Alexei Sitnikov

Alexei Sitnikov
Zlobina/Sitnikov at the 2012 Worlds
Personal information
Full name	Alexei Alexandrovich Sitnikov
Country represented	Azerbaijan
Former country(ies) represented	Russia
Born	(1986-05-23) 23 May 1986 Kirov, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height
Partner	Julia Zlobina
Former partner	Alexandra Murina
Coach	Igor Shpilband, Alexei Gorshkov
Former coach	Alexander Zhulin, Oleg Volkov, Svetlana Alexeeva, Elena Kustarova, Olga Riabinina, Igor Gavrin
Choreographer	Igor Shpilband, Sergei Nikulshin
Former choreographer	Sergei Petukhov, Alexander Zhulin, N. Michura, Polina Silivanova
Skating club	Neftchi Baku
Training locations	Novi, Michigan
Former training locations	Moscow Rostov-on-Don Kirov
Began skating	1990
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	148.63 2014 Winter Olympics
Short dance	60.93 2013 Europeans
Free dance	90.48 2014 Winter Olympics
Medal record Representing Azerbaijan Figure skating: Ice dancing Winter Universiade 2013 Trentino Ice dancing

Alexei Alexandrovich Sitnikov (Russian: Алексей Александрович Ситников; born 23 May 1986) is an ice dancer. Competing for Azerbaijan with Julia Zlobina, he is the 2013 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion, 2013 Volvo Open Cup champion, 2012 Nebelhorn Trophy silver medalist, and 2013 Winter Universiade silver medalist. They competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics, finishing 12th, and have placed as high as sixth at the European Championships (2014).

Career

Career for Russia

Zlobina and Sitnikov teamed up in June 2001. Early in their career, they represented Russia and were coached by Igor Gavrin and later Olga Riabinina. In 2005, they moved with Riabinina from Kirov to Rostov-on-Don. In 2006, Zlobina/Sitnikov won the bronze medal in Hungary and gold in the Czech Republic on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. Their final international event representing Russia was the 2008 Nebelhorn Trophy, where they finished 5th. In May 2009, they moved with Riabinina to Moscow and joined Elena Kustarova and Svetlana Alexeeva's group. In the 2009–10 season, Zlobina/Sitnikov made no international appearances but competed at the Russian Championships, where they finished 5th.

Career for Azerbaijan

Zlobina/Sitnikov decided to represent Azerbaijan and made their first appearance for the country at the 2011 Estonian Championships, competing as guests. In mid-2011, they switched to another Moscow-based coaching team, Alexander Zhulin and Oleg Volkov, with Zhulin also serving as their choreographer. In the 2011–12 season, Zlobina/Sitnikov won the bronze medal at the 2011 Ondrej Nepela Memorial and gold at the Istanbul Cup. Their first major international event was the 2012 European Championships, where they finished 10th. They then placed 17th at the 2012 World Championships.

Zlobina/Sitnikov began the 2012–13 season by taking gold at Ice Star in Belarus and then silver at the 2012 Nebelhorn Trophy. They finished sixth at their first Grand Prix event since 2007, the 2012 Skate Canada, and fifth at the 2012 Trophee Eric Bompard. After placing seventh at the 2013 European Championships, the team finished 16th at the 2013 World Championships and qualified a spot for Azerbaijan in the ice dancing event at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Zlobina/Sitnikov changed coaches before the 2013–14 season, joining Igor Shpilband and Alexei Gorshkov in Novi, Michigan. They had a weak start to their season, placing eighth at the 2013 Skate America but went on win gold at the 2013 Golden Spin of Zagreb, Volvo Open Cup, and Ukrainian Open, and silver at the 2013 Winter Universiade. They placed sixth at the 2014 European Championships, a career high.

Programs

(with Zlobina)

Season	Short dance	Free dance
2013–2014	Foxtrot: Pink Panther by Henry Mancini Quickstep: Sing, Sing, Sing by Louis Prima choreo. by Igor Shpilband, Sergei Nikulshin	Pina by Thomas Hanreich choreo. by Igor Shpilband, Sergei Nikulshin
2012–2013	Violente Valse performed by Caravan Palace Dolly Song by Holly Dolly choreo. by Sergei Petukhov	Mahalageasca by Goran Bregović Ausencia by Goran Bregović Mahalageasca by Goran Bregović choreo. by Sergei Petukhov
2011–2012	La Bomba by Balli di Gruppo Samba Vocalizado by Luciano Perrone choreo. by Alexander Zhulin	Derap by René Aubry Aquarelle by René Aubry choreo. by Alexander Zhulin
2010–2011	Waltz No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich performed by unknown	Querer (from Cirque du Soleil's Alegría) by René Dupéré
	Original dance
2009–2010	Shadritsa (Gypsy dance) by unknown	Tristan & Iseult by Maxime Rodriguez
2008–2009
2007–2008	Unknown Russian folk music choreo. by N. Michura	Pirates of the Caribbean by Klaus Badelt, Hans Zimmer choreo. by N. Michura
2006–2007	Tango by unknown choreo. by Polina Silivanova	Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach performed by Vanessa-Mae choreo. by Polina Silivanova

Results

With Zlobina for Azerbaijan

International
Event	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Olympics				12th
Worlds		17th	16th	12th
Europeans		10th	7th	6th
GP Bompard			5th
GP Rostelecom Cup					WD
GP Skate America				8th	WD
GP Skate Canada			6th
Universiade				2nd
Golden Spin			2nd	1st
Ice Star			1st
Istanbul Cup		1st
Nebelhorn			2nd
NRW Trophy		5th
Ondrej Nepela		3rd
Ukrainian Open				1st
U.S. Classic				6th
Volvo Open Cup				1st
Other
Estonian Champ.	1st (G)
GP = Grand Prix G = Competed as guests; TBD = Assigned

With Zlobina for Russia

International
Event	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10
GP NHK Trophy					7th
GP Skate Canada					9th
Nebelhorn						5th
International: Junior
JGP Final				6th
JGP Bulgaria			6th
JGP Czech Rep.				1st
JGP Estonia			4th
JGP Hungary				3rd
JGP Serbia		5th
National
Russian Champ.	8th	8th	9th	8th	6th	7th	5th
GP = Grand Prix; JGP = Junior Grand Prix

External links

• Julia Zlobina / Alexei Sitnikov at the International Skating Union
• Julia Zlobina / Alexei Sitnikov at Sport-folio