# Artem Darenskyi

Artem Andriyovych Darenskyi (Ukrainian: Артем Андрійович Даренський; born 7 July 2001) is a Ukrainian pair skater who currently competes with Sofiia Holichenko. With Holichenko, he is the 2025 World Junior silver medalist, a three-time Ukrainian national senior champion (2022–24), and the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist. With his former skating partner, Sofiia Nesterova, he is a two-time Ukrainian national senior champion. The pair has competed in the final segment at two World Junior Championships, finishing within the top eight at the 2019 edition.

## Career
### Early years

Darenskyi began learning to skate in 2004. His first pair skating partner was Anastasiia Smirnova. The two won silver at the 2016 Ukrainian Junior Championships and gold the following season.

### 2017–18 season

Smirnova/Darenskyi became age-eligible for junior international events at the start of the season. Coached by Lilia Batutina in Dnipro, the pair competed at two ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments, placing 9th in Riga, Latvia, and then 11th in Minsk, Belarus.
Darenskyi and Sofiia Nesterova began their partnership around November 2017, coached by Batutina in Dnipro. Their training was limited due to a leg injury sustained by Nesterova, but the pair decided to compete at the Ukrainian Championships in December.
Nesterova/Darenskyi's international debut came in early February 2018 at the Toruń Cup in Poland. They won bronze and obtained the minimum technical scores required to compete at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia. They qualified to the final segment at the March event in Bulgaria and finished 14th overall.

### 2018–19 season

Nesterova/Darenskyi competed at two ISU Junior Grand Prix events in September, placing fifth in Linz, Austria, and eighth in Ostrava, Czech Republic. In December, they won their second senior national title. Ranked eighth in both segments, they finished eighth at the 2019 World Junior Championships in March in Zagreb, Croatia.

### 2019–20 season

Nesterova/Darenski placed twelfth and tenth at their two JGP events. In November, they were fifth at the Volvo Open Cup. In December, they were nineteenth at the 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb. They placed third at Nationals. They were chosen to compete at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games. Their Junior Pairs result became disqualified, though they were part of the bronze medal-winning team in the team event. They were disqualified at the 2020 European Championships.
In March, it was announced that Nesterova and Darenski were splitting up, as Nesterova had retired. In June, it was announced that he had formed a new partnership with Sofiia Holichenko.

### 2020–21 season

After obtaining the required minimum technical elements scores, Holichenko/Darenskyi were nominated to represent Ukraine at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm. They withdrew a few days before the start of the competition, having tested positive for coronavirus.

### 2021–22 season

Holichenko/Darenskyi began the season at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, attempting to qualify a berth for Ukraine at the 2022 Winter Olympics. They placed eleventh at the event, outside the qualifications. However, Ukraine qualified to the Olympic team event due to Anastasiia Shabotova qualifying to the women's competition at Nebelhorn, allowing for a Ukrainian pair to be sent for that. Holichenko/Darenskyi went on to finish fifth at the Budapest Trophy.
After winning their first Ukrainian national title, Holichenko/Darenskyi placed fifteenth at the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn. Days later, they were named to the Ukrainian Olympic team. They finished ninth among nine pairs entered in the short program of the Olympic team event. This was their only performance at the Games, as Team Ukraine did not advance to the second stage of the competition and finished tenth.
The team returned home to Dnipro after the Olympics and immediately found themselves in the midst of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. They enlisted Canadian music editor Hugo Chouinard to change their short program music in advance of the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier, hoping to inspire the country with Ukrainian music. They undertook a six-day journey to France, via Romania, Italy and Poland, with Darenskyi saying that their goal was "to show that Ukrainian athletes are fighting for their country." On arrival, they received a standing ovation and placed thirteenth in the short program with very limited training. In light of this, they opted not to compete in the free skate. They temporarily left home to live and train in the Polish city of Toruń for the foreseeable future.

### 2022–23 season

Prior to the season beginning, it was announced that Holichenko/Darenskyi had left Toruń and returned to Dnipro to train.
Holichenko/Darenskyi's lone competitive appearance for the season came at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where they finished in twelfth place. They missed the rest of the season due to injury and only returned to compete at the 2023 Ukrainian Championships in April, which they won.

### 2023–24 season

In August 2023, it was announced that Holichenko/Darenskyi had switched coaches from Lilia Batutina to Ihor Marchenko.
Starting the season at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Holichenko/Darenskyi came in eighth place. At the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, Holichenko/Darenskyi placed third in the short program and third in the free skate, placing third overall and earning their first ISU Challenger Series medal.
In the second half of the season, Holichenko/Darenskyi came eleventh at the 2024 European Championships and seventeenth at the 2024 World Championships.

### 2024–25 season

Due to the constant shelling taking place in Ukraine as a result of the ongoing war, Holichenko and Darenskyi had limited access to ice rinks where they could train in throughout the off-season. Their first competition of the season was on the 2024–25 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit at the 2024 JGP Poland, where they won the silver medal.
Returning to the senior level, Holichenko/Darenskyi placed seventh at the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup and eleventh at the 2024 European Championships. They then represented Ukraine at the 2025 World Junior Championships, winning the silver medal. The team attributed their attendance at the junior championship to a desire to secure berths for Ukrainian pairs on the following season's junior circuit.

## Programs
### Pair skating with Sofiia Holichenko

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2024–2025 | Hit the Road Jack by Percy Mayfield performed by 2WEI & Bri Bryant choreo. by Nadezhda Yavir | Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine choreo. by Nadezhda Yavir |
| 2023–2024 | Hit the Road Jack by Percy Mayfield performed by 2WEI & Bri Bryant choreo. by Nadezhda Yavir | Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana performed by Malia J choreo. by Nadezhda Yavir |
| 2022–2023 | Zhiva (Alive) by Hardkiss choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko | Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana performed by Malia J The Muse's Dance by Jo Blankenburg Rise of the Phoenix by Jennifer Thomas Macabracadabra by Jo Blankenburg choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko |
| 2021–2022 | Zhiva (Alive) by Hardkiss choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko Pina by Thomas Hanreich Lilies of the Valley (from Pina) by Jun Miyake choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko | Men in Black 3 by Danny Elfman choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko |
| 2020–2021 | Nuvole Bianche by Ludovico Einaudi choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko | Men in Black 3 by Danny Elfman choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko |

### Pair skating with Sofiia Nesterova

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2019–2020 | Don Juan by Félix Gray choreo. by Nadezhda Krasniak, Irina Voroninskaia | Braveheart by James Horner choreo. by Nadezhda Krasniak, Irina Voroninskaia |
| 2018–2019 | Dark Eyes choreo. by Lilia Batutina | Nerves at the Limit choreo. by Lilia Batutina |
| 2017–2018 | Dark Eyes choreo. by Yulia Horbacheva | Nerves at the Limit choreo. by Yulia Horbacheva |

### With Smirnova

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2017–2018 | Don Quixote by Ludwig Minkus choreo. by Yulia Horbacheva | The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky choreo. by Yulia Horbacheva |

## Competitive highlights

* JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
* CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
* WD – Withdrew from competition

### Pair skating with Sofiia Holichenko

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| Winter Olympics (Team event) | | 10th | | | |
| World Championships | | WD | | 17th | TBD |
| European Championships | | 15th | | 11th | 11th |
| Ukrainian Championships | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | | | | 3rd | |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | | 11th | 12th | 8th | |
| CS Warsaw Cup | | | | | 7th |
| Budapest Trophy | | 5th | | | |
| Denis Ten Memorial | | 6th | | | |
| Road to 26 Trophy | | | | | 3rd |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2024–25 |
| World Junior Championships | 2nd |
| JGP Poland | 2nd |

### Pair skating with Sofiia Nesterova

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 |
| European Championships | | | DSQ |
| Ukrainian Championships | 1st | 1st | 3rd |
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | | | 19th |
| Volvo Open Cup | | | 5th |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 |
| Winter Youth Olympics | | | DSQ |
| Winter Youth Olympics (Team event) | | | 3rd |
| World Junior Championships | 14th | 8th | |
| Ukrainian Championships | 1st | 1st | |
| JGP Austria | | 5th | |
| JGP Croatia | | | 12th |
| JGP Czech Republic | | 8th | |
| JGP Poland | | | 10th |
| Mentor Cup | 3rd | | |

### Pair skating with Anastasiia Smirnova

Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 |
| Ukrainian Championships | 2nd | 1st | |
| JGP Belarus | | | 9th |
| JGP Latvia | | | 11th |

## Detailed results
### Pair skating with Sofiia Holichenko

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 164.95 | 2025 European Championships |
| Short program | TSS | 59.34 | 2024 World Championships |
| Short program | TES | 33.64 | 2024 World Championships |
| Short program | PCS | 25.70 | 2024 World Championships |
| Free skating | TSS | 108.22 | 2025 European Championships |
| Free skating | TES | 56.67 | 2025 European Championships |
| Free skating | PCS | 52.55 | 2025 European Championships |

#### Senior level

Results in the 2020–21 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Feb 23–24, 2021 | 2021 Ukrainian Championships | 2 | 48.39 | 2 | 88.51 | 2 | 136.90 |
Results in the 2021–22 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 21–25, 2021 | 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 10 | 52.63 | 10 | 89.75 | 11 | 142.38 |
| Oct 14–17, 2021 | 2021 Budapest Trophy | 4 | 51.99 | 5 | 95.65 | 5 | 147.64 |
| Oct 27–31, 2021 | 2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge | 7 | 55.89 | 6 | 106.28 | 6 | 162.17 |
| Dec 7–8, 2021 | 2022 Ukrainian Championships | 1 | 49.58 | 1 | 92.45 | 1 | 142.03 |
| Jan 10–16, 2022 | 2022 European Championships | 14 | 55.15 | 15 | 92.46 | 15 | 147.61 |
| Feb 4–7, 2022 | 2022 Winter Olympics (Team event) | 9 | 53.65 | — | — | 10 | — |
| Mar 21–27, 2022 | 2022 World Championships | 13 | 44.95 | — | — | – | WD |
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 21–24, 2022 | 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 12 | 44.07 | 12 | 80.79 | 12 | 124.86 |
| Apr 5–7, 2023 | 2023 Ukrainian Championships | 1 | — | 1 | — | 1 | — |
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 | 8 | 50.71 | 8 | 105.77 | 8 | 156.48 |
| Dec 6–9, 2023 | 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 3 | 55.92 | 3 | 106.25 | 3 | 162.17 |
| Jan 8–14, 2024 | 2024 European Championships | 12 | 52.95 | 10 | 101.42 | 11 | 154.37 |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 | 2024 World Championships | 16 | 59.34 | 18 | 100.05 | 17 | 159.39 |
| Apr 4–6, 2024 | 2024 Ukrainian Championships | 1 | — | 1 | — | 1 | — |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 20–24, 2024 | 2024 CS Warsaw Cup | 5 | 54.45 | 7 | 96.82 | 7 | 151.27 |
| Jan 28 – Feb 2, 2025 | 2025 European Championships | 10 | 56.73 | 11 | 108.22 | 11 | 164.95 |
| Feb 18–20, 2025 | Road to 26 Trophy | 3 | 56.84 | 3 | 107.21 | 3 | 164.05 |

#### Junior level

Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 25–28, 2024 | 2024 JGP Poland | 2 | 51.81 | 5 | 84.77 | 2 | 136.58 |
| Feb 25 – Mar 2, 2025 | 2025 World Junior Championships | 2 | 57.40 | 2 | 106.66 | 2 | 164.06 |