Viktoriia Safonova
Safonova at the 2020 European Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Виктория Андреевна Сафонова |
| Full name | Viktoriia Andreevna Safonova |
| Other names | Viktoria/Victoria/Viktoriya |
| Born | 8 May 2003 Moscow, Russia |
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country | Belarus |
| Coach | Oksana Matveeva[1] |
Viktoriia Andreevna Safonova (Russian: Виктория Андреевна Сафонова; born 8 May 2003) is a Russian-Belarusian figure skater. She is the 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb silver medalist, the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy bronze medalist, the 2020 Ice Star champion, the 2019 Volvo Open Cup champion, and a five-time Belarusian national champion (2019–23). Viktoriia is capable of landing the Quadruple Loop jump in practice, the only Belarusian woman to do so, and only the second woman worldwide, following Adeliia Petrosian.
Competing on the junior level for Russia, she is the 2018 Ice Star champion.
Personal life
Viktoriia Safonova was born on 8 May 2003 in Moscow.[1]
Career
Early career
Safonova placed fourteenth at the 2018 Russian Junior Championships and eighth at the 2019 Russian Junior Championships. Competing for Russia, she was the 2018 Ice Star junior champion.[2]
2019–2020 season
Safonova switched to representing Belarus in August 2019, alongside former Russian national teammates Konstantin Milyukov and Victoria Yatsenko / Daniil Parkman.[3][4] She placed fourth at a Russian domestic event earlier in the summer, but was not included into the national team.[4] Safonova won the Summer Cup of the Skating Union of Belarus in her domestic debut.[5]
According to International Skating Union rules for switching nationalities, Safonova was required to sit out international competition for a year dating from her last international appearance, ruling her ineligible for Junior Grand Prix events. Safonova made her international debut for Belarus at the 2019 Volvo Open Cup, where she won the gold medal ahead of Azerbaijan's Ekaterina Ryabova and Alina Urushadze of Georgia. She then placed seventh at 2019 CS Warsaw Cup. Safonova earned personal bests in all segments to win the silver medal at 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, behind Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia and ahead of Germany's Nicole Schott.[4]
Safonova won the national title in her first attempt at the 2020 Belarusian Championships, ahead of Milana Ramashova and Anastasiya Sidorenko.[4] She then finished fourteenth at the 2020 European Championships.[6] Safonova had been assigned to compete at the World Championships in Montreal, but those were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.[7]
2020–2021 season
Safonova opened her season at the 2020 Ice Star in October, winning gold ahead of Russians Anastasiia Guliakova and Sofia Samodurova. She was assigned to make her Grand Prix debut at the 2020 Rostelecom Cup, placing eighth at the event.[8] Safonova was scheduled to compete at the 2021 World Championships but was forced to withdraw two days before the ladies' short program due to a positive COVID-19 test.[9]
2021–2022 season
Following the withdrawal from the World Championships, Safonova competed at the beginning of the new season at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, seeking a second opportunity to qualify a berth for Belarus at the 2022 Winter Olympics. She was third in both segments to win the bronze medal, taking the third of six available spots.[10] She went on to place eighth at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy and repeat as gold medalist at the Ice Star. She won the gold medal at the 2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge.[2] Safonova was invited to compete on the Grand Prix at the 2021 Rostelecom Cup following the withdrawal of Kazakh skater Elizabet Tursynbaeva. She placed seventh at the event.[11]
At the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Safonova finished ninth.[12] Named to the Belarusian team for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Safonova placed seventeenth in the short program of the women's event.[13] Thirteenth in the free skate, she rose to thirteenth overall.[14]
In March 2022, the International Skating Union banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in international competitions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[15]
2025–2026 season
In May 2025, the International Skating Union announced that Safonova had been approved as an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN), making her eligible to compete at the 2025 ISU Olympic Qualifying Competition to vie for a spot to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[16][17] She competed at the Skate To Milano competition in Beijing, China, finishing in fourth place and securing herself an Olympic spot.[18]
In late November, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially declared Safonova as eligible to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[19]
Programs
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–2026 [20] |
|
|
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| 2024–2025 |
|
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| 2023–2024 |
|
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| 2022–2023 |
|
|
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| 2021–2022 [21] |
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| 2020–2021 [22] |
|||
| 2019–2020 [23] |
Competitive highlights
- GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
- CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
- TBD – Placement to be decided
- WD - Withdraw
- C – Event was cancelled
For Belarus
| Season | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics | 12th | TBD | |||||
| World Championships | C | WD | |||||
| European Championships | 14th | 8th | |||||
| Belarusian Championships | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| GP Rostelecom Cup | 8th | 7th | |||||
| CS Denis Ten Memorial | 1st | ||||||
| CS Finlandia Trophy | 8th | ||||||
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 2nd | ||||||
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 3rd | ||||||
| CS Warsaw Cup | 7th | ||||||
| Ice Star | 1st | 1st | |||||
| Skate to Milano | 4th | ||||||
| Tallink Hotels Cup | 3rd | ||||||
| Volvo Open Cup | 1st | ||||||
| Winter Star | 1st |
For Russia
| Season | 2017–18 | 2018–19 |
|---|---|---|
| Russian Championships | 14th | 8th |
| Ice Star | 1st | |
| Russian Cup Final | 8th | 6th |
Detailed results
For Belarus
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 192.49 | 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb |
| Short program | TSS | 66.67 | 2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge |
| TES | 37.87 | 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | |
| PCS | 29.84 | 2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge | |
| Free skating | TSS | 128.27 | 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| TES | 69.98 | 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | |
| PCS | 59.60 | 2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge |
| 2025–26 season | |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18–21 September 2025 | 2025 ISU Skate to Milano | 7 57.71 |
4 124.20 |
4 181.91 | |
| 2024–25 season | |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
| 17–18 January 2025 | 2025 Belarusian Championships | 1 69.59 |
1 132.27 |
1 201.86 | |
| 2023–24 season | |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
| 16–17 December 2023 | 2024 Belarusian Championships | 1 64.24 |
1 128.17 |
1 192.41 | |
| 2022–23 season | |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
| 15–18 December 2022 | 2022 Belarus Open Championships | 1 67.83 |
1 134.55 |
1 202.38 | |
| 2021–22 season | |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
| 15–17 February 2022 | 2022 Winter Olympics | 16 61.46 |
12 123.37 |
12 184.83 | |
| 10–16 January 2022 | 2022 European Championships | 8 63.07 |
8 122.34 |
9 185.41 | |
| 16–19 December 2021 | 2021 Belarus Open Championships | 1 69.21 |
1 131.81 |
1 201.02 | |
| 26–28 November 2021 | 2021 Rostelecom Cup | 9 58.19 |
6 127.45 |
7 185.64 | |
| 28–31 October 2021 | 2021 Denis Ten Memorial | 1 66.67 |
1 123.39 |
1 190.06 | |
| 14–18 October 2021 | 2021 Ice Star | 1 68.68 |
1 129.40 |
1 198.08 | |
| 7–10 October 2021 | 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy | 9 64.26 |
9 123.57 |
8 187.83 | |
| 22–25 September 2021 | 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 3 62.02 |
3 128.27 |
3 190.29 | |
| 2020–21 season | |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
| 22–28 March 2021 | 2021 World Championships | WD | WD | WD | |
| 11–13 December 2020 | 2020 Winter Star (Belarusian Championships) | 1 67.79 |
1 126.56 |
1 194.35 | |
| 20–22 November 2020 | 2020 Rostelecom Cup | 7 64.25 |
7 120.32 |
8 184.57 | |
| 29 Oct. – 1 Nov. 2020 | 2020 Ice Star | 3 66.56 |
1 134.10 |
1 200.66 | |
| 2019–20 season | |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
| 13–16 February 2020 | 2020 Tallink Hotels Cup | 3 62.23 |
2 114.82 |
3 177.05 | |
| 20–26 January 2020 | 2020 European Championships | 20 53.33 |
13 106.58 |
14 159.91 | |
| 14–15 December 2019 | 2020 Belarusian Championships | 2 60.42 |
1 120.52 |
1 180.94 | |
| 4–7 December 2019 | 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 2 64.35 |
2 128.14 |
2 192.49 | |
| 14–17 November 2019 | 2019 CS Warsaw Cup | 7 55.55 |
7 115.88 |
7 171.43 | |
| 5–10 November 2019 | 2019 Volvo Open Cup | 2 64.19 |
1 117.69 |
1 181.88 | |
For Russia
| 2018–19 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Jan. – 4 Feb. 2019 | 2019 Russian Junior Championships | 8 69.25 |
9 122.20 |
8 191.45 |
| 18–21 October 2018 | 2018 Ice Star | 1 61.60 |
1 112.47 |
1 174.07 |
| 2017–18 season | ||||
| 23–26 January 2018 | 2018 Russian Junior Championships | 15 60.40 |
13 116.94 |
14 177.34 |
References
- ^ a b "Сафонова Виктория Андреевна" [Safonova, Viktoria Andreevna]. fskate.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 21 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Viktoriia SAFONOVA: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
- ^ Skating Union of Belarus (9 August 2019). "У белорусских фигуристов начинается соревновательный период!" [Belarusian skaters begin the competitive period!] (Instagram) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 25 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Новые имена и сенсации. На каких фигуристов делают ставку в Беларуси?" [New names and sensations. Which skaters are we betting on in Belarus?] (in Russian). CTV. 15 December 2019.
- ^ Lotsik, Lena (10 August 2019). "Сафонова победила на летнем кубке Белорусского союза конькобежцев" [Safonova won the Summer Cup of the Belarusian Union of Skaters] (in Russian). Sports.ru.
- ^ "2020 ISU European Figure Skating Championships Results". International Skating Union.
- ^ Ewing, Lori (11 March 2020). "World figure skating championships cancelled in Montreal". CBC Sports.
- ^ "ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2020". International Skating Union.
- ^ "Положительный тест на коронавирус на ЧМ-2021 сдала белорусская фигуристка Виктория Сафонова (Tele-sport)" [Belarusian figure skater Viktoria Safonova passed a positive coronavirus test at the 2021 World Cup] (in Russian). sports.ru. 22 March 2021.
- ^ Flade, Tatjana (25 September 2021). "Liu pockets Nebelhorn gold; seals third spot for U.S. women". Golden Skate.
- ^ Slater, Paula (28 November 2021). "Valieva takes Rostelecom Cup gold with record score". Golden Skate.
- ^ Slater, Paula (15 January 2022). "Valieva leads Russian sweep in European debut". Golden Skate.
- ^ Penny, Brandon (15 February 2022). "As it happened: ROC, U.S. skaters star in women's short program". NBC Sports.
- ^ Penny, Brandon (17 February 2022). "Re-live every moment of the historic Olympic women's free skate". NBC Sports.
- ^ "ISU Statement on the Ukrainian crisis - Participation in international competitions of Skaters and Officials from Russia and Belarus". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "ISU publishes list of Russian figure skaters granted neutral status". FS Gossips. FS Gossips. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ "Decisions of the Council" (PDF). International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ Barrington, Talia. "Skate to Milano qualifier seals final Olympic figure skating quotas". NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ^ "Individual Neutral Athletes at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026". Olympics.com. Olympics.com. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
- ^ "Viktoriia SAFONOVA: 2025/2026". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 October 2025.
- ^ "Viktoriia SAFONOVA: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021.
- ^ "Viktoriia SAFONOVA: 2020/2021". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021.
- ^ "Viktoriia SAFONOVA: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Viktoriia Safonova - BLR". Skating Scores. Skating Scores. Retrieved 5 October 2025.