Maxim Kovtun facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maxim Kovtun
Kovtun at the 2014 Grand Prix Final
Personal information
Full name	Maxim Pavlovich Kovtun
Country represented	Russia
Born	(1995-06-18) 18 June 1995 (age 30) Yekaterinburg, Russia
Home town	Moscow, Russia
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Began skating	1997
Retired	23 April 2019

Maxim Pavlovich Kovtun (Russian: Максим Павлович Ковтун; born June 18, 1995) is a retired Russian figure skater. He won medals at the European Figure Skating Championships three times: silver in 2015 and 2017, and bronze in 2016. He was also a four-time champion at the Russian Figure Skating Championships (in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019). As a junior skater, he won the 2012 Junior Grand Prix Final. Kovtun was known for successfully landing multiple quad jumps in his programs. He announced his retirement from competitive skating on April 23, 2019.

About Maxim Kovtun

Maxim Pavlovich Kovtun was born on June 18, 1995, in Yekaterinburg, Russia. His two older brothers also used to compete in figure skating. His father, Pavel, is a skating coach and used to be a pair skater. Maxim was in a relationship with a gymnast named Chilita Bagdzhi from 2015 to 2016. Since 2019, he has been dating Evgeniia Levanova, a Russian group rhythmic gymnast.

Skating Journey

Maxim started skating at age four in Yekaterinburg. His father took him to the ice rink. In his early years, he was mainly coached by Maria Voitsekhovskaia. He also trained in ice hockey but chose figure skating when he was ten years old.

Junior and Senior Debuts

In the spring of 2011, Kovtun began training with Nikolai Morozov. He first competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series during the 2011–12 season. He won a gold medal in Romania and a silver medal in Estonia. He then qualified for the 2011–12 JGP Final, where he finished fourth.

At the 2012 Russian Championships, Kovtun placed twelfth at the senior level. He also won a bronze medal at the junior level. He competed in his first senior international event, the 2012 World Team Trophy, where he finished twelfth.

Winning the Junior Grand Prix Final

In the summer of 2012, Kovtun changed coaches to Elena Buianova. He started the 2012–13 season by winning two gold medals at JGP events in Croatia and Germany. In Croatia, he achieved a personal best score in his free skate.

Kovtun qualified for the JGP Final in Sochi, Russia. He won the gold medal by a large margin over the silver medalist, Joshua Farris. In his free skate at this event, he landed a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination, a triple Axel-triple toe loop, and a triple Axel.

At the 2013 Russian Championships, he finished fifth at the senior level. However, he was still chosen for the Russian team to compete at the 2013 European Championships. In his European debut, Kovtun finished fifth overall. He then placed seventeenth at his first World Championships in Canada.

First Senior National Title

For the 2013–14 season, Kovtun found his short program very challenging. He made his senior Grand Prix debut at the 2013 Cup of China. He placed second in the short program, landing several difficult jumps including two quad jumps and a triple Axel. He then placed first in the free skate. Kovtun won the silver medal overall. He also won another silver medal at the 2013 Rostelecom Cup. These results allowed him to qualify for his first senior Grand Prix Final, where he finished fifth.

At the 2014 Russian Championships, Kovtun won his first gold medal, beating three-time Olympic medalist Evgeni Plushenko. After he again placed fifth at the European Championships, Russia only had one spot for the men's event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. This spot was given to Plushenko. However, Plushenko later withdrew from the men's singles competition due to injury, leaving Russia without an entry.

Kovtun was sent to the 2014 World Championships in Japan. He finished fourth overall.

European Silver Medal

For the 2014–15 Grand Prix season, Kovtun competed at the Cup of China and Trophée Bompard. He won gold medals at both events. This made him the only skater to win both of his assignments, qualifying him for the Grand Prix Final. He finished fourth overall at the Final.

At the 2015 Russian Championships, Kovtun won his second national title. At the 2015 European Championships, he won a silver medal, finishing second overall. He then placed seventh at the 2015 World Championships in China.

2015–16 Season Highlights

Kovtun started the 2015–16 season by winning gold at the 2015 CS Mordovian Ornament. In the Grand Prix series, he placed second in the short program at the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard. The free skate was canceled due to the November 2015 Paris attacks, so the short program results were the final ones. He did not qualify for the Grand Prix Final. In December, he won his third Russian national title in a row.

In January, Kovtun won a bronze medal at the 2016 European Championships. He finished eighteenth at the 2016 World Championships. In May 2016, Kovtun changed coaches and joined Inna Goncharenko's group.

2016–17 Season

After winning a bronze medal at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy, Kovtun finished seventh at both of his Grand Prix events. At the 2017 Russian Championships, he won a bronze medal. He also won a silver medal at the 2017 European Championships, achieving new personal best scores. He placed eleventh at the 2017 World Championships.

Injuries and Return

Kovtun had to withdraw from some competitions in the 2017–18 season due to back and knee injuries. At the 2018 Russian Championships, he withdrew after the short program. He later said he was "physically unable to train." He started training again in February 2018.

In the 2018–19 season, coached by Elena Buianova and Alexander Uspenski, Kovtun won a gold medal at the 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy. He then won his fourth Russian national title at the 2019 Russian Championships.

At the 2019 European Championships, he placed fourteenth overall after struggling in the free skate. In March 2019, he won a silver medal at the 2019 Winter Universiade in Russia. Kovtun later withdrew from the 2019 World Championships for medical reasons.

On April 23, 2019, Maxim Kovtun announced that he was retiring from competitive skating.

Programs and Music

Kovtun at the 2013 Cup of China podium.

Kovtun at the 2016 European Figure Skating Championships podium.

Figure skaters perform different programs to music each season. Here are some of the programs Maxim Kovtun used:

Major Achievements

Maxim Kovtun competed in many important figure skating events. Here are some of his top results:

Images for kids

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  Kovtun at the 2012–13 Junior Grand Prix Final

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  Kovtun at the 2014–15 Grand Prix Final

See also

In Spanish: Maksim Kovtun para niños