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Aleksandr Korovin
Aleksandr Korovin (also spelled as "Alexander Korovin"; Russian: Александр Сергеевич Коровин; born 15 February 1994) is a Russian-Filipino pair skater. Korovin has represented the Philippines with Isabella Gamez since 2021, having represented Russia prior. Korovin and Gamez are the first pair from Southeast Asia and the Philippines to qualify and compete at the World Figure Skating Championships.[2] They are the first international medalists for the Philippines in pairs skating,[3] first pair to compete at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating for Southeast Asia and the Philippines, and the two-time Philippine National Champions for pairs skating, bringing attention to the sport in the tropical country and the Southeast Asian region. Earlier in his career, Korovin represented Russia with Alisa Efimova. The pair won one Grand Prix medal, silver at the 2018 Skate America, and six medals on the ISU Challenger Series, including gold at the 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and 2018 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb. CareerEarly careerKorovin began learning to skate in 1999.[4] He switched from single skating to pairs in 2010. Competing with his first partner, Alexandra Minina, he placed ninth at the 2013 Russian Junior Championships. He teamed up with Alisa Efimova in 2014.[5][6] Their international debut came in February 2016 at the Hellmut Seibt Memorial. They won the silver medal, finishing second to Italy's Valentina Marchei / Ondřej Hotárek. Pair skating with Alisa Efimova (for Russia)2016–2017 season Coached by Natalia Pavlova and Alexander Zaitsev in Moscow,[7] Efimova/Korovin debuted on the Grand Prix series, placing seventh at the 2016 Rostelecom Cup in November. Later that month, the two received the silver medal at the 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy, having ranked second in the short program, first in the free skate, and second overall behind Alina Ustimkina / Nikita Volodin of Russia. After placing eighth at the 2017 Russian Championships, they took silver at the Cup of Tyrol in March 2017. 2017–2018 seasonEfimova/Korovin relocated to Saint Petersburg to be coached by Oleg Vasiliev and Tamara Moskvina.[8] In September, the pair placed fifth at their season opener, the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy and then won bronze at the 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy a week later. In November, they took silver at the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy behind Australia's Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya / Harley Windsor. They had no Grand Prix assignments. They finished ninth at the 2018 Russian Championships. 2018–2019 seasonIn September, Efimova/Korovin won their first international gold medal at their first event of the season, the 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. Ranked fourth in the short program and first in the free skate, they outscored the silver medalists, Alexa Scimeca Knierim / Chris Knierim, by 1.72 points. Efimova/Korovin competed at two Grand Prix events, the 2018 Skate America and 2018 Rostelecom Cup. In October, Efimova/Korovin won their first Grand Prix medal, silver, at the 2018 Skate America. Ranked second in the short program and third in the free skate, they won the silver medal behind their teammates Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov. In mid-November, they competed at the 2018 Rostelecom Cup, where they finished fifth after placing fourth in the short program and fifth in the free skate. In early December, Efimova/Korovin won their second Challenger Series gold medal of the season at the 2018 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb. Ranked first in the short program and second in the free skate, they again narrowly beat Alexa Scimeca Knierim / Chris Knierim. This time Efimova/Korovin beat them by 1.05 points. Efimova/Korovin scored their best score of 183.89 points at this event. At the 2019 Russian Championships, Efimova/Korovin placed sixth. They then finished the season by winning gold at the 2019 Winter Universiade. 2019–2020 seasonBeginning the season on the Challenger series, Efimova/Korovin were seventh at the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, then won the silver medal at the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy. They finished eighth of eight teams at the 2019 Cup of China. They placed fourth at the 2019 NHK Trophy.[9] At the 2020 Russian Championships, Efimova/Korovin placed fourth in the short program.[10] The free skate was a struggle, with them placing tenth in that segment and dropping to ninth place overall.[11] It was announced afterward that they had split.[12] Pair skating with Isabella Gamez (for the Philippines)2020–2021 & 2021–2022 seasonsKorovin did not compete during the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 seasons as he awaited his release from the Figure Skating Federation of Russia. In August 2021, the Philippine Skating Union announced that Isabella Gamez had teamed up with Russian skater Aleksandr Korovin to represent the Philippines.[13] Korovin and Gamez were paired by 2014 Winter Olympics pairs champion Maxim Trankov and Olympic, World Championship coach Marina Zoueva. They met and began training together in early 2021. For the 2021–2022 season, Gamez and Korovin focused on their training at Hertz Arena with coach, Marina Zoueva, and her team in Estero, Florida. Per International Skating Union regulations, Gamez and Korovin can compete together for the Philippines for International Skating Union competitions up to the World Figure Skating Championships level, with only one partner of the two requiring citizenship of the represented country. This enables Korovin to compete as a pair despite being a Russian citizen as Gamez is a Philippine citizen born to Filipinos.[14] 2022–2023 seasonThe Korovin/Gamez pair made their debut at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy, where they placed ninth after two years of inactivity.[15][16] The pair shared before their international debut, Hurricane Ian devastated Southwest Florida affecting their training venue and practice schedule a week before Finland.[17] In their second competition together, Korovin and Gamez achieved a historical milestone for the Philippines. They won the first-ever medal for Philippine pairs skating in an international competition, a silver medal at the Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur in Nice, France.[3] They competed at the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup placing 11th, and withdrew from the Golden Spin of Zagreb due to injury. Gamez/Korovin continued the season to become the first Senior Pairs team to win Philippine Figure Skating Championships bringing awareness to the pairs discipline in the tropical country as the only competitors in December 2022. They qualified and competed at the 2023 Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs placing ninth. They competed at the Challenge Cup in Tilburg, Netherlands, where they placed 6th, and earned the technical minimums to become the first Southeast Asian and Philippine pairs team to qualify and compete in the final segment for the 2023 World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan.[2] Korovin publicly expressed his wish to be granted Filipino citizenship after becoming the first Philippine National Champions for Pairs Figure Skating with Gamez while in Manila on December 2022, sharing his commitment to the Philippines and opportunities to grow figure skating in the country.[18] 2023–2024 season Prior to the season, it was announced that Gamez/Korovin had relocated to Montclair, New Jersey, where they were now being coached by Dmitri Savin, Alexei Bychenko, Evgeni Krasnopolski, and Galit Chait.[19] They would start their second season together by competing at John Nicks Pairs Challenge in New York, NY and 2023 CS Autumn Classic International in Montreal, Canada in September 2023. They withdrew from October 2023 competitions due to a COVID-diagnosis and returned to compete at Philippine Figure Skating Championships in November 2023, where they won their second National Championship title at SM Mall of Asia in Manila, Philippines. In January 2024, they competed at the 2024 Four Continents Championships in Shanghai, China, where they placed 11th and competed at the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada as the only competitors representing the Philippines. The pair would finish in twenty-first place.[20] 2024–25 seasonPrior to the season, Fedor Klimov joined Gamez and Korovin's coaching team.[1] They began the season by finishing ninth at the 2024 John Nicks International Pairs Competition.[20] They went on to compete at the 2024 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur; however, after completing the short program segment, the pairs free skate event was cancelled due to poor weather conditions.[21] Gamez and Korovin were awarded the silver medal based on their short program result.[22] Not initially assigned to compete on the Grand Prix series, Gamez and Korovin were later entered to compete at the 2024 NHK Trophy.[23] However, they were unable to accept the assignment due to the short notice invitation.[24] They were later assigned to the 2024 Cup of China following another team's withdrawal.[25] They finished the event in seventh place.[22] Personal lifeKorovin was born in Pervouralsk, Russia.[4] He speaks Russian, English and is learning Filipino.[26] Filipino citizenshipBills were filed in the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines proposing Filipino citizenship for Korovin via naturalization. The proposals were approved by both chambers in 2024,[27] and signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on 20 December 2024, granting Korovin Philippine citizenship.[28] On January 8, 2025, Korovin took his oath of citizenship as a naturalized Filipino before Senator Francis Tolentino.[29] ProgramsPair skating with Isabella Gamez (for the Philippines)
Pair skating with Alisa Efimova (for Russia)
Competitive highlightsPair skating with Isabella Gamez (for the Philippines)
Pair skating with Alisa Efimova (for Russia)
Pair skating with Alexandra Minina (for Russia)
Detailed resultsPair skating with Isabella Gamez (for the Philippines)
Note: The senior pairs free skate at the 2024 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur was cancelled on account of inclement weather. It was later announced that the short program results would be considered as the final results for the competition.[21] Pair skating with Alisa Efimova (for Russia)
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