At the 2015 World Championships, she landed a triple axel in competition for the first time, making her the sixth woman, and second Russian woman to do so, and she became the first female skater to land four triple jumps in a short program (triple Axel, triple Lutz, and a triple toe-triple toe combination).[15] At the 2018–19 Grand Prix Final, she landed the maximum eight triple jumps cleanly in the free skate allowed under the Zayak rule, becoming the third woman to do so after Japanese Rika Kihira and American Mirai Nagasu. She, therefore, also became the first woman to land the maximum twelve triple jumps in one international competition, albeit with the triple Axel in her short program deemed under-rotated.[16] In the final event of the 2018–19 season, the 2019 World Team Trophy, she successfully landed all twelve jumps cleanly, becoming the first woman to accomplish this feat in an official international competition.[17] She is also one of only four women to achieve a Grand Slam, when winning all major competitions in the 2014-15 season.
Tuktamysheva's career is notable for its consistency and longevity, especially in contrast with the young ages and high turnover of elite Russian women's skaters in her era. Throughout 16 different seasons, she competed in 70 international events and 15 Russian Nationals, and never finished off the top 10. Additionally, she has maintained a triple axel for 8 years, landing it first in 2015, and still incorporating it in competitions in 2023.
Personal life
Elizaveta Sergeyevna Tuktamysheva (also romanized as Tuktamisheva)[18] was born on 17 December 1996 in Glazov, Udmurtia, Russia.[19] Her mother teaches algebra and geometry and was her daughter's class teacher from the 5th to 9th grade.[1][20] Her father - a former skier who later coached football[1] - died in April 2011.[21] Elizaveta has a younger sister, Evgenia.[1] The family moved from Glazov to Saint Petersburg in August 2011.[22][23] Tuktamysheva has a Pomeranian dog named Kokosha.
She dated fellow russian figure skater Andrei Lazukin from 2015 to 2020. This was confirmed both in interviews and on social media. The pair broke up in early 2020.
Sanctions
In April 2023, Tuktamysheva was sanctioned by the Ukrainian government due to her alleged support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine through her participation in a pro-war ice show,
with all her assets in Ukraine frozen and a 50-year ban on entering the country.[24] Tuktamysheva posted on her Instagram account "I don't want athlete performances to become a way of manipulation and persuasion".[25]
She also replied to a comment on the post saying "I had no idea this was going to happen... no one knew, I'm sorry" in relation to the ice show being a propaganda event.[26]
Career
Early years
Tuktamysheva started skating at the age of four after meeting girls interested in the sport at a summer camp.[1][27] Her first coach was Svetlana Veretennikova in Glazov. Alexei Mishin observed Tuktamysheva at a competition in Belgorod but did not invite her into his group, considering her technique too incomplete.[1][28] A year later, he saw her again and changed his mind due to her ability to jump high,[1] but she had to rework the technique on all of her jumps.[20] Since her family could not afford to move to a big city, she remained in Glazov, continuing to train under Veretennikova, but regularly visited Mishin in Saint Petersburg, where she lived in a dormitory.[29][30] The train journey from Glazov to Saint Petersburg took 27 hours.[1] Until the summer of 2011, she would spend an average of one to two weeks in Saint Petersburg and the rest of the month in Glazov.[1][23][31]
Tuktamysheva was called a figure skating prodigy by the Russian media because at the age of 12, she performed difficult jumps, such as the triple Axel in practice,[32] but she did not attempt the triple Axel in competition until 2015. In 2008, she placed tenth at the Russian Championships.[33] Mishin was criticized for allowing Tuktamysheva to participate in the senior Russian Championships (2008) at only 11 years old.[34]
Tuktamysheva with her coaches, Svetlana Veretennikova and Alexei Mishin
2009–2015: Russian Championships to World Championship
2009–2010 season: Russian Championships silver
In 2009, Tuktamysheva won the silver medal at the Russian Championships after placing fifth in the short program and first in the free skating.[35] She placed second with a margin of 0.67 points behind champion Adelina Sotnikova, who is half a year older than Tuktamysheva.[36] Mishin said his student was Russia's "main hope for the gold medal at the Sochi Olympics".[29] Despite her medal, she was not sent to any ISU Championships, including Junior Worlds because she was not old enough according to ISU rules.
At the 2010 Russian Championships, Tuktamysheva was tenth after the short program but earned 124.57 points in the free skate and was able to win a bronze medal.[37] Her technical marks were higher than those of male competitors. In March, she skated in the Kings on Ice ice show.[38] During the summer, she took part in training camps in Estonia, Italy, and Germany in preparation for the new season.[1]
Tuktamysheva settled with her family in Saint Petersburg in the summer of 2011. In preparation for the new season, she took part in Mishin's training camps in Jaca (Spain), Tartu (Estonia), and Pinzolo (Italy).[22][44]
2011–2012 season: Grand Prix debut and Youth Olympics
According to ISU age rules, Tuktamysheva was eligible for the senior Grand Prix circuit during the 2011–12 season, although not for senior ISU Championships. She was assigned to two Grand Prix events, the 2011 Skate Canada International and 2011 Trophée Éric Bompard. Tuktamysheva replaced the injured Sarah Meier at the Japan Open in October and won the event.[45][46] Tuktamysheva debuted on the senior Grand Prix circuit at Skate Canada International,[47] where she won the gold medal with a combined personal best score of 177.38 points, becoming the youngest champion in the event since Tracey Wainman in 1981.[48] She dedicated the win to her late father.[21] Tuktamysheva then won gold at 2011 Trophée Éric Bompard to qualify for her first senior Grand Prix Final. She is the first ladies' skater to win her senior debut event and to win both events in her senior Grand Prix debut.[49] At the Grand Prix Final, she finished fourth with a combined total of 174.51 points.
At the 2012 Russian Championships, Tuktamysheva was seventh in the short program and fourth in the free skate and finished sixth overall. She then competed at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics and won the gold medal. Tuktamysheva withdrew from the 2012 World Junior Championships in order to prepare for the following season, including working on the triple Axel.[50]
2012–2013 season: National title and European bronze
In the summer before the 2012–13 season, Tuktamysheva sustained a knee injury.[51] She was assigned to 2012 Skate Canada International and the 2012 Trophée Éric Bompard,[52] entering both events as the defending champion. In October, Mishin said that her participation at Skate Canada International was uncertain due to injury and growth issues.[53] Tuktamysheva did compete in Skate Canada International, placing sixth in the short program and third in the free skate. She finished fourth overall with a total score of 168.00, just 0.04 less than bronze medalist Kanako Murakami. At the 2012 Trophée Éric Bompard, Tuktamysheva was third in the short program and second in the free skate. She obtained a personal best free skating score, 121.36 points, and won the silver medal ahead of teammate Yulia Lipnitskaya.[51] Tuktamysheva qualified for the Grand Prix Final in Sochi, Russia, where she was fifth in the short program and second in the long, finishing fifth overall.[54] At the 2013 Russian Championships, also held in Sochi, she placed first in the short program[55] but fell ill with a cold before the free skate. Mishin initially indicated that she would withdraw, but later she and her team decided she would compete. Tuktamysheva said, "I might find myself in an even worse situation in the future. I have to know how to handle it, so we decided to skate."[56] She finished first in the free skate and won her first senior national title.[56]
At the 2013 European Championships, Tuktamysheva placed fourth in the short program, first in the long program, and won the bronze medal overall. She and silver medalist Adelina Sotnikova were Russia's first medalists in the Europeans ladies' event since Irina Slutskaya won the title in 2006. At the 2013 World Championships, Tuktamysheva was fourteenth in the short program after falling from a sit spin and singling her double Axel. She placed eighth in the long program and finished tenth overall in her Worlds debut. At the 2013 World Team Trophy in Tokyo, she finished tenth individually while Team Russia was fourth overall.
2013–2014 season
Tuktamysheva started her season at the 2013 Finlandia Trophy. Placing sixth in the short and second in the free, she won the bronze medal behind Akiko Suzuki and Yulia Lipnitskaya. At the 2013 Skate America, she placed ninth in the short and third in the free, finishing fourth overall with 176.75 points. Despite a back injury, she competed at her next event, the 2013 Rostelecom Cup, and finished fourth behind Mirai Nagasu. After taking the bronze medal at the 2013 Golden Spin of Zagreb behind Miki Ando, Tuktamysheva competed as the defending champion at the 2014 Russian Championships. She came in tenth after placing ninth in both segments. On 2 March 2014, she sustained an ankle injury at the Russian Cup Final – the preliminary diagnosis suggested a torn ankle ligament.[57] Although she hoped to resume training at the end of March,[58] her injury took longer to heal, and she returned to the ice in mid-June.[59]
Tuktamysheva started her Grand Prix season at the 2014 Skate America; she placed first in the short and second in the free skate, taking the silver medal behind Elena Radionova.[60] At her next event, the 2014 Cup of China, she won the gold medal, beating teammate Yulia Lipnitskaya.[61][62] The results qualified her to the Grand Prix Final, which she won with a new personal best combined total of 203.58, ahead of Radionova and American Ashley Wagner.[63] At the 2015 Russian Championships, Tuktamysheva placed second in both programs, finishing with the silver behind Radionova. She subsequently won the 2015 European Championship by a slim margin of 0.86, finishing second in the short program and first in the free skate, posting personal bests in both segments.[64]
At the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships, Tuktamysheva won the short program with a new personal best of 77.62, the third highest short program score under the ISU Judging System.[65] She performed the triple Axel for the first time in major competition, becoming the sixth woman to complete the jump and the fourth to do so at the World Championships. She also completed a triple toe-triple toe combination and a triple Lutz,[66] making her the first woman to land four triples in the short program. Tuktamysheva went on to win the free skate with a score of 132.74,[67] for a total of 210.36.[68] She decisively won the event, earning 16.76 points over silver medalist Satoko Miyahara, becoming the third Russian woman to win the World Championships (after Maria Butyrskaya in 1999 and Irina Slutskaya in 2002 and 2005).[69][70]
After her victory, Tuktamysheva ended her season skating for team Russia at the 2015 World Team Trophy. She placed second in the short program, 0.33 points behind Gracie Gold, earning 11 points. She then won the free program with a score of 134.21 (including a triple Axel), winning 12 points, which greatly aided Team Russia in winning the silver medal.[71][72]
In the summer before the start of the 2018–19 season, Tuktamysheva began training both the triple Axel and the triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination again with the intention of adding both components back into her programs in competition.[80] She started her season in September at the 2018 Lombardia Trophy, where she won the gold medal by a margin of over 21 points over the silver medalist, her training mate Sofia Samodurova, after placing first in both the short program and the free skate. During her free skate, she landed a fully rotated triple Axel but stepped out of the landing and received a negative GOE for the jump. Nevertheless, Tuktamysheva's final score of 206.07 was her best result since the 2014-2015 season.[citation needed]
At the 2018 Finlandia Trophy, Tuktamysheva again won gold after placing first in both segments. She attempted the triple Axel in her free skate and her short program for the first time in competition. Both attempts were ratified as fully rotated but received negative grades of execution (GOE) due to three turnouts of the landings of both jumps.[citation needed]
Tuktamysheva competed at her first Grand Prix assignment, 2018 Skate Canada International, at the end of October. She won the competition by a narrow margin of just 0.26 points over silver medalist Mako Yamashita after a costly fall on her triple Axel in the free skate opened the door for the rest of the field. She placed first in the short program with a new season's best of 74.22, landing her triple Axel cleanly for the first time this season, and third in free skate behind Yamashita and Russian teammate Evgenia Medvedeva. During the gala exhibition portion of the competition, Tuktamysheva performed a controversial program to Toxic by Britney Spears, where she stripped down to her bra partway through the performance. The program was received with a combination of shock and fanfare.[81]
In early November, Tuktamysheva competed at her second Grand Prix assignment, 2018 NHK Trophy, where she won the bronze medal behind Japanese skaters Rika Kihira and Satoko Miyahara. She scored personal bests in both the free skate (142.85) and overall, with 219.02 points. She ranked first in the short program but dropped to third in the free skate. Though she landed fully rotated triple Axels in both programs, she had to do a three-turn out of her landing in the free skate and received a negative GOE for the jump. With her gold and bronze Grand Prix medals and 26 qualification points, she qualified to the 2018–19 Grand Prix Final. At the Final, Tuktamysheva returned to the podium with a bronze medal, landing all of her elements cleanly except for the triple Axel in her short program, which was judged underrotated.[82] She expressed satisfaction with having successfully increased her program difficulty in press conferences at the event.[83]
On 12 December 2018, the week before the 2019 Russian Championships, Tuktamysheva was forced to withdraw from the competition after being hospitalized with pneumonia.[84] Russian media outlet TASS reported that her recovery would take two weeks. After Russian Nationals, she was named to the 2019 Winter Universiade team and as first alternate to the 2019 European Figure Skating Championships team.
In February 2019, Tuktamysheva competed at the Russian Cup Final, going head-to-head with countrywomen Evgenia Medvedeva and Stanislava Konstantinova to earn a spot on the Russian 2019 World Figure Skating Championships team. Though she won the free skate, Tuktamysheva placed second overall behind Medvedeva. After several days of deliberation, the Russian Figure Skating Federation's board of coaches named Medvedeva to the team along with Alina Zagitova and Tuktamysheva's training mate Sofia Samodurova. Tuktamysheva was named first alternate. This decision was controversial, with some feeling that Tuktamysheva should have been selected based on her strong season.[85] The skater herself posted on Twitter afterward: "Inside myself still was a little girl who naively believed. You’ve killed her. But I’m a fighter and will return."[86]
On 26 March 2019, Tuktamysheva was named to the Russian team for the 2019 World Team Trophy alongside training mate Sofia Samodurova.[87] At the competition, she set new personal best scores in both programs as well as overall after skating both of her programs cleanly for the first time all season. With both programs cleanly performed, she became the first woman to land twelve clean triple jumps in one international competition.[17] Tuktamysheva finished first overall in the ladies event and earned a bronze medal for Team Russia's collective efforts.
Tuktamysheva began training a quadtoe loop with the hope of incorporating it into competition at some point in the season.[88] She initially had a short program from Canadian choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne to Florence + the Machine's "Drumming Song", but decided to change the music while aiming to retain much of the original choreography before the beginning of the season, instead using Astor Piazzolla's tango "Oblivion".[89][88] She began her season at the 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy where she placed first in the short program and second in the free skate to earn a second-place finish overall behind Russian teammate Anna Shcherbakova. At this event, Tuktamysheva landed three triple Axels for the first time in one competition, incorporating one in her short program and two in her free skate. Tuktamysheva subsequently returned to the "Drumming Song" music for the short program for her next competition, 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy, where she placed second behind Alena Kostornaia.[90]
Beginning the Grand Prix at 2019 Skate America, Tuktamysheva landed her triple Axel in the short program but made errors on both other jumping passes, as well as receiving low spin levels. She was fifth in that segment.[91] She rose to the bronze medal position after the free skate.[92] At the 2019 Cup of China, Tuktamysheva fell on the triple Axel in her short program and performed only a double toe loop as the second part of her combination, placing fourth in that segment.[93] She revived her previous season's free program for the free skate, placing second in that segment and taking a second bronze medal overall.[94] Despite her two bronze medals on the Grand Prix circuit, Tuktamysheva was only the third alternate to the 2019-20 Grand Prix Final behind Satoko Miyahara and Mariah Bell.
On 27 November 2019, Tuktamysheva posted an Instagram video of herself landing a quad toe loop.[95] After winning the Golden Spin event, she skated at the 2020 Russian Championships, placing fourth in the short program despite turning out of her triple Axel and making a spin error.[96] She attempted the quad toe loop in competition for the first time but under-rotated and fell on it, in addition to other jump errors that had her place ninth in that segment but remained in fourth overall.[97] The oldest ladies' skater in the field, Tuktamysheva was named first alternate for the European and World Championships behind a trio of first-year seniors (Anna Shcherbakova, Alena Kostornaia, and Alexandra Trusova).
Tuktamysheva appeared at the senior Russian test skates.[98] She opened her tenth senior season at the third stage of the domestic Russian Cup series, the qualifying competition series to the national championships in Sochi in late October. She controversially placed third in the short program behind Daria Usacheva and Anna Shcherbakova despite executing a clean triple axel and in light of a mistake from Shcherbakova on her combination. She remained third in the free program after an imperfect skate to earn the bronze medal overall.[99]
In preparation for the 2020 Rostelecom Cup, Tuktamysheva restored her quadruple toe-loop, which she last performed unsuccessfully at the 2020 Russian Championships. She posted a new video of herself performing the jump on her Instagram account on 17 November 2020 and executed the jump in practices but did not perform it in competition.[100] At the event, Tuktamysheva placed second in the short program behind Alena Kostornaia after executing a clean triple Axel but stepping out of the first jump in her intended combination and only performing a triple Lutz-double toe loop as a result.[101] In the free skate, she executed two clean triple Axels, one in combination, to win the segment and the competition overall, in what was considered a significant upset victory over both Kostornaia and Alexandra Trusova.[102] With the victory, she became only the third woman to win a medal at all 6 Grand Prix events and the Grand Prix Final.[103]
On 3 December, it was announced that Tuktamysheva had to withdraw from the fifth stage of the Russian Cup because she contracted COVID-19.[104]
After recovering from the coronavirus, Tuktamysheva competed at the 2021 Russian Championships. She stepped out of her triple Axel in the short program but cleanly executed her other jumps, placing fifth in that segment.[105] She was tenth in the free after making errors on both triple Axels and doubling a planned triple loop, finishing in seventh overall.[106]
In February 2021, Tuktamysheva competed at the 2021 Channel One Trophy, a domestic made-for-television team competition which split the Russian national team in half to compete against one another in two teams led by captains Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva respectively. Tuktamysheva was chosen to represent Medvedeva's team, alongside Alexandra Trusova and Maiia Khromykh, in the ladies event. She debuted a new short program to Billie Eilish and Khalid's "Lovely" and placed sixth of six in the short after popping a planned triple Axel into a single.[107] In the free skate, she overtook Khromykh to finish fifth overall.[108]
Tuktamysheva next competed at the Russian Cup Final, which was widely assumed to be a contest between her and Kostornaia for the third berth on the Russian ladies' delegation for the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm.[109] She placed third in the short program despite turning out of her triple Axel attempt, seven points ahead of Kostornaia, who popped the second half of her combination to a double.[110] In the free skate, Tuktamysheva dropped to fourth place overall, but was the highest-ranked skater eligible for international senior events, sixteen points ahead of Kostornaia in sixth place.[111] As a result, Tuktamysheva was named to the Russian World team on 1 March — her first scheduled trip back to Worlds since winning the title in 2015. She was considered a serious contender for the podium alongside her fellow Russian skaters and Japan's Rika Kihira.[112]
At the World Championships, Tuktamysheva cleanly performed her short program to place third in the segment, behind Anna Shcherbakova and Rika Kihira.[113] In the free skate, Tuktamysheva landed both of her triple Axel attempts cleanly, but fell on a triple flip later in the program. Despite the mistake and placing only third in the free program, she was able to claim second place overall due to mistakes from Kihira and Alexandra Trusova coming back from a major deficit after the short program. She took the silver medal between countrywomen Shcherbakova with the gold and Trusova with the bronze. This was the second time, after the United States with Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan, and Kristi Yamaguchi in 1991, that a single country swept the ladies' podium at the World Championships.[114] Tuktamysheva's placement, combined with Shcherbakova's, qualified three berths for Russian ladies at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.[115]
Tuktamysheva was subsequently named, alongside Shcherbakova, to compete for Russia in the ladies' segment at the 2021 World Team Trophy.[116] On 8 April, she was named as Team Captain.[117] She competed as part of the Russian team for the 2021 World Team Trophy with a second place performance of the short program on the opening day within one point behind Russian teammate Anna Shcherbakova. She finished in third place following the free skate with her combined scores.[118][116]
2021–2022 season
Tuktamysheva at the Union of Champions ice show in April 2022
Tuktamysheva debuted her new programs for the Olympic season at the Russian test skate event in September and officially opened her competitive season in October at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy. At Finlandia, Tuktamysheva cleanly skated her short program to score a new personal best and win the segment ahead of Russian teammates Alena Kostornaia and Kamila Valieva. In the free skate, Tuktamysheva again skated a clean program but, unable to match Valieva's technical elements score, fell to second in the segment and second overall.[119]
On the Grand Prix, Tuktamysheva won the silver medal at the 2021 Skate Canada International behind Valieva and ahead of Kostornaia, in a repeat of the podium at Finlandia.[120] At her second assignment, the 2021 Rostelecom Cup, Tuktamysheva again placed second behind Valieva, and due to her placements at both of her events, qualified to the 2021–22 Grand Prix Final seeded third. She said afterward that she was not training a quad at that time, focusing on delivering her triple jump content cleanly.[121] The Final was subsequently cancelled due to restrictions prompted by the Omicron variant.[122]
At the 2022 Russian Championships in December, Tuktamysheva fell on the triple Axel in her short program for the first time all season and doubled the triple toe loop in her intended jump combination, leaving her initially in seventh place. She climbed to sixth in the free program with a clean skate but ultimately finished seventh overall and fourth of the skaters age-eligible to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics and the season's remaining ISU Championship events. After the free skate, she said, "I did what I could do; now I want some rest."[123]
Tuktamysheva was named as the first alternate to the Russian women's team for the 2022 Winter Olympics on 20 January, missing Olympic qualification for the third time in her career.[124]
2022–2023 season
Tuktamysheva and her Russian compatriots were banned from competing in international events indefinitely by the International Skating Union. Therefore, the Russian Figure Skating Federation devised a domestic competition series of its own, modeled off of the ISU Grand Prix series, as a means of qualification to the 2023 Russian Figure Skating Championships and a Russian Grand Prix Final. Tuktamysheva was assigned to compete in the fourth and sixth events in this six-part series and claimed the title at both.
At the Russian Championships in December, Tuktamysheva placed second in the short program and fourth in the free skate to finish third overall behind Sofia Akateva and Kamila Valieva. Her bronze medal finish marked her first podium placement at a national championship since she won the silver medal in the 2014–15 season.
2023–2024 season
On 22 October 2023, Tuktamysheva confirmed on her Instagram that she would not be competing in the 2023-2024 season.[125]
As a student of Alexei Mishin, Tuktamysheva is known for her solid jumping technique and technical difficulty within her programs. She is also known for her consistency, particularly with jumps like the triple Axel.
^"ISU World Standings for Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance : Women". Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2022. All Russian figure skaters have fallen in world standing as a result of their exclusion from international competition beginning shortly after the 2022 Olympics, and therefore having zero wins since then.
^Remmel, Ia (4 November 2011). "Absolute Skating". absoluteskating.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
^Vernon, Nadin (25 October 2011). "Catching up with Sarah Meier". Absolute Skating. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
^Елизавета Сергеевна Туктамышева [Elizaveta Sergeyevna Tuktamysheva] (in Russian). fskate.ru. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
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