Daria Danilova (Russian: Дарья Данилова; born 8 September 2002) is a Russian-born pair skater who competes for the Netherlands. With her skating partner, Michel Tsiba, she is the 2020 Dutch national champion and the 2020 NRW Trophy bronze medalist. They competed in the final segment at the 2020 European Championships and are the first Dutch pair to qualify for the World Championships.
Daria Danilova | |
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![]() Danilova/Tsiba at the 2020 European Championships | |
Personal information | |
Native name | Дарья Данилова (Russian) |
Country represented | ![]() |
Born | (2002-09-08) 8 September 2002 (age 20) Moscow, Russia |
Home town | Moscow, Russia |
Height | 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) |
Partner | Michel Tsiba |
Former partner | Dmitry Shulgin |
Coach | Pavel Kitashev Knut Schubert Yuri Larionov |
Former coach | Arina Ushakova Nina Mozer |
Choreographer | Joti Polizoakis |
Former choreographer | Olga Orlova Paul Boll |
Skating club | Ekijsa Amsterdam |
Former skating club | Vorobyovy Gory SSHOR Sports School No. 85 Moscow[1] |
Training locations | Berlin, Germany Moscow, Russia |
Began skating | 2006 |
ISU personal best scores | |
Combined total | 158.92 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy |
Short program | 56.27 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy |
Free skate | 102.65 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy |
Danilova was born on 8 September 2002 in Moscow. She is learning Dutch.[2] Danilova attempted to obtain Dutch citizenship to become eligible for the 2022 Winter Olympics.[3] She has a pet dog.[4]
Danilova started skating at age three in 2006. She competed in ladies' singles in her native Russia, but never qualified to the Russian Championships.[1] In 2017, Danilova briefly competed pairs with Dmitry Shulgin under coaches Pavel Kitashev, Arina Ushakova, and Nina Mozer.[1] They split after six months and she skated alone for a year.[2]
Danilova teamed up with Dutch skater Michel Tsiba for the Netherlands in May 2018. Earlier in the season, he had met one of her coaches at a seminar in Berlin and they arranged a tryout.[3] Danilova/Tsiba alternate training in Berlin and Moscow every three months due to the differences in their respective citizenships' visa requirements.[5] The pair fund over half of their training costs out of pocket via Tsiba's student finances.[6]
Danilova/Tsiba won their debut international competition, the 2018 Golden Spin of Zagreb on the junior level. They then placed tenth at the 2019 Bavarian Open. In February, Danilova/Tsiba won the 2019 Dutch junior national title unopposed. However, they missed achieving the minimum TES requirements for the 2019 World Junior Championships.[2]
Danilova/Tsiba competed at three Challenger Series events to open the season, finishing tenth at 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy, 17th at 2019 CS Warsaw Cup, and 15th at 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.
At the 2020 European Championships in January, Danilova/Tsiba became the first Dutch pair in 24 years to compete in a European Championships since Jeltje Schulten / Alcuin Schulten last represented the country at the event in 1996.[5] They qualified to the final segment and finished 16th overall. In February, they finished eighth at the Bavarian Open and tenth at the Challenge Cup; the latter event doubled as the Dutch Championships where, as the only Dutch pair, Danilova/Tsiba won their first senior national title.
At the Challenge Cup, Danilova/Tsiba earned the necessary TES minimums for the 2020 World Championships.[7] They are the first Dutch pair in history to qualify for the World Championships.[8] The event was eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
During the offseason, Tsiba underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus. However, the pair did not start training together again until the end of August due to issues with Danilova's Dutch visa.[10] Danilova/Tsiba made their season debut at the 2020 NRW Autumn Trophy in November and won their first senior international medal, bronze behind Germans Annika Hocke / Robert Kunkel and Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nolan Seegert. Making their debut at the World Championships in Stockholm, they placed twenty-second.[11]
Beginning the season at the 2021 Lombardia Trophy, Danilova/Tsiba placed eighth.[12] They competed at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, placing ninth and failing to qualify a place at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Their third Challenger event, the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup, Danilova/Tsiba were fifteenth. They finished twenty-first at the 2022 European Championships, missing the free skate.[13]
Danilova/Tsiba concluded the season at the 2022 World Championships, where they finished a career-best ninth in a field depleted due to Russia being banned as a result of their invasion of Ukraine and the Chinese Skating Association opted not to send athletes to compete in Montpellier.[14][13]
Season | Short program | Free skating |
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2020–2022 [4][15][16] |
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2019–2020 [17] |
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2018–2019 [18] |
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CS: Challenger Series
International[13] | |||||
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Event | 18–19 | 19–20 | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 |
Worlds | C | 22nd | 9th | ||
Europeans | 16th | 21st | |||
GP Finland | TBD | ||||
GP Skate America | TBD | ||||
CS Finlandia Trophy | 10th | 6th | |||
CS Golden Spin | 15th | WD | |||
CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 9th | ||||
CS Warsaw Cup | 17th | 15th | |||
Bavarian Open | 8th | ||||
Challenge Cup | 10th | 7th | 2nd | ||
Lombardia Trophy | 8th | ||||
NRW Trophy | 3rd | 1st | |||
International: Junior[13] | |||||
Bavarian Open | 10th | ||||
Golden Spin | 1st | ||||
National[13] | |||||
Dutch Champ. | 1st J | 1st | 2nd | 1st | |
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Cancelled Levels: J = Junior |