Anastasia Skoptsova


Anastasia Ilinichna Skoptsova is a Russian ice dancer. With her skating partner, Kirill Aleshin, she is the 2018 World Junior champion and 2017 Junior Grand Prix Final champion. They won two medals at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics – bronze in ice dancing and gold in the team event.

Personal life

Anastasia Ilinichna Skoptsova was born on 8 November 2000 in Moscow, Russia.

Career

Early years

Skoptsova began learning to skate in 2004. She made her international debut in autumn 2010, competing with Nikita Nazarov on the advanced novice level at the Tirnavia Ice Cup and NRW Trophy. The two placed thirteenth at the 2012 Russian Junior Championships. They were coached by Denis Samokhin in Moscow.

Beginning of partnership with Aleshin

Skoptsova and Kirill Aleshin teamed up after she contacted him through a Russian partner search. They began competing together in October 2013. They qualified to the 2015 Russian Junior Championships and finished ninth, having ranked ninth in the short and seventh in the free dance.

2015–2016 season: Junior Grand Prix debut

Skoptsova/Aleshin's first Junior Grand Prix assignments came in the 2015–2016 season. They won the bronze medal at the JGP in Toruń, Poland, after placing third in both segments behind Lorraine McNamara / Quinn Carpenter and Christina Carreira / Anthony Ponomarenko. At the JGP in Zagreb, Croatia, Skoptsova/Aleshin placed second in both segments and won the silver medal, scoring 12 points less than Rachel Parsons / Michael Parsons and almost five points more than Sofia Shevchenko / Igor Eremenko. Ranked 6th in the JGP standings, they took the final spot at the 2015–16 JGP Final in Barcelona, where they finished sixth.
Fifth at the 2016 Russian Junior Championships, the two were named in Russia's team to the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Hamar. Ranked second in the short dance and third in the free, they were awarded the bronze medal in the ice dancing event in Norway. They won gold in the mixed NOC team event.

2016–2017 season

In late September, Skoptsova/Aleshin won bronze at a JGP event in Ljubljana, Slovenia; they finished third behind Lorraine McNamara / Quinn Carpenter and Sofia Polishchuk / Alexander Vakhnov. A week later, they received silver at a JPG assignment in Tallinn, Estonia, where they placed second to Alla Loboda / Pavel Drozd. They finished as the first alternates for the JGP Final.
In February, Skoptsova/Aleshin took bronze at the 2017 Russian Junior Championships, finishing behind Anastasia Shpilevaya / Grigory Smirnov and Loboda/Drozd. They were included in Russia's team to the 2017 World Junior Championships, held in March in Taipei, Taiwan, and finished fifth overall after placing third in the short dance and fifth in the free dance.

2017–2018 season: World Junior title

Skoptsova/Aleshin began their JGP season in September, in Minsk, Belarus; they were awarded the silver medal, having finished 6.41 points behind Christina Carreira / Anthony Ponomarenko of the United States. In October, they won gold at a JGP event in Gdańsk, Poland, defeating their closest rivals, Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva / Nikita Nazarov, by 16.93 points. Due to their results, they qualified to the 2017 Junior Grand Prix Final, held in December in Nagoya, Japan. They placed first in both segments in Japan, winning gold with a 1.85 point margin over silver medalists Carreira/Ponomarenko.
Skoptsova/Aleshin won gold at the 2018 Russian Junior Championships in January. They ranked first in both segments on their way to the gold medal at the 2018 World Junior Championships, held in March in Sofia, Bulgaria. They outscored the silver medalists by 7.47 points overall.

2018–2019 season

Skoptsova suffered from a recurrence of an ankle injury over the summer that limited the duo's training time leading up to the new season. In late October Skoptsova/Aleshin made their international senior and Grand Prix debut at the 2018 Skate Canada where they placed 10th. Two weeks later they finished 7th at the 2018 NHK Trophy.
In late November Skoptsova/Aleshin won their first international senior medal at the 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy. Ranked first in the rhythm dance and third in the free dance they won the silver medal with their personal best score of 179.78 points. At the 2019 Russian Championships, they placed fifth.

2019–2020 season

Skoptcova and Aleshin had to withdraw from the Russian test skates prior to skating their free dance due to Aleshin becoming ill, and withdrew from the Finlandia Trophy and the Ice Star. Consequently, they started their competition season at the 2019 Cup of China on the Grand Prix, placing seventh. At the 2019 Rostelecom Cup, they were ninth of ten teams.
Skoptcova/Aleshin placed fifth at the 2020 Russian Championships.

Programs

SeasonRhythm danceFree dance
2019–2020

performed by Jeremy Jordan
  • Foxtrot: How 'bout a Dance
performed by Laura Osnes
  • Quickstep: This World Will Remember Us
performed by Jeremy Jordan & Laura Osnes

by Frank Wildhorn & Don Black


by Andrew Farriss & Michael Hutchence
performed by L'Orchestra Cinematique

by The Weeknd
2018–2019

  • Tango: Viejos Aires
performed by Ara Malikian
performed by Maria Volonte

by Michael Jackson
performed by Billie Eilish
  • Dangerous
by Michael Jackson
by Michael Jackson
Short dance
2017–2018

performed by Cesária Évora, Tania Libertad
  • Cha Cha
  • Samba
  • Tango
  • by Gotan Project
    2016–2017

    • Blues: At Last
    by Michael Bolton
    • Swing: Swing Baby
    by Park Jin-young

    • O Mar E Tu
    by Dulce Pontes, George Dalaras
    2015–2016

    • Foxtrot: Zydeko

    by Daniel Diges

    • Iko Iko
    by Club des Belugas
    feat. Brenda Boykin
    2014–2015
  • Hip Hip Chin Chin
  • by Club des Belugas
    • Sweet Dreams
    by Eurythmics
    Ukrainian folk dance:
  • Unharness your horses, boys!


    2013–2014
  • That Man
  • by Caro Emerald
    • St. James Infirmary
    by Ray Condo and His Hardrock Goners
    Ukrainian folk dance:
  • Unharness your horses, boys!
  • Moon in the sky
  • Competitive highlights

    GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

    With Aleshin

    With Nazarov

    Detailed results

    Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships.
    With Aleshin