# Sofiia Holichenko

Sofiia Yuriyivna Holichenko (Ukrainian: Софія Юріївна Голіченко; born 23 November 2004) is a Ukrainian pair skater. With her skating partner, Artem Darenskyi, she is the 2025 World Junior silver medalist, a three-time Ukrainian national champion (2022–24), and the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist.

## Career
### Early career

As a singles skater, Holichenko most notably won the bronze medal at the 2018 Ukrainian junior championships. She competed a single season in pairs with Ivan Pavlov, winning a bronze medal at the senior Ukrainian championships.

### 2020–21 season

In June, it was announced that she had formed a new partnership with Artem Darenskyi.
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 the Russian 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 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 Artem Darenskyi

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2024–25 | 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 |
| 2023–24 | 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 |
| 2022–23 | 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 |
| 2021–22 | Zhiva (Alive) by Hardkiss choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko Pina Glasshouse Lilies of the Valley (from Pina) by Thomas Hanreich, Jun Miyake choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko | Men in Black 3 by Danny Elfman choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko |
| 2020–21 | Nuvole Bianche by Ludovico Einaudi choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko | Men in Black 3 by Danny Elfman choreo. by Ivan Lytvynenko |

## 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 Artem Darenskyi

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 Ivan Pavlov

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2018–19 |
| Ukrainian Championships | 3rd |
| Ice Star | 6th |
| Volvo Open Cup | 3rd |

### Single skating

Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2018–19 |
| Ukrainian Championships | 3rd |
| Ice Star | 15th |

## Detailed results
### Pair skating with Artem Darenskyi

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 | 2024 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 |