Youth Olympics | 13th | | | | |
| World Junior Championships | 34th | 22nd | 14th | 17th | 21st |
| Israeli Championships | | | 1st | | |
| JGP Austria | | | 5th | 7th | |
| JGP Croatia | 20th | | | | 7th |
| JGP France | | | | | 5th |
| JGP Germany | | 15th | | | |
| JGP Japan | | 10th | | | |
| JGP Poland | | | 10th | | |
| JGP Slovenia | | | | 6th | |
| Autumn Classic | | 2nd | | | |
| Golden Spin of Zagreb | | | 1st | | |
| Open Ice Mall Cup | | | | 2nd | |

## Detailed results

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 243.29 | 2023 CS Warsaw Cup |
| Short program | TSS | 82.06 | 2023 CS Warsaw Cup |
| Short program | TES | 43.64 | 2023 CS Warsaw Cup |
| Short program | PCS | 38.42 | 2023 CS Warsaw Cup |
| Free skating | TSS | 162.76 | 2024 World Championships |
| Free skating | TES | 83.54 | 2024 World Championships |
| Free skating | PCS | 79.22 | 2024 World Championships |
ISU personal best scores in the +3/-3 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 186.02 | 2017 CS Autumn Classic International |
| Short program | TSS | 61.72 | 2018 World Junior Championships |
| Short program | TES | 33.69 | 2018 World Junior Championships |
| Short program | PCS | 28.50 | 2017 CS Autumn Classic International |
| Free skating | TSS | 125.50 | 2017 CS Autumn Classic International |
| Free skating | TES | 63.60 | 2017 CS Autumn Classic International |
| Free skating | PCS | 61.90 | 2017 CS Autumn Classic International |

### Senior level

Results in the 2016–17 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 6–11, 2016 | 2016 Santa Claus Cup | 7 | 54.37 | 7 | 104.87 | 6 | 159.24 |
| Jan 25–29, 2017 | 2017 European Championships | 30 | 51.72 | — | — | 30 | 51.72 |
Results in the 2017–18 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 20–23, 2017 | 2017 CS Autumn Classic International | 10 | 60.52 | 9 | 125.50 | 9 | 186.02 |
Results in the 2018–19 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 20–22, 2018 | 2018 CS Autumn Classic International | 9 | 63.10 | 9 | 123.96 | 9 | 187.06 |
| Nov 6–11, 2018 | 2018 Volvo Open Cup | 4 | 65.92 | 2 | 134.24 | 2 | 200.16 |
Results in the 2019–20 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 12–14, 2019 | 2019 CS Autumn Classic International | 7 | 67.12 | 7 | 122.40 | 7 | 189.52 |
| Oct 9–12, 2019 | 2019 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge | 5 | 69.89 | 6 | 125.45 | 5 | 195.34 |
| Dec 4–7, 2019 | 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 6 | 74.61 | 14 | 126.10 | 12 | 200.71 |
| Dec 11–12, 2019 | 2020 Israeli Championships | 2 | 85.29 | 1 | 154.78 | 1 | 240.07 |
| Jan 20–26, 2020 | 2020 European Championships | 12 | 76.20 | 17 | 130.63 | 17 | 206.83 |
Results in the 2021–22 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 11–15, 2021 | 2021 Cranberry Cup International | 11 | 55.23 | 9 | 110.86 | 11 | 166.09 |
| Sep 14–17, 2021 | 2021 U.S. International Classic | 9 | 64.24 | 8 | 122.58 | 8 | 186.82 |
| Nov 17–20, 2021 | 2021 CS Warsaw Cup | 21 | 63.90 | 18 | 123.98 | 20 | 187.88 |
| Dec 7–11, 2021 | 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 16 | 66.66 | 15 | 137.96 | 15 | 204.62 |
| Dec 15–16, 2021 | 2022 Israeli Championships | 1 | 82.62 | 1 | 144.08 | 1 | 226.70 |
| Feb 24–27, 2022 | 2022 International Challenge Cup | 4 | 78.59 | 4 | 143.73 | 4 | 222.32 |
| Mar 21–27, 2022 | 2022 World Championships | 25 | 69.70 | — | — | 25 | 69.70 |
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 8–11, 2022 | 2022 Cranberry Cup International | 3 | 69.83 | 1 | 150.00 | 1 | 219.83 |
| Sep 12–16, 2022 | 2022 CS U.S. International Classic | 2 | 77.65 | 5 | 141.18 | 4 | 218.83 |
| Nov 17–20, 2022 | 2022 CS Warsaw Cup | 14 | 67.44 | 7 | 134.86 | 9 | 202.30 |
| Dec 7–10, 2022 | 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 4 | 71.93 | 7 | 131.49 | 6 | 203.42 |
| Dec 14–15, 2022 | 2023 Israeli Championships | 1 | 82.64 | 1 | 149.43 | 1 | 232.07 |
| Jan 25–29, 2023 | 2023 European Championships | 22 | 64.94 | 9 | 137.40 | 13 | 202.34 |
| Feb 23–26, 2023 | 2023 International Challenge Cup | 5 | 77.21 | 8 | 136.89 | 6 | 214.10 |
| Mar 22–26, 2023 | 2023 World Championships | 14 | 77.89 | 16 | 154.24 | 16 | 232.13 |
Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 9–13, 2023 | 2023 Cranberry Cup International | 2 | 76.29 | 2 | 154.70 | 1 | 230.99 |
| Sep 14–17, 2023 | 2023 CS Autumn Classic International | 5 | 73.46 | 6 | 139.66 | 6 | 213.12 |
| Sep 28–30, 2023 | 2023 CS Nepela Memorial | 4 | 80.55 | 3 | 155.75 | 3 | 236.30 |
| Oct 27–29, 2023 | 2023 Skate Canada International | 11 | 70.69 | 6 | 154.66 | 6 | 225.35 |
| Nov 16–19, 2023 | 2023 CS Warsaw Cup | 2 | 82.06 | 1 | 161.23 | 2 | 243.29 |
| Jan 10–14, 2024 | 2024 European Championships | 9 | 77.50 | 13 | 140.06 | 12 | 217.56 |
| Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024 | 2024 Bavarian Open | 8 | 66.73 | 4 | 141.75 | 6 | 208.48 |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 | 2024 World Championships | 14 | 80.49 | 10 | 162.76 | 12 | 243.25 |
| Apr 3–4, 2024 | 2024 Israeli Championships | 1 | 84.29 | 1 | 153.87 | 1 | 238.16 |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 19–21, 2024 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 4 | 74.04 | 9 | 139.23 | 7 | 213.27 |
| Oct 25–27, 2024 | 2024 Skate Canada International | 11 | 71.79 | 8 | 141.62 | 10 | 213.41 |
| Nov 8–10, 2024 | 2024 NHK Trophy | 9 | 77.74 | 10 | 138.02 | 11 | 215.76 |
| Dec 4–7, 2024 | 2024 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 7 | 72.55 | 10 | 127.31 | 7 | 199.86 |
| Dec 11–12, 2024 | 2025 Israeli Championships | 2 | 79.43 | 2 | 152.66 | 2 | 232.09 |

### Junior level

Results in the 2015–16 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 7–10, 2015 | 2015 JGP Croatia | 23 | 31.73 | 16 | 80.26 | 20 | 111.99 |
| Feb 12–21, 2016 | 2016 Winter Youth Olympics | 12 | 44.48 | 12 | 91.30 | 13 | 135.78 |
| Mar 14–20, 2016 | 2016 World Junior Championships | 34 | 45.28 | — | — | 34 | 45.28 |
Results in the 2016–17 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 8–11, 2016 | 2016 JGP Japan | 11 | 55.19 | 11 | 109.86 | 11 | 165.05 |
| Sep 28 – Oct 1, 2016 | 2016 Autumn Classic International | 2 | 55.57 | 1 | 107.61 | 2 | 163.18 |
| Oct 5–8, 2016 | 2016 JGP Germany | 17 | 49.70 | 14 | 102.09 | 15 | 151.79 |
| Mar 15–19, 2017 | 2017 World Junior Championships | 22 | 59.27 | 21 | 111.32 | 22 | 170.59 |
Results in the 2017–18 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 30 – Sep 2, 2017 | 2017 JGP Austria | 9 | 56.57 | 4 | 120.62 | 5 | 177.19 |
| Oct 4–7, 2017 | 2017 JGP Poland | 13 | 56.96 | 9 | 118.33 | 10 | 175.29 |
| Dec 6–9, 2017 | 2017 Golden Spin of Zagreb | 2 | 59.29 | 1 | 116.86 | 1 | 176.15 |
| Mar 5–11, 2018 | 2018 World Junior Championships | 18 | 61.72 | 14 | 118.71 | 14 | 180.43 |
Results in the 2018–19 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 29 – Sep 1, 2018 | 2018 JGP Austria | 6 | 68.47 | 9 | 110.35 | 7 | 178.82 |
| Oct 3–6, 2018 | 2018 JGP Slovenia | 2 | 74.66 | 6 | 130.53 | 6 | 205.19 |
| Feb 20–23, 2019 | 2019 Open Ice Mall Cup | 2 | 68.71 | 2 | 128.95 | 2 | 197.66 |
| Mar 4–10, 2019 | 2019 World Junior Championships | 15 | 69.22 | 18 | 116.40 | 17 | 185.62 |
Results in the 2019–20 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 21–24, 2019 | 2019 JGP France | 5 | 66.32 | 5 | 124.43 | 5 | 190.75 |
| Sep 25–28, 2019 | 2019 JGP Croatia | 9 | 66.11 | 8 | 126.45 | 7 | 192.56 |
| Mar 2–8, 2020 | 2020 World Junior Championships | 23 | 57.96 | 20 | 110.94 | 21 | 168.90 |