Ksenia Andreyevna Stolbova was born on 7 February 1992 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.[2] She attended the Lesgaft Academy of Physical Education in Saint Petersburg.[3]
Career
Early career
Stolbova became interested in skating at the age of three but did not begin skating until a few years later after badgering her family. After a number of years in single skating, she wanted to try something different and made the switch to pair skating at the age of 14.[3]
Stolbova's partnership with Artur Minchuk lasted three seasons, from 2006–07 to 2008–09. They finished 11th competing on the senior level at the Russian Championships in December 2008.
During the 2010–11 season, Stolbova/Klimov won both of their JGP events and qualified for the JGP Final. They also debuted on the senior GP circuit, finishing 5th at Skate America. They won silver at the Junior Grand Prix Final. At the 2011 Russian Championships, Stolbova/Klimov finished sixth overall in their senior national debut and won their second junior national title. They were the silver medalists at the 2011 World Junior Championships.
Stolbova/Klimov were originally the first alternates for the 2012 European Championships but Alexander Smirnov had an emergency surgery and was not able to recover in time. Replacing Kavaguti/Smirnov at the event, Stolbova/Klimov set new personal bests in their short and long program to win their first European medal, bronze.
First alternates for the 2013 European Championships, Stolbova/Klimov were called up to replace Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov who withdrew due to Larionov's wrist injury.[5] After finishing sixth at Europeans in Zagreb, they won their first senior international title at the 2013 Bavarian Open. In April 2013, the pair said they wanted to move to Moscow to work with Nina Mozer, who agreed to take them in her group.[6][7][8] The move was opposed by Oleg Nilov, the head of the Saint Petersburg skating association, arguing against a concentration of skaters in Moscow,[9] but was authorized by the Russian skating federation.[10]
After relocating to Moscow, the pair focused on improving their basic skating skills.[11] Their training was interrupted when Klimov fell off a bicycle in late May 2013, resulting in a broken leg.[11]
At the 2014 European Championships, Stolbova/Klimov placed fourth in the short, first in the free skate, and scored a total of 207.98 points to win the silver medal behind Volosozhar/Trankov and ahead of Bazarova/Larionov. All three pairs were sent to the 2014 Winter Olympics. Assigned to the free skate in the inaugural Olympic team event, Stolbova/Klimov placed first in their segment and Team Russia went on to win the gold medal. In the pairs event, Stolbova/Klimov placed third in the short and advanced to second after the free skate with an overall score of 218.68 points. They won the silver medal ahead of four-time World champions Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy who took the bronze medal. Stolbova/Klimov won the silver medal in their first appearance at the 2014 World Championships.
Stolbova/Klimov started the 2015–16 season competing in a challenger series at the 2015 Ondrej Nepela Trophy where they won the gold medal. They competed in their first Grand Prix of the season at the 2015 Skate America finishing 4th place. However, they polished their program and elements and won the gold medal in their second Grand Prix at the 2015 Rostelecom Cup ahead of teammates Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov. They qualified for the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final in Barcelona where they placed first in both segments in pairs short program and in the free skate where they scored 154.60 points, just 0.06 lower than the free skate World record achieved by compatriots Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov at the 2013 Skate America. Stolbova/Klimov landed clean side-by-side 3T-3T-2T jumps, as well as 3 Flip, 3 Salchow throws in their free skate. They won the gold medal with a total of 229.44 points.[13][14]
Stolbova/Klimov withdrew from the entry list at the 2016 Russian Championships due to Klimov's allergic reaction from a therapeutic massage a week before nationals.[citation needed] They were selected to compete at the 2016 European Championships but withdrew before the event.[15] A nerve problem affected Klimov's arm and shoulder muscles, preventing him from performing lifts.[11]
At the 2016 World Championships in Boston, the pair placed 5th in the short program, 4th in the free skate, and 4th overall.
2016–17 season
During a training camp in mid-July 2016, Stolbova developed severe inflammation in her left ankle due to a nerve problem that arose after a change of skating boots.[16] She and Klimov withdrew from both of their Grand Prix assignments – the 2016 Rostelecom Cup and 2016 NHK Trophy. They returned to competition in late December, winning gold at the 2017 Russian Championships by a margin of 0.93 over Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov.[17]
In January 2017 they competed at the 2017 European Championships where they placed 4th after placing 4th in both the short program and the free skate. Two months later they competed at the 2017 World Championships where they placed 5th after placing only 13th in the short program but 3rd in the free skate.
Stolbova and Klimov ended their partnership later that year, and she teamed up with Andrei Novoselov.[19]
2019–20 season
Stolbova and her new partner first performed at the 2019 Russian test skates. She described herself as "overwhelmed by emotions. We've waited a long time for this comeback. We're coming back with renewed bodies, renewed mindset, renewed emotions."[20] Following the test skates, Stolbova/Novoselov discard their "I'll Take Care of You" short program in favour of a new one set to "Rebirth" by Hi-Finesse, first seen when they made their competitive debut at the 2019 Rostelecom Cup. They placed third in the short program, despite a doubled jump by Novoselov.[21] In the free skate, errors on both jumping passes, a throw, and two lifts dropped them to fifth place overall.[22]
